10.00–11.45
Plenary Hall, 5th floor

Programme Leader
Insiders

Session partners
The RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The RF Ministry of Economic Development

Main topics

• Strategic communications: a view from 2025. International expertise VS Russian trends
• New standards and new normality. Changing rules and culture of communications
• Specifics of managing information flow across political and ideological barriers
• Supranational organisations and national governments: effective building of communication strategies
• Role of communications in shaping information sovereignty of Russia
• International (external) and internal Russian brands: found, implement and promote.
• Communications for effective interaction between business, science, socio-cultural area and society
• Future of communications as creative Industries
• Future of communications in time of digital transformation
• Changing media landscape and digital market in time of more rigorous control by the state and regulators.

Moderator
Andrey Lapshov, AKOS chairman, Insiders Group president

Speakers (* - invited/expected)

1. Aleksey Goreslavsky, Internet Development institute, general director*
2. Maria Zakharova, Information and press department, director, the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs official representative / the RF deputy minister of foreign affairs
3. Larisa Zelkova, Nornickel, board member, senior vice president, personnel, social and PR policy
4. Tatyana Iliushnikova, the RF deputy minister of economic development*
5. Mr Vinay Kumar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India
6. Vladimir Mashkov, theatre and cinema actor, Tabakov’s and “Sovremennick”’s art director, chairman of the RF union of theatremakers*
7. Evgueny Minchenko, RASO president, “Minchenko consulting” holding president
8. Azhit Patakh, Indian PR Association, president*
9. Sergey Skripnikov, Rusal PR director, AKOS consulting council chairman
10. Vladimir Tabak, “Dialog” general director*
11. Ekaterina Salugina-Sorokovaya, Gazprombank first vice president*
12. U.Khunbo, International Chinese PR Association, honorary president

12.00-13.30
Plenary Sessions Hall, 5th floor

Programme Leader
R.I.M.

Session partners
The RF Ministry of Economic Development
The RF Public Chamber creative industries coordination council
Strategic Initiatives agency
Russian PR Association (RASO)
Russian Communication Agencies Association

Main topics

• Communication industries as subjects of the law “developing creative industries in the Russian Federation”
• Road map to promote PR as a creative industry
• Register of creative industries’ subjects. Criteria for obtaining a creative industry status and being included into a combined register of subjects, interpretations, specifics, examples
• Regional standard for developing creative industries
• Model of potential state support measures for PR as a creative industry (in accordance with the FL 330 “Developing creative industries in the Russian Federation”), including models for creative industries’ centres and creative clusters, information systems to secure creative industries activities for PR purposes
• Industrial catalogue of PR creative cases
• International and Russian experience of promoting communications as creative industries
• Economic effect of communications as creative industries

Moderator
Igor Pisarsky, R.I.M. board of directors, chairman, “Silver archer award” board of trustees, chairman

Speakers (* - invited/expected)

1. Marina Abramova, President of ANO “Creative Economy”
2. Giulnara Agamova, Moscow government, ANO “Agency of creative industries”*
3. Tatyana Karavaeva, Centre for strategic development, general director
4. Olga Karmatskaya, TASS marketing director*
5. Vladimir Kosteev, the RF President Administration, public projects reviewer
6. Oleg Poletaev, RASO first vice president, Interfax Group digital business director
7. Elena Reshetova, Russian Association of communication agencies (ACAR), first vice president
8. Ekaterina Cherkes-zade, Centre for creative economy development, Agency for strategic initiatives to promote new projects (ASI), director*
9. Gyuzyal Khisyamutdinova, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” med*ia group, deputy general director, head of united advertising service*
10. Lada Yurchenko, Head of Creative Cluster, Novosibirsk Akadempark

12.00-13.30
Council Chamber, 1st floor

Main topics

• Value agenda of modern communicators (national, corporate and other values, common goals, common mission)
• Interaction of communicators under crisis conditions
• Memorandum on interaction between customers and performers at the market of communication industries
• AKOS Code of Ethics
• AKOS PR Navigator (verified register of agencies with indication of specialty and experience)
• Role of agencies in time of market personnel hunger

Moderator
Sergey Skripnikov, Rusal PR director, AKOS consulting council chairman

Speakers (* - invited/expected)

1. Timur Belov, PhosAgro, head of press service*
2. Yelizaveta Golikova, VTB, senior vice president, department of media relations, director*
3. Ilya Zhitomirsky, Chelyabinsk metallurgical plant group, communications and PR director*
4. Vadim Kovalev, Ural Steel management company, general director advisor for government relations and sustainable development*
5. Vyacheslav Laschevsky, AGT Group board of directors, chairman, Coordination council of communication industries at the RF Public Chamber, co-chairman.
6. Liliya Miller, CEO of GREATIVE
7. Margarita Nagoga, RusHydro, corporate communications department, director
8. Nikolay Obrezkov, Orta Media general director, Head of the AKOS Ethics Committee
9. Andrey Timonov, “Rosatom” State Atomic Energy Corporation, head of communications department*

13.30-15.00
Plenary Hall, 5th floor

Programme Leader
Interium

Session partners
The RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Eurasian rating agency

Main topics

• Anti-crisis shaping of Russia and Russian business image in a changing world
• Transforming the PR international market to adapt to new trends and needs of the industry and clients
• Systemic interaction of Russian specialists with foreign communicators
• Strategic expertise and professional interaction with the near abroad, South-East Asia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Latin America and Africa
• Platforms and opportunities for exchanging experience and knowledge, technologies and personnel with international PR communities
• Mutual enrichment of ideas and innovative solutions to meet main international relations challenges
• Establishing long-term relations with relevant international associations
• Communications inside and outside BRICS, SCO, EAEU, CIS: have anything changed?
• PR in China today - future of communications in Russia tomorrow?

Moderator
Andrey Ermoshkin, Interium executive director, head of AKOS international relations committee.

Speakers (* - invited/expected)

1. Agee Robert, American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, president, CEO*
2. Kirill Babaev, Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, director, National coordination centre for international business cooperation (NCC), president*
3. Stepan Kovalchuk, VK senior vice president on media strategy and service development*
4. Nikita Kondratiev, the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs, department of multisided economic cooperation and special projects, head
5. Liqun Zhou, Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia, chairman*
6. Yulia Maksutova, Centre for Strategic Research, deputy director
7. Svetlana Malinina, CIS Executive Committee, head of press service*
8. Olga Pavlikova, Trend Fox, co-founder and CEO
9. Victoria Panova, National Research University “Higher School of Economics” vice rector, Centre ‘Expert council on the RF participation in BRICS, director*
10.Polikanov Dmitry, Federal Agency on CIS, compatriots living abroad, international humanitarian cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), deputy head
11.Timofeev Ivan, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), general director*
12.Timur Shafir, Russian Union of Journalists, head of international department, secretary

13.30-15.00
Conference Room, 4th floor

Programme Leader
AGT

Session partners
ASI
CSD
AM
National priorities

Main topics

• Repositioning of regions - a trend? a new configuration?
• A new era of relations: “centre-regions” or “country-partners”
• Regional communication landscape
• New approaches to communication support of regional development strategies
• International and internal regional brands: establish, implement, promote
• New strategies for promoting regions and territorial branding
• New leaders-regions: role of communications
• Anti-crisis communications of regional business
• Free RP in the regions: myth or reality
• Professional communications in the regions
• Certification of regional communication agencies

Moderator
Igor Lashchevsky, AGT Communications Group, general director, AKOS working group on legislative control in communications

Speakers (* - invited/expected)

1. Natalia Belyakova, Russian geographic society, expedition and tourism department director, National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, communications laboratory in creative industries, head
2. Yulia Deeva, Polyus PR, head*
3. Maria Yerunova, GS Simple marketing communications, director*
4. Sofia Malyavina, ANO “National Priorities” general director*
5. Vadim Mamontov, RussiaDiscovery founder and CEO, Russian Union of Tourists, vice president
6. Ivan Mikhailenko, Centre for Tourism Development, head*
7. Irina Makieva, Urban Development, WEB.RF, chief managing partner*
8. Dmitry Smirkin, Tourism.RF, PR department, director
9. Maria Yarina, PR development company, vice president for strategic communications

13.30-15.00
Council Chamber, 1st floor

Programme Leader
Comunica

Session Partner
Managers Association

Main topics

• Rebooting business reputation: global change after decades of past consensus
• Impact of modern transformations on business communication strategies
• Reputational maturity of Russian companies
• Communications as types of business development strategy (GR, ESG, IR, HR)
• International (external) and Russian internal brands: establish, implement, promote.
• Does a personal brand contribute to business / Does a personal brand of a manager and employees influence business?
• Brand ambassadors: is it profitable to deal with opinion leaders (external and internal)
• Internal communications - nowadays external
• HR brand: almond raff vs deferment from mobilisation
• HR brand neurofication
• Generational dissonance in communications

Speakers (* - invited/expected)

1. Lilia Glazova, PR News general director
2. Vyacheslav Evseev, Association of managers, executive director*
3. Fedor Klimkin, Pipe Metallurgy Company, PR and strategic communications director*
4. Anna Lyatsu, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, press secretary and managing director*
5. Lyubov Malyarevskaya, Russian Media Group CEO, Russian managers association, marketing and corporate strategy committee, chairman*
6. Margarita Nagoga, RusHydro, corporate communications department, director
7. Sergey Skripnikov, RUSAL, PR director
8. Darya Chudnaya, SR Space private space company, deputy general director for communications*

15.00-17.30
Conference Room, 4th floor

Programme Leader
Ex Libris

Description

The session covers new technologies, data-driven communications, their digitisation and measurement, current approaches to studying, planning and implementing communication strategies. The session will be of interest to analysts, communication researchers, strategic planning and management communicators and brand managers.

Main topics

• Metrics for studying effectiveness of PR-communications
• Presenting and discussing AKOS study “Assessing effectiveness of PR and communications: methods, approaches, trends”
• Analytics to shape communication strategy. Case study
• Analytics to assess effectiveness of implemented strategy. Case study
• Analytics on results of a campaign. Case study
• Communication ethics: new or old? International standards and practices. Efficiency vs. ethics? AKOS Code of Ethics

Moderator
Victoria Prilepskaya, Ex Libris, development director, AKOS working group on digitisation of communications, head

Speakers (* - invited/expected)
1. Yulia Deeva, Polyus, PR head
2. Darya Kertsenbaum, Strategy Partners, marketing and communications director
3. Nina Oreshkina, CIAN PR director
4. Anna Shchepilova, Metro Russia, PR director

17.30-19.00
Council Chamber, 1st floor

Programme Leader
PR Inc.

Session Partner
Sustainable Development Strategies and Practices Project Office

Main topics

• The place of ESG communications in the national information agenda. Where are we?
• Relevance of the global sustainable development agenda for Russian communicators
• Reputation of socially and environmentally responsible brand: modern tools (expert environment, journalists, digital, resources, stakeholders, etc.).
• Anti-crisis solutions in ESG-communications
• Ratings, reports, dialogues with stakeholders. Current practice and risks of information disclosure
• Do the media write about ESG-responsibility today and what exactly do they write?
• ESG communicator: specialisation, competences or press release topics?

Moderator
Olga Dashevskaya, Senior Partner at PR Inc., Head of the Advisory Council Group at AKOS

Speakers (* - invited/agreed)

1. Irina Bakhtina, Director of Sustainable Development, En+ *
2. Svetlana Bik, Head of the INFRAGRIN platform, author of the TG-channel 100% Green *
3. Elena Dubovitskaya, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development, SKOLKOVO School of Management
4. Yaroslava Vrubel, Director for Sustainable Development and Investor Relations, MMK *
5. Svetlana Gerasimova, Head of the Sustainable Development Strategies and Practices Project Office, Head of the CSR and Sustainable Development School #SDstrateg, Chairperson of the Expert Council of the Sustainable Development Week
6. Tatiana Zavyalova, Senior Vice President, ESG, Sberbank PJSC *
7. Vladimir Kuznetsov, Head of the UN Information Centre in the Russian Federation
8. Elena Myakotnikova, Director for Sustainable Development, UC RUSAL *
9. Alexander Briskin, Director of ESG practice of Mikhailov & Partners
10. Anastasia Mishanina, Head of Communications and Investor Relations, Severstal *
11. Andrey Timonov, Head of Communications Department, Rosatom State Corporation
12. Vyacheslav Fetisov, UN Goodwill Ambassador, National Goodwill Ambassador of UNEP, Goodwill Ambassador of the World Tourism Organization, member of the UN Alliance of Civilisations High Council, member of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration Supervisory Board, Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation (VOOP) *
13. Andrey Sharonov, General Director of the National Alliance for Social and Environmental Responsibility, corporate management and sustainable development*

17.30-19.00
Plenary Hall, 5th floor

Programme Leader
PR News

Over the years AKOS has accumulated a unique baggage of competences and experience. The Association has united on its platform recognised maestros and young but bright communicators. The authority of AKOS is undeniable. We are sure that the time has come to share our expertise and finally discuss what is the mark of quality in PR. Just as any star is a huge concentration of complex chemical elements, a successful PR case combines high competences of the team, thorough preparation and analyses, correct strategic decisions and spectacular creativity. The winners of the main communication awards are the best, but what unites and distinguishes these cases? Why does an individual project win gold in one award and get stuck on the shortlist in another? Which of the winners will forever remain in PR history? A stellar panel of AKOS experts will analyse and rate the winning cases of partnership awards. On 21 May at the AKOS International Forum ‘Strategic Communications’ we will find out which projects will become Michelin stars of communication.