«Days of Northern Europe» at MASU
- 13.05.2016
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The traditional students’ festival «Days of Northern Europe», dedicated to the history and culture of the north countries, international relations in the Barents Region was held at Murmansk Arctic State University.
During the week — from 8 until 15 of April 2016 there were events and meetings organized by teachers and students of the Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities, with the support of Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Murmansk and Norwegian Barents Secretariat (Murmansk office).
Teachers and students from MASU became also a part of the International festival «Barents Bird», which took place in the same days in Murmansk.
The program of «Days of Northern Europe» began with the exhibition of Murmansk photographer Vitaly Novikov «Norway — the land of rocky fjords».
On the 9th of April all students took part in the unusual workshop organized by the committee of the festival «Barents Bird». The team of designers, psychologists, sociologists of SISA Cultural Center prepared a roundtable discussion for the participants on the theme «The role of culture and the arts in social work». The same day there was also a meeting with Jacob Sampler, an entrepreneur from Sweden, who created an unusual road sign «Caution! People with smartphones». This sign is used to warn pedestrians that they should pay more attention to the situation on the street then to their smartphones, in order to decrease the risk of car accidents.
On Saturday was shown a documentary about the life and work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in «LettheScreambeheard» ( «... Let the scream be heard»). Director of the this documentary is Dhiradzh Akolkar.
On the 11th of April there was a meeting with representatives of the Murmansk Regional Public Organization «Nature and Youth». The chairman of this organization — Alexei Zakharenko described the experience of Northern Europe in solving the problems of household waste disposal. The American film «The Story of Stuff» with Annie Leonard about unrestrained consumption was presented.
On the 12th of April at the MASU was held a seminar devoted to the work of contemporary Norwegian writer Herbjørg Wassmo, whose books have been translated into all European languages and have received many awards in the northern countries. Marina Naumlyuk, Associate Professor of the Department for Russian Philology prepared the seminar.
On the 13th of April there was a roundtable discussion «International Cooperation in the Arctic: Challenges and Prospects», where students discussed the most difficult issues of interstate relations and cooperation in the North. The representatives of Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Murmansk, Norwegian Barents Secretariat (Murmansk office) and Barents Youth Cooperation Office participated in the discussion. They talked about the international cooperation programs and projects supported by international organizations.
On the 14th of April students Elena Dudka and Alexander Grishin prepared a game for students «Hiking Viking» by analogy with the popular intellectual online-game with elements of «Conquiztador» strategy.
The festival «Days of Northern Europe» brought together students and teachers from different departments, giving each participant the opportunity to realize their creative powers and show personal skills. This year festival has turned out a very vivid event, introduced the new creative teams and allowed to find new partners. The festival was very much successful due to the support of MASU administration.