The interest in one's past is a sign of a nation's civilization.
Yuri Alexandrovich Senkevich
The International Children's Club "the Spirit of the Fatherland" is a project aimed at civic education of students. It is realized together with Staromarevka secondary school #7 Stavropol region of the Russian Federation and our college of Vanadzor state university.
The club's program provides for assistance in the study of history, languages, arts. It includes intercultural and international exchange, which is an important step in the process of forming the personal worldview of talented children and determining ways to achieve the goals of the cultural development of society.
Today the problem is obvious: the restriction on international travel, the impossibility of real communication between students from different countries due to post-covid restrictions. And there are also financial issues.
And so, the idea was born to organize digital communication between the students of Staromarevka school #7 and the students of the Vanadzor State University named after Hovhannes Tumanyan, Republic of Armenia.
The objective of the project: education of civil-patriotic and spiritual-moral values of the young generation in accordance with traditional values, development of a culture of interethnic dialogue, preservation of common historical memory.
The relevance of the project is undeniable. Thirty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, we can confidently say that in many countries of CIS (the commonwealth of independent states), including the Republic of Armenia, Russian has remained as a compulsory subject at schools and universities and the task of its popularizing it is faced by many educational institutions. That is why the administration of the college of the Vanadzor State University agreed to participate in the formation of the international children's club "The Spirit of the Fatherland" offered by the teachers of Staromarevka secondary school #7 with great pleasure.
So, the first online meeting of the students took place on the 28th of September 2021. The meeting was very moving and emotional. The students from both sides drew some pictures or a symbols connected with their native land and then presented them introducing themselves and explaining why this or that picture is connected with his or her country. Most of Armenians had drown the Mount Ararat, the national musical instrument Duduk, pomegranates and apricots which are the symbols of Armenia, stone crosses and so on.
There was balalaika, matrioshka and other Russian symbols from the Russian side. On the whole the students liked the meeting and the idea very much.
Within the framework of this club, students of school #7 and the college will be able to communicate in Russian at various events to extend their knowledge of history, shape their worldview, and improve their speaking skills in Russian and English. Some patriotic events are supposed to be held in English together with students of the English faculty of the college.
It is not a secret that diasporas play a unique role in international relations because they are between two countries, share two cultures, have emotional investments in two countries, and maintain social ties in two societies. The Staromarevka school is a center of a multinational society, where 24% of the students are representatives of the Armenian diaspora. This project will help them touch the history of their historical homeland, learn a lot of interesting and useful things about the history of Russian-Armenian relations.
The following results are expected from the project: increasing the motivation of students to study history, languages, instilling love and pride for their homeland and its outstanding people. Development of intercultural communication.
Thus, classes in the international children's online club "The Spirit of the Fatherland" will be an excellent pastime for students of two educational institutions. It will be development and relaxation at the same time. In this club, thanks to intercultural communication, there will be an exchange of experience among teachers, popularization of civil-patriotic and spiritual and moral education of the younger generation in accordance with traditional values, the development of a culture of interethnic dialogue.
Students gradually learn to self-analyze, identify their strengths and weaknesses. “The help of the audience” is important for them: the club members have learned to formulate a problem, discuss it, and find a solution. There is dialogue and interaction in the club. The active communication in the club is accompanied by the exchange of knowledge and experience. The club increases the erudition of the guys and their patriotic feelings grow stronger.
Links to the events for the implementation of the project