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World Day of Cultural Diversity Celebrated in Russia
Written by UPF - Russia
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, May 21, 2013 was observed an international concert for veterans in Siberia and a lesson about Azerbaijani culture in Russia's Far East.
Novosibirsk
A May 21 concert in Novosibirsk for veterans featured performers from Altai, Mongolia, Novosibirsk, and the USA in celebration of the UN World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
The program was opened by the creative team of CARP, a youth organization; they sang the "Family Hymn." Then the students of the Novosibirsk State Conservatory named after Glinka performed a Mongolian song to accompaniment of the piano. Then the USA missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to the stage. Veterans enjoyed the sounds of the trumpet and accordion and the beautiful voices of the young performers.
May 15 was the International Day of Families, so the program also had a family theme. Besides the musical performances, the veterans together with young people guessed riddles and listened to international proverbs and poems about the family. To the sounds of accordion, the veterans joined in singing songs reminiscent of their military years. The atmosphere of the performance was so touching, that there arose a natural desire to keep a minute of silence in honor of those who were killed during the Great Patriotic War.
"You are right to raise the topic of family values! Because today there is no TV channel that shows the standard of good families." The performers were thus encouraged after the concert by a 93-year-old woman, a veteran of labor camps and resident of the Novosibirsk Veterans Home.
Organizers sincerely wished joy and good health to the veterans and sang for them the song "We Wish You Happiness." The meeting was a memorable opportunity to experience the joy of communicating with veterans, and the veterans enthusiastically applauded during the whole performance!
Khabarovsk
Usually, local children know next to nothing about the cultural differences and traditions of their classmates who came from afar, such as the Azerbaijani girls and boys enrolled in gymnasium № 8 of Khabarovsk. On May 21, for the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, UPF activists taught children about the Republic of Azerbaijan, its culture, and national features.
First-grade students prepared flags, and their invited guests, the second-grade students, tried to guess which countries the flags belonged to. Together they watched a video about Azerbaijan and listened to Seyran Salakhov share about the life in the mountain villages. Then little Fidan taught students some words in the Azerbaijani language. At the end of the program, children learned the well-known Azerbaijani song “Jip, jip, jujalarim” (“Cluck-cluck, My Little Chickens”).
The lesson was very interesting and helpful for all those who participated in the event. Through understanding others, it is much easier to build friendships and develop relationships with those who are somewhat different.
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