Online meeting with Latin American alumni of VolSU
The Center for Public Diplomacy of Volgograd State University hosted an online meeting with alumni from Latin America. The event brought together Latin American students studying in Volgograd, as well as Russian students interested in the Latin American region.
The meeting was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Elena Parubochaya, PhD in History, Director of the Center for Public Diplomacy of VolSU. The event was held in Russian, English and Spanish.
At the online meeting, Sheryn Viviana Ramirez Castro, Bachelor in International Relations, the alumnus of 2019, made a presentation about Colombia, the peculiarities of its culture and everyday life, its socio-economic and political system, the principles of foreign policy organization of the country in modern context, the features of the education system at schools and universities.
The presentation aroused great interest among the participants of the meeting. Students and Head of the Department of History and International Relations, PhD in History, Assoc. Prof. Ekaterina Arkhipova discussed the issues of the political structure of Colombia with the guest, as well as the foreign policy vector of the new President Gustavo Petro, elected on June 19, 2021. During the discussion, the participants also talked about the Russian diaspora in Colombia and outlined further steps to strengthen ties with the Latin American region. The event was being interpreted from Spanish into Russian by Nikita Piskunov, PhD in History, Expert of the Center for Public Diplomacy.
At the end of the event, the participants agreed to hold another online meeting in the near future.
The Center for Public Diplomacy of Volgograd State University is actively developing cooperation with Latin America. In October 2019, The Center for Public Diplomacy of VolSU organized the visit of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic to the Russian Federation Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio, who gave a lecture about modern foreign policy of Argentina and the mission of modern diplomats. In September 2020, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Volgograd State University, providing for cooperation in educational, methodological and scientific activity in the field of Ibero-American studies. In September 2020, Center for Public Diplomacy of VolSU jointly with the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the "Transformation of Modern US Policy in the Western Hemisphere" All-Russian Conference. In January 2022, an online lecture by Dmitry Rosenthal, PhD in History, Deputy Director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was held. In February-March 2022, The Center for Public Diplomacy of VolSU organized a series of scientific and educational seminars on Latin American countries and aspects of relationships between the Russian Federation and the states of the region. In May 2022, the Center for Public Diplomacy held an online lecture by Dmitry Razumovsky, Director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In addition, the Center for Public Diplomacy pays special attention to the development of international youth cooperation. Since 2018, the Center for Public Diplomacy hosts the Discussion Club, which is visited by foreign speakers, including young people. The agenda of the Discussion Club meetings cover establishing modern humanitarian cooperation, sharing best practices, learning customs and traditions of different countries, as well as discussing topical issues of socio-economic and political development of various regions and countries.