Talent Show at PetrSU

The festival, organized by the student club Mir together with the Neighbors project, was attended by students from over 15 countries who performed on the main stage of the university. The organizers shared their impressions. 

Robiya Amanova, leader of the student club Mir and a student at the Institute of Foreign Languages at Petrozavodsk State University, said: 

The talent show this year was organized by the student club Mir together with the Neighbors project, which had won Rosmolodezh grant. Similar festivals were previously held by the SLOVO International Agency. Since SLOVO has suspended its activities, we have decided to continue the tradition of organizing such events. Its main goal is to show how international our university is. And as feedback showed, we have succeeded! 

More than 130 people took part in the festival, including participants, guests and organizers. Over 10 countries presented their performances of national dances and songs. 

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the concert myself, but during its organization and rehearsals, I already understood how unifying and colorful this festival will be. 

Margarita Vernigorova, head of the Neighbors project and a student at the Institute of Foreign Languages, noted: 

For me, it was the first big event where I was one of the organizers. The festival went wonderfully. We gathered a large number of participants who meticulously prepared for their performances. During the show itself, the concert hall was filled, everyone was happy and amused, and the emotions I experienced at that moment cannot be put into words. 

Our festival is a symbol of friendship and unity. We show how several countries can unite on one stage. Over 100 people performed on stage that day: about 65 participants, 20 invited guests and organizers, who also performed the final song of the Country represented by festival participants from Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Haiti, Jordan, Iran, Zambia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Zimbabwe. 

As the name suggests, participants shared their talents and showed what they can do the best. These were songs, dances, and instrumental performances. In fact, I remember not so much the performances themselves as the reactions they caused among the audience. No performance was complete without loud applause and ovations. 

We asked Margarita about the Neighbors project, which supported the festival: 

The Neighbors project was formed thanks to the joint work of two associations: the student club Mir, whose activities are aimed at developing intercultural communication among students in Petrozavodsk, and the PetrSU Student Council of Dormitories, responsible for comfortable accommodation of the students. 

They have observed the challenges faced by foreign students, noticed their problems, and everyone understood that they needed to be solved somehow. Thus, the leaders of these groups decided that dormitories need people who, like senior students, will know and transmit the basic rules of dormitory life to foreign residents and, as volunteers of "Mir", will be able to establish communication between foreigners and Russian students as well as with the administration. Therefore, the Neighbors project incorporated the characteristics of each of these associations and somehow united their activities. 

There are more than 15 active volunteers in the project. They are mostly students from Russia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, and Jordan. 

The project started in May 2022. We selected volunteers and "launched" the school. These were the first steps towards the implementation of the plans. To begin with, we "studied" the dormitories: we found out what and how many countries' representatives live there. Then we applied for a grant and won, and now we are implementing it. After that, we recruited volunteers, they were trained, and they started to work. 

Now we are adapting dormitories, for example, we are translating fire safety rules and basic information blocks. We are also in the process of writing instruction for newly arrived foreign students. In addition, our volunteers had the idea to introduce students to the cultural characteristics of different countries through their traditional dishes. And soon the first video on this topic should be released. And, of course, one of these events was the talent show.