VolSU launches School on Latin America

The School on Latin America has opened at Volgograd State University. It has brought together students, postgraduates, and young professionals from across Russia specializing in international relations, regional studies, economics, and other related disciplines. Over the course of several days, participants will discuss pressing issues in Latin America's development and Russian–Latin American cooperation, work in teams, and attend lectures by experts, diplomats, and representatives of public organizations.

The School is organized by the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund in partnership with the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Center for Public Diplomacy of Volgograd State University. VolSU Rector Alla Kalinina held a meeting with the School's organizers, during which the parties discussed the further development of cooperation.

At the opening ceremony, Valentin Dzedik, Vice-Rector for Strategic Development at VolSU, welcomed the School's participants on behalf of VolSU Rector Alla Kalinina:
"Latin America is not only a crucial region in contemporary world politics and economics, but also a space of rich history, unique culture, educational traditions, and enormous human potential. It is a region with which Russia shares decades of political, scientific, humanitarian, and cultural interaction. Today, our task is not merely to talk about Latin America, but to create new formats for cooperation, find new points of contact, and—most importantly—to foster a generation of young professionals capable of developing Russian–Latin American relations with expertise and genuine commitment."

Director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, VolSU graduate Dmitry Rozental, addressed the meeting participants:
"I am glad to welcome everyone at Volgograd State University, which is dear to me, and I am pleased that experts and participants from various cities, for whom Latin America is a life's work, have gathered here today. The world is changing, and we must keep up with it. Over the past few years, Latin America has indeed become a very important focus of our public agenda, but certain problems still exist, including staffing issues. There is a shortage of qualified Latin Americanists. It is a great honor for me that we are holding this School at VolSU, which has a rich tradition of humanitarian and historical research on the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Within the framework of the School, it is very important for us to immerse you in the atmosphere of project work, where you will have to feel your way forward, make the same mistakes that real diplomats, researchers, and businessmen make. A person learns best from their own mistakes, and believe me, you will certainly make those mistakes."

Sergey Orlov, Deputy Executive Director of the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund, emphasized that the School's participants had undergone serious preliminary selection:
"You have all passed a fairly large competitive selection process; we were surprised with such a number of young people interested in this subject matter. The competition was approximately 20 applicants per place. The program is designed so that you make mistakes and can try your hand in different fields; we deliberately divided you into teams and did it in a way that makes you feel slightly uncomfortable—for you, this is a window of opportunity," Sergey Orlov said.

The first speaker was Dmitry Belov, Deputy Director of the Latin American Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"For me, today's event is important from two perspectives. First, from a professional one, because Latin America is a valuable direction of Russian foreign policy to which we devote much attention. Second, on a personal level. It so happens that since my student days, I have been continuously engaged with Latin America, having spent more than a quarter of my life there working in various embassies of our country. I wish the School's participants great success," Dmitry Belov noted.

Mr Belov delivered a lecture on the topic "Russia and Latin America: Historical Retrospective and Contemporary Trends". The School's participants will engage in work at a project workshop under the guidance of curators, as well as participate in masterclasses, thematic discussions, practical sessions, and case sessions.

The School will conclude on Saturday, August 29.