First Youth bridge with the Russian House in Damascus (Syria)

The event was initiated by the professors of the Higher School of Humanities Olga Khudobina, Lyudmila Andreeva, Radwan Alrahhal, and supported by the‍ International Office.

According to the agreements reached between the university and the Russian House in Damascus, YuSU professors will conduct a series of online classes on Russian language and culture for Damascus University students in order to improve the language competencies of international citizens.

The topic of the first seminar was nonverbal communication in Russian culture. YuSU students prepared role-playing games, problem situations, and clearly showed Syrian youth how nonverbal communication affects relationships between people in Russia. And YuSU international students from Zambia, Ghana and Egypt shared their experience of the first "culture shock" they encountered upon arrival in our country.

For example, the seriousness and sometimes sullenness of the Russian people, the use of the left hand in everyday situations, the lack of distance in public places, some incomprehensible gestures and facial expressions, and overly emotional Russian speech surprised them.

According to Elena Al-Wadi, the organizer of the meeting from the Syrian side, head of the Russian language courses at the Russian House in Damascus, the Syrian students liked this format of interaction. The proposed topic resonated with everyone present, especially the part about gestures. It turned out that in Russia and Syria there are both similar gestures, and different, incomprehensible to the inhabitants of the second country. Everyone was very satisfied and even continued the discussion after the official end of the meeting.

This "Youth bridge" showed that there are no obstacles and distances for building friendly relations between countries and peoples.