Moscow Demographic Summit Opens Wednesday - Speakers Include Leaders, Scholars and Activists from Around The World

MOSCOW, June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The Moscow Demographic Summit: Family and The Future of Humankind" will hear from more than 40 speakers from Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Ireland, the Philippines, Poland, Belgium, Canada, Bolivia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Summit will take place June 29-30 at the Russian State Social University.

At the Opening ceremony, speakers include: Dr. Allan Carlson, World Congress of Families International Secretary; Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church (or Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin); Dr. Zhukov V.I, Rector Russian State Social University; Metropolitan Hilarion, Russian Orthodox Church Foreign Relations; Dr. Alan Keyes, former Asst. Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO; Anna Zaborska, Member of the European Union Parliament, former Chairwoman of the EU Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality; Luca Volonte, Deputy of the Italian Parliament, and President of European People's Party at the Council of Europe; and Miklos Soltesz, Hungarian Minister of Social, Family, Youth Affairs.

The rostrum of speakers also includes: Natalya Yakunina, President of Sanctity of Motherhood Program; Evgeny Yuriev, Advisor to Russian President Medvedev; Italian Archbishop Paul Pezzi; Rabbi Aaron Gurevich , assistant to Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar; Mufti Huzin, representative of Muslim Umma; and Alexey Komov, Summit Organizer and WCF Representative in Russia and the CIS.

The section on demography includes Philip Longman, author of "The Empty Cradle"; Steve Mosher, Population Research Institute; Igor Beloborodov, Demographic Research Institute, Moscow; and Don Feder, WCF Communications Director.

Others on the program include Larry Jacobs, WCF Managing Director; Dr. Margaret Hartshorn, President of Heartbeat International: Dignity of Women; Dr. Patrick Fagan, Family Research Council; Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, Concerned Women for America; Dr. Francisco Tatad, Philippine Senate, Former Majority Leader; Ewa Kowalewska, Human Life International, Europe; James Kushiner, The Fellowship of St. James; Dr. Marguerite Peeters, Institute for Intercultural Dialogue Dynamics; Archpriest Maxim Obukhov; Dr. Thomas Ward, National Association of Catholic Families in the UK; Maria Sofia Aguirre, Professor of Economics, Catholic University of America; John Mueller, Ethics and Public Policy Center; Susan Roylance, WCF Representative at the U.N.; Dr. Anatoly Antonov, Moscow State University,  Lomonosov; Vladimir Grozov, Family, Unity, Motherhood; Dr. Tamara Komarova, Expert on Childhood Programs of Russian Federation; and Dr. Ivan Papazov.

World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs observed: "This lineup of illustrious speakers demonstrates that declining birthrates, frequently referred to as Demographic Winter, is a worldwide phenomenon.

"The Moscow Demographic Summit will bring together some of the best minds addressing what could be the greatest challenge confronting humanity in this century."

Click here for the complete program, including titles of speeches.

For the website of the Moscow Demographic Summit (in English and Russian), including registration information, go to: www.worldcongress.ru.

For More Information, Contact: Don Feder at 508-405-1337, [email protected] or Lisa Youngblood at 815-964-5819, [email protected].

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60 countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois.  To date, there have been five World Congresses of Families – Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw, Poland (2007) and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2009).  World Congress of Families VI will be held in Madrid, Spain in May 25-27, 2012.

SOURCE World Congress of Families