Marco Maggi: ”Russian to the Bone" 20.01.2024
Italian entrepreneur Marco Maggi's book, "Russian to the Bone," is now accessible for purchase in Italy and is scheduled for release in Russia in the upcoming months. In the book, Marco recounts his personal odyssey, narrating each stage of his life as a foreigner in Russia—starting from the initial fascination to the process of cultural assimilation, venturing into business, fostering authentic friendships, and ultimately, reaching a deep sense of identifying as a Russian at his very core. Russkiy Mir Foundation at Eastern Economic Forum
/ Ãëàâíàÿ / Russkiy Mir Foundation / Publications / Russkiy Mir Foundation at Eastern Economic ForumRusskiy Mir Foundation at Eastern Economic Forum
Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok was held on September 2-3; it was a momentous and long-awaited event for all the Far East. Many were waiting for traditional multi-billion bargains and new investment flows from it, their final objective is developing Russian Far Eastern regions. However, this year’s agenda was significantly wider and got richer by means of many social, political, cultural and educational platforms.
Russia-ASEAN University Forum, which started before EEF on September 1, united over a hundred famous people of arts and sciences from the leading universities of Russia and ASEAN countries. They all came for a single reason – to make suggestions on strengthening cooperation between the countries. This initiative is connected with Russia-ASEAN Cross Year of Culture declared in 2016.
Photo: TASS
Head of Far Eastern branch of Russkiy Mir Foundation Aleksandr Zubritskiy was invited to be the moderator of section “Culture and Universities World”. He opened the discussion with his report on the role of Russkiy Mir Foundation and Asia-Pacific Association of the Russian Language and Literature Teachers (APARLLT, which he is the president of) in promoting the Russian language and culture. He mentioned the main milestones in the history of cooperation with South-Eastern Asian countries, such as Russian-Vietnamese exhibition “Handshake Again”, Youth Summit Russia-ASEAN and International Forum “The Russian language, Literature, and Culture in Asia-Pacific Region”. He also told about such a large-scale joint project with the Russian Railways, as building a railroad to the island of Kalimantan (Indonesia), on the ‘sidelines’ of which professional teachers from Russia taught the Russian language to the workers.
Photo: TASS
The discussion was vivid and diverse: experts from the Far-Eastern Federal University (FEFU), Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MSIIR) and representatives of universities from Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia exchanged best practices and ideas. For example, Uvei Bin Hadzhi Saari, a Malaysian director and producer, told the participants about the role of cinema in the issue of making the country more attractive for the world community. In his opinion, the fact that film industry is mostly concentrated in capital cities, prevents its development. Nur Azam, head of Research Center of Brunei-Darussalam University, told about his country’s experience in higher educational institutions modernization process; its main elements are adapting curricula, attracting visiting teachers etc.
Photo: TASS
All the mentioned initiatives were reflected in the final document, which will be later transferred to all the branch state departments for record. “For Russia, Saint Petersburg is a window to Europe, Vladivostok is a window to Asia”, - acknowledged the presence of the Vladivostok’s “soft power” Akhmad Fakhrurudzhi, head of Russian language, culture and literature department of the Indonesian University.
Simultaneously, on September 1-2, the Fifth APEC International Educational Conference “Strategy of Education Development in APEC” was held; it was also a part of the Eastern Economic Forum. Georgiy Toloraya, head of Regional Programs Department of the Russkiy Mir Foundation took part in it. He made a speech on the topic “Russian ‘Soft Power’ in the Asian-Pacific Region” for his colleagues from Japan, Vietnam, Mexico, Peru and other APEC countries.
Photo: TASS
In his speech he told about the instruments of widening the influence of Russian language and culture used by the Russkiy Mir Foundation. He mentioned the network of Russian centres and Russkiy Mir cabinets to be the most effective mechanisms. In these cabinets and centres, they run cultural and educational activities for all the willing persons all over the world. The speaker also told the participants about the Foundation’s grant program and invited them to make their ideas come true together. He also told the participants about the recently held “In Unity with Russia” Forum, which had a great success, and the main event of the year – Assembly of the Russian World, annually held by the Russkiy Mir Foundation.
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