20-21 May 2010. Sochi. Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

Within the framework of the CoE project on ‘Promoting Intercultural Dialogue and Democratic Culture through Higher Education’, the Council of Europe together with the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia organised a seminar entitled ‘Universities as Promoters of Intercultural Dialogue in Multicultural Societies’.

 

Objective of the seminar

The seminar ‘Universities as Promoters of Intercultural Dialogue in Multicultural Societies’ followed up the conclusions and recommendations of the two previous seminars, putting them in the context of a particularly diverse and multi-cultural region of the Russian Federation.

The North Caucasus is an ethnically and linguistically very diverse region, including seven autonomous republics and two regions, with over 40 ethnic groups among its 13 mln population. Each of the republics is also a multi-national entity.

Autonomous republics count around 30 state higher education institutions, not including numerous non-governmental higher education institutions and affiliates of mostly Moscow and St.Petersburg –based universities. There is a growing interest in higher education, which is translated in an increase of students’ numbers (the average number of 179 students per 10 000 population is higher than average in the Russian Federation).

Intercultural dialogue in this diverse society is an everyday reality. How can higher education institutions infuse tolerance and intercultural understanding, what practical measures can be taken and are there examples of best practices in this area? These and other questions were at the forefront of the discussions throughout one and a half days of the seminar.

Powerpoints and text presentations

Reference documents