UN General Assembly proclaimed 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table. This large-scale event is dedicated to the 150th anniversary after discovery of the Periodic law of chemical elements by the great Russian scientist, D.I. Mendeleev.
Initiator of holding the International Year of the Periodic Table was Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Chemical Society named after D.I. Mendeleev, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, as well as Russian and foreign scientists.
Russia’s initiative was supported by foreign countries, international scientific organisations, as well as more than 80 national academies of sciences and scientific societies. Among them is the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), European Chemical Society (EuCheMS), International Astronomical Union (IAU), and other.
The International Year of the Periodic Table will be held in several countries around the world under the aegis of UNESCO. Within this event, there are many scheduled scientific conferences, thematic exhibitions, contests for young scientists, etc. to be held.
On December 29 of 2018, Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, signed the Decree “On holding the International Year of the Periodic Table in 2019” and took the lead at the Organisation Committee. The Organisation Committee included leaders of federal executive bodies, administrative entities and leading scientific organisations.
Solemn ceremony of beginning the International Year of the Periodic Table took place on January 29 of 2019 in Paris, France, at the UNESCO headquarters.
In Russia, the ceremony of beginning the International Year will be held on February 6 of 2019 in Moscow, at the Presidium of RAS, and will coincide with the Day of Russian Science and with the Birthday of Dmitry Mendeleev.
Official operator of the ceremonies of beginning the International Year of the Periodic Table in both Paris and Moscow will be NAUKA 0+ All-Russian Science Festival. In 2019, the main theme of the Science Festival will be the Periodic Table. General partner of the International Year of the Periodic Table in Russia is the Art, Science and Sport Charity Foundation.
Within the International Year, more than 500 popular scientific and educational events dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the outstanding discovery made by D.I. Mendeleev and targeted at attracting attention of schoolchildren, students and youth as a whole to science and its achievements are planned to be held in all regions of Russia.
Proclaiming 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table is of an especial importance for Russia. This event will favor international acknowledgment of achievements of the great Russian scientist D.I. Mendeleev., as well as strengthen the prestige and popularisation of science in Russia.