MAI Held a Cultural Festival – Africa Day

On May 24, MAI held a cultural festival – Africa Day. The event was attended by over 120 international students studying at the Moscow Aviation Institute, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Moscow Power Engineering Institute. The high-ranking guests visited the celebration: representatives of embassies of such countries as Egypt, Algeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Uganda, Mauritius and Nigeria, as well as representatives of the Association of Foreign Students in Russia.

This event takes place in MAI for the first time. “We decided to celebrate Africa Day after the request of our international students. Over the previous two years, the number of students from African countries has increased significantly, they have their own student union. The students gave us an idea, and we implemented it,”- said Alexey Bochenko, a specialist of the International Students’ Educational Center of MAI.

“Africa Day at MAI is the transfer of the African festive spirit to Russia. Our university has many students from various African countries. Our goal was to show, first of all, that side of Africa, to which people were not used, to tell where we came from and who we are, to share knowledge about our roots,”- said concert participant Louis Christian Mnisi, a student of the Faculty No. 1 Aircraft Engineering.

At the beginning of the celebration, the students were congratulated by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Dmitry Kozorez, and the Deputy Head of the International Department, Alexey Zarechenskiy.

“I wish you to keep good memories of your student years that you spent with us in MAI, which doors will always remain open for you. I am sure that after some time you will occupy a leading position in the relevant industries. We will be glad to be proud of you. I am sure that all those who study with us will have a bright professional future. I want to wish you good mood, joy, fun, and we hope that such events will become regular,” - said Dmitry Kozorez in his congratulatory speech.

The holiday turned out to be fun, colorful and bright, allowing the audience to feel the real energy and the depth of the spirit of the peoples of Africa. The students showed their talents: told touching African poems, sang traditional and modern African songs, professionally read rap and danced a lot.

The official part of the Africa Day ended with congratulatory speeches by representatives of African embassies. “During the celebration, I saw that our engineers were not like machines, but real people,” - said Deputy Head of Mission of Uganda Embassy in Moscow Rutazindwa Gideon.

Then, began the informal part of the event: traditional African dishes, contests, quizzes, karaoke and disco.

“For me, the Africa Day is a symbol of the unity of all the peoples of our continent. It is necessary to show our unity. Even in spite of the differences, we can find a common day when we celebrate and share our love with each other, demonstrate our culture and make people happy. I am glad that MAI held this event and allowed us, being away from home, to feel the warmth that we feel in our homeland,” – shared his opinion Jim Mashilangwako Kgoane, a student of Faculty No. 1 Aircraft Engineering from South Africa.

Africa Day is traditionally celebrated on May 25. On this day, in 1963, an intergovernmental Organization of African Unity was created at the first conference of African governments in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Today this organization is known as the African Union.