Moscow – PhosAgro CEO and Member of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO Andrey Guryev participated in the Commission’s General Meeting, which was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.
At the meeting, participants discussed successfully implemented UNESCO projects aimed at promoting important moral values, cultural heritage and the environment, as well as the organisation’s future plans in these areas.
Sergey Lavrov said: “Last year we celebrated UNESCO’s 70th anniversary: an important step as we deepen our fruitful cooperation with the organisation. Two meetings between Russian President Vladimir Putin and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova helped lend additional impetus to this work. Examples of successful cooperation include Russia hosting the 4th meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the United Nations Secretary-General. This Advisory Board is a sort of ‘council of elders’ who develop recommendations on issues facing the modern world. Last year we also hosted the Third All-Russian Congress of UNESCO Chairs, as well as the IV St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, which was dedicated to the organisation’s 70th anniversary.”
During the All-Russian Congress of UNESCO Chairs, UNESCO awarded some of the best young chemists in the world grants for research into green chemistry as part of a joint project with PhosAgro and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (“IUPAC”).
The Green Chemistry for Life programme was launched on 29 March 2013 in the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. Its goal is to support talented young scientists working on green chemistry projects with the aim of protecting the environment and human health, creating energy-efficient processes, and implementing environmentally-safe technologies based on innovative ideas.
The programme is unique because it represents the first time in the history of UNESCO and the entire UN system that such an initiative has been implemented on an extra-budgetary basis with support from a Russian company. PhosAgro suggested an initiative to support scientific projects by young chemists from around the world in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO.