Elena Zagaynova: "Promotion and study of the Russian language is a national priority"
The International Pedagogical Forum "The Russian Language without Borders: New Opportunities for Dialogue between Cultures" is taking place in the Republic of Belarus from 21 to 24 November. Over 550 participants from 46 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Hungary, Vietnam, Iraq, Mexico, Italy, Serbia, Spain, China, the Republic of Congo, take part in the event both in person and remotely. The principal organiser of the Forum is Lobachevsky University. All face-to-face events are held at the Masherov Vitebsk State University (Republic of Belarus). In addition, there are remote participant connection platforms at Lobachevsky University, Lorand Eötvös University of Budapest (Hungary) and Samarkand State University (Uzbekistan).
"The promotion and study of the Russian language is a clear national priority and an essential factor in preserving the self-consciousness of its speakers, wherever they live. Our Forum brings together not only native Russian speakers, but also lovers and admirers of the Russian language from many different countries. The Russian language is in demand and of interest not only in the post-Soviet space, but all over the world. The forum participants discuss topical issues of teaching Russian language and literature, intercultural communication, the place of Russian language and literature in the modern educational space, implementation of international humanitarian projects," said Elena Zagaynova, UNN Rector.
She welcomed the participants of the discussion platforms and emphasised that Lobachevsky University was continuing the series of international pedagogical forums for the third year in a row. In 2020, it was held remotely in four countries: Serbia, Italy, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and in 2021 in Kazakhstan. More than 3,000 persons from 56 countries have taken part in the Forum over this time.
According to Olga Petrova, Minister of Education and Science of the Nizhny Novgorod region, events that aim to promote the Russian language are very important and essential:
"I would like to thank Lobachevsky University for preserving traditions, Vitebsk University for being the main hospitable venue for the Forum, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation for supporting us in implementing our initiative. The Russian Language without Borders Forum should become a good tradition, bringing together people from different parts of the world who care about the Russian language."
On the first day of the Forum, the International Research and Methodological Conference "Russian Language and Russian Literature in Modern Scientific and Educational Space" was held covering such discussion topics as "Russian language and intercultural communication", "Russian language and Russian literature in the modern educational space", "Historical dynamics and spiritual culture of the society: regional and global context", "Current issues of the theory and methodology of teaching Russian and teaching in Russian", "Modern humanitarian sciences in the context of historical memory". A total of 66 papers were presented.
During the Forum, various master classes, open lectures, round tables, thematic intellectual games and professional development courses under the programme "Project-oriented methods in the practice of teaching Russian language and literature" were organised for the participants.
