Shrovetide celebrated at Lobachevsky University in the African way
The project “Ambassadors of Russian Culture in Africa”, supported by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), concluded on 1 March with a festival at Lobachevsky University. An extensive programme was prepared for the participants of the event: a lecture on the history of Russia, conversation clubs, master classes, games, pancakes and traditional burning of the effigy. The highlight of the festival was the performance of the African show “Waka-Waka”.
The main goal of the project “Ambassadors of Russian Culture in Africa” is to create an international community and develop a spirit of tolerance towards different cultures. Apart from the festival, the project includes educational trainings on intercultural communication, practical master classes and foresight sessions on Russian culture, which makes it at the same time a platform for language practice with native speakers of English, French and Russian. Participants include Russian and international students from universities in Nizhny Novgorod and the Nizhny Novgorod region, as well as representatives of universities in the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of the Congo.
As Maria Fakhrutdinova, head of the Russian House in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo), noted, it was the first time Congolese students of Russian language courses took part in the project “Ambassadors of Russian Culture in Africa” and were very pleased as they were able to test their language skills and knowledge of Russian culture:
“The Russian House welcomes such initiatives and hopes that they will soon be organised not only online, but also in a face-to-face format. We are always happy to host delegations here. This could be a good start in the list of activities under the twinning programme between Nizhny Novgorod and Brazzaville”.
“Academic, educational and youth cooperation with African countries is a priority area in Lobachevsky University’s international activities. We have over 600 students from the African continent. UNN holds BRICS events, it is a participant of the Russian-African Network University, it develops joint research and educational projects, offers Russian language training programmes. The project “Ambassadors of Russian Culture in Africa”, which is implemented with the support of Rosmolodezh, is a new opportunity to expand our cooperation. It includes lectures and master classes on Russian language and culture in Nizhny Novgorod's sister city Brazzaville in Congo and at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, as well as a festival at Lobachevsky University. Interest in Russian culture unites young people wherever they are, and it does not matter whether it is winter outdoors, as it is in Nizhny Novgorod, or summer, as it is in hot Cape Town,” said Alexander Bedny, UNN Vice-Rector for International Affairs and External Communications.
According to the event organiser, Anna Ngoma, Associate Professor at the UNN Department of Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language, the project “Ambassadors of Russian Culture” supported by Rosmolodezh was held at Lobachevsky University for the second time. It was first run in 2023 at venues in Turkey, Serbia and China. This year, the project is focused on Africa, which is especially important in the current geopolitical situation. The project's online and offline events brought together about 700 participants, and the final festival was an opportunity for international students to immerse themselves in Russian culture. This is confirmed by Luhuolo Goldie Junior, a graduate of Lobachevsky University who took part in the event.
“I come from the Republic of Congo. I believe that the project “Ambassadors of Russian Culture in Africa” strengthens relations between the countries. There should be more such projects because both Africa and Russia are looking for new partners. Such events also make relations between universities stronger,” he said.
The project has contributed to increasing the number of Russian culture ambassadors on the African continent, who will continue to disseminate the knowledge gained through the project in their educational institutions, using the materials provided to them (books, games, matryoshka dolls and other national symbols).
