“The future of humanity is losing its direction. The collapse of Soviet Union marked the failure of the Communist dream; the global economic crisis has revealed the failure of American dream. Technological progress should continue, merely due to inertia of science and commerce – but, without inspiring ideas that drive it, it will become a mechanical improvement of devices and gadgets. Lacking the sacred meaning of their lives, people praise the short-termness, the quarter-on-quarter growth of consumption and daily surges of stock exchange rates. Yet, as smart turkeys, they fear their coming Thanksgiving day.

People everywhere in the world seek new meanings of existence and collective action – and these meanings can only emerge from practical action of men and women ready to think of the day after tomorrow and to act for the generations to come. Against the gloom of minute choices, we call the Distant Light of the future, the light cast by visionary practitioners: businessmen, thinkers, artists, and social leaders. We seek not just the facts or trends – we look for images and values that will drive the attractive future.

Our 2009 gathering theme is based on the firm belief that Russia was, and remains, one of the few places in the world where issues of such a global scale can be named and discussed. Just through the past century, our country has challenged conventionalities by attempting the largest man-made social project of Communism, by rising from ruins of World Wars time and again as a true global power, and by taking humanity out of its Earthly cradle and into Space. Now the country seeks to find its new identity in the world – and can only do so by admitting openly what it can, and should, give to the world. We, therefore, invite domestic and international leaders of the worlds of business, art, science and politics to share their thoughts, and debate openly, on the beneficial future that Russia can help create.”

Pavel Luksha is a Researcher for the Group of Research in Organizational Evolution, University of Hertfordshire, UK, and a Senior Manager in Moscow with Alvarez & Marsal, a global consulting firm focused on corporate-restructuring. Formerly, he worked as a consultant for Accenture, a Director for Controlling in Russian automotive manufacturer Sollers, and also realized his own entrepreneurial projects. He holds a Master in Economics from the State University – Higher School of Economics (Russia) and the PhD from the Central Economic Mathematical Institute (Russia). He is the author of Samovosproizvodstvo v evolutsionnoj ekonomike (“Self-Reproduction in Evolutionary Economics” – Institute of Economics Publications, 2009) and published a number of articles in international peer-reviewed journals. His current studies consider strategies employed by organizations to create their business environment, the concept of organizational niche construction.