MASU celebrated International Students' Day
- 19.12.2022
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MASU International Cooperation office organized an event aiming to promote intercultural dialogue among students in Murmansk.
The event was timed to coincide with two important dates — the International Students' Day and the International Day for Tolerance. MASU and MSTU students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Zimbabwe, and India gathered at MASU Boiling Point space. Russian students also joined the event.
«Our goal is the socio-cultural adaptation of international students to life and education process in Russia during such events. At the same time, we encourage Russian students to participate in the internationalization of both the university and the region», commented Mikhail Uksusov, MASU International Cooperation office advisor.
The highlight of the event was the quiz during which students tested their knowledge in questions related to tolerance, students' life, science, culture and international relations. Students mixed in teams answered 30 questions focused on the cross-cultural communication, as well as tolerance towards team members from different countries.
In addition, MASU International Cooperation specialists held a team-building session for students. Elena Kvasyuk, Associate Professor of MASU Modern Languages Department, introduced students to the concept of tolerance and showed the ways to ensure media accessibility for people with special needs.
The event was held entirely in English. This helped international students to feel more comfortable, and Russian students were able to practice their language skills. It was also a great chance to interact with representatives of unfamiliar cultures. International students, in turn, made new friends: at the end of the event, students exchanged phone numbers and social media account links, which once again showed the need for such extracurricular meetings.
«These are the types of dynamic and casual events that provide an opportunity for real interaction with representatives of various cultures and, accordingly, develop intercultural competencies among students, which have recently become particularly relevant», said Yulia Shestova, Head of MASU International Cooperation office. «We would like to create a good tradition in our university to hold such events».
Students fully supported the idea of celebrating the International Students' Day and cooked traditional Indian, Armenian and Russian dishes, performed Indian and Russian songs and dances. Hepsiba Kollati, a student from India, showed her skills in Mehndi, an art of painting on the body or henna tattoo.
«Thanks to the organizers for the event and creating such a cosy atmosphere. We had a great time and learnt a lot about each other's culture and traditions», said Alexandra Paikina, a student of MASU Institute of Linguistics.
It was not the first time when MASU International Cooperation office hosted adaptation activities for international students of Murmansk. Earlier in September, international students learnt a lot about the coast of the Kola Peninsula, its history and Arctic cuisine as part of the Arctic Weekend project. The project was supported by Project Office for Arctic Development.
The International Students' Day was supported by MASU Coordination Center, established in September 2022 to prevent extremism and cross-national, interfaith conflicts and to form an active civic position among the youth of the region.
Check out more photos from the event in official MASU VKontakte group.
For the record:
the International Students' Day has been celebrated annually on November 17 since 1941 as a day of solidarity of students from all over the world and as a tribute to the memory of Prague students murdered by Nazis in 1939.
The International Day for Tolerance is celebrated on November 16. UNESCO adopted a Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, and later the UN General Assembly proclaimed November 16 as the International Day for Tolerance.
