On Friday, May 15, International Culture Festival brought together international students from nine regional higher education institutions along with Nizhny Novgorod school pupils seeking to explore national cultures.

Organized by Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod, the fifth annual International Culture Festival entitled In This Big World encouraged students to share their national cultures by engaging in a range of events and activities while they are away from home and studying in Russia.

An essay contest, a concert and  a cultural fair were just a few of the options on offer. Students could also take advantage of a round-table discussion on feminine and masculine in different cultures and languages and embrace other cultures.

The other universities participating in the festival were Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (NNGASU), Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy, Minin University, Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy, Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, Nizhniy Novgorod State Glinka Conservatoire (Academy), Ivanovo State University.

UNN’s international students from the preparatory course were the best in the essay contest: Minchuan Fang from China won the contest, Yuxin Jin from China and Mohamed Mabchour from Morocco took second and third place respectively. And 2-year student Aliya Asadova from Uzbekistan gained the second place in an essay contest among students from CIS countries.

Three Chinese students (also from the preparatory course), Tairan Huang, Xiaoting Fei and Jiajing Li, took part in the round-table discussion and their team spirit helped them to get second place.

The cultural fair introduced visitors to a rich amalgam of cultures and diverse traditions. Students offered well-presented dishes of traditional national cuisine and showed off their national dress.

The festival ended with a concert. A creative team from UNN put a wonderful performance Farewell to the Native Land and was awarded a diploma for advanced acting skills. The team was made up of students from Colombia and India who study at Pre-University Preparatory Programme. The names of the performers are Andres Puello Campuzano, Nicolas Lopez Naranjo, Wendy Gonzalez Gonzalez, Sebastian Catano Vanegas, Pankaj Yogi and Deependra Kumawat.