A Place Where Cultures Meet: LETI Celebrates Nowruz Holiday
On 28 March 2024, in the Assembly Hall of Dormitory 1, ETU “LETI” students celebrated Nowruz, a traditional Iranian and Turkic holiday of the coming of spring and the beginning of the New Year according to the Solar Hijri Calendar. This holiday is a symbol of peace and kindness; it promotes friendship and mutual understanding between nations and countries.
As part of the opening ceremony, Renat Yalyshev, Head of the International Student Office of ETU “LETI”, addressed the guests of the celebration with a welcoming speech, noting the importance of holding such events to strengthen close ties between students and teachers and maintain a friendly atmosphere of international cooperation within the university.
“I hope that all students of our university understand that right now they are studying and living in the cultural capital of Russia, where people have always been interested in the cultures of different nationalities, different countries and continents. Our university continues these traditions.
The first foreign students appeared at LETI back in 1946 and since then our university has become one of those where almost every fifth student has come from another country. Therefore, LETI is a place where different cultures can meet. For us, studying other nationalities is natural. We are glad that there are people who express an interest in this. We wish you all a good mood, a good spring, and, of course, success in your studies.”
At the festive event, students from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Angola and Iran presented performances and congratulated all the guests on the holiday in different languages. Vahid Miridashtaki, graduate student of ETU “LETI”, spoke about the cultural features of the celebration of Nowruz in Iran. Daria Lynova, student of the Faculty of Radio Engineering and Telecommunications, and Amangeldi Omurbekov, student of the Faculty of Electronics, presented a bright dance performance. Shaheer Shah Mohammad, student of the Faculty of Industrial Automation and Electrical Engineering from Afghanistan, spoke about the eastern traditions of the holiday in his native language. Ekaterina Kholodkova, student of the Faculty of Electronics, and Tomiris Turarkul, student of the Faculty of Information Measurement and Biotechnical Systems, performed the national Kazakh dance. Malekshakhyan Mehrab, student of the Pediatric University, presented a musical performance. In addition, students from Angola sang the lyrical song “Brave Love” and Khamzin Akhat, student of the Faculty of Radio Engineering and Telecommunications from Kazakhstan, entertained the audience with a stand-up performance.
“My impression of the holiday is most pleasant. The concert was great; all the participants did a good job. It was obvious how hard they tried and they performed well. I especially remember the performance of the Angolan students. When I was listening to their song, I got goosebumps; I was so impressed. And the most important thing for any student, of course, is a wonderful table with incredibly delicious dishes.
I think such events are important because they help us to remember that even despite all the difficulties and our cultural differences, we continue to honor and cherish traditions, supporting them from year to year.”
In the final part of the event, all the guests and participants of the festive evening tasted national dishes of other countries prepared by foreign students, such as manty, baursaks, kezhe, beshbarmak, shelpeks, pilaf and national sweets.