IX All-Russian Congress of the Association of Foreign Students of Russia

From May, 18th to 20th, the IX Congress of the Association of Foreign Students of Russia (AFS) was held on the basis of the Krasnodar State Institute of Culture , which was attended by Alexandra Maksimova, a specialist of the International cooperation Department, and Arina Aysarova, a 3rd-year student of the Faculty of Information Systems and Technologies.

The program of the Congress was very rich and included cultural and business events. Students and university staff, in addition to the official part, were able to visit excursions to the iconic places of Krasnodar, and also visited the opera "The Handmaid-Mistress" by Giovanni Pergolesi.

As part of the opening ceremony, the following speakers made a welcoming speech:

rector of Krasnodar State Institute of Culture, member of the Board of Trustees of AFS Sergey Zengin;
chairman of the Board of Trustees of the AFS, President of the RUDN, Chairman of the Higher Attestation Commission Vladimir Filippov;
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Benin to the Russian Federation and the CIS countries (2012-2016), Director General of the International Coordinating Council of Graduates of Educational Institutions (INCORVUZ-XXI), member of the Executive Committee of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the AFS Kochofa Anicet Gabriel and other officials.
All speakers noted the importance of this event for foreign students studying in Russian universities. Despite the difficulties that children face in the era of the pandemic, it is very important for all of us to support each other and help them adapt to the current situation. This was also discussed during the conference "Education in Russian universities in the context of Covid-19: problems and Prospects, review of best practices", which was attended by participants of the Congress-university students, where the central topic of all reports was the topic of adaptation of foreign students to the educational process.

The program of events was continued by the regional webinar "Features of the organization of the educational process during the pandemic for foreign students". An important part of the Congress was the reporting and election meeting, which resulted in the procedure for electing a new president of the AIS. He became Sharma Vishal (India). After that, the participants of the IX Congress adopted a resolution that will be sent to the President of Russia, the Government of the Russian Federation, ministries and departments responsible for the stay of foreign students in the country.

On the eve of the IX Congress, the "Association of Foreign Students" and the Krasnodar State Institute of Culture held a remote review-competition among foreign students-"Let's dedicate our souls to the Motherland beautiful impulses". The results of the competition were announced during the closing ceremony of the IX Congress in the Krasnodar's State Institute of Culture concert hall. Arina, who was awarded a diploma of the III degree in the category "Artistic Word", made her performance at the gala concert together with the winners from other universities and creative teams of the Krasnodar State Institute of Culture.

We thank the organizers of the Congress for their hospitality and the opportunity to establish international friendly and working contacts between students and staff of Russian universities.