On March 1, at the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions, the XVII City Student Evening of Oriental Poetry was held, in which representatives of 20 universities of the northern capital participated, including five international students of LETI.
Every year, the theme of the contest remains the same: the participants present poems about love in the national and Russian languages. The facets of this emotion were presented in the themes of the evening: love for mother, for the fatherland, for man and woman, for the world, for nature.
LETI was represented by Luis Soki (Angola), a third-year student in the Department of Industrial Automation and Electrical Engineering; Vu Thanh Luan and Tran Dinh Hung, students in the Preparatory Department; Nguyen Trong Nhan (Vietnam), a graduate student in the Department of Radio Engineering Systems; and Famous Chijioke (Nigeria), a first-year student in the Department of Computer Science and Technology.
Luis Soki presented the poem “We Shall Return” by the iconic poet of his country, Agostinho Neto. According to Luis himself, he chose this work because it expresses the desire to return to one’s roots, history, and culture.
“I think it is very important to tell other students of St. Petersburg universities about the culture of their country because it helps them to broaden their horizons and understanding of other cultures and traditions. The culture of Angola is very rich and diverse, it has a lot in common with the culture of other African countries. I think that understanding this culture can help people to better understand the socio-economic and political challenges that exist in our country and other African countries. In addition, learning about other cultures helps to build respect and tolerance for differences in worldview and culture, which is an important part of a global society.”
Luis Soki, a third-year student in the Department of Industrial Automation and Electrical Engineering of LETI
As a result of the competition, the winner was Famous Chijioke. He recited his own poem “What if.” In his lines, Famous compares two worlds: the first, where people live without paying attention to others, and the second – the ideal, where people treat each other with the same respect and love.
“The original poem is longer than the one I performed. I had to cut a few lines, and the time for each performance was limited. The hardest part was memorizing the Russian translation of the poem; it took several days of practice to learn the correct pronunciation of the words”.
Famous Chijioke, a first-year student in the Department of Computer Science and Technology of LETI
Vietnamese students Vu Thanh Luan, Nguyen Trong Nhan, and Tran Dinh Hung won third place with a poetry and music performance. They dedicated a poem in English and Russian to their love for the two countries, Vietnam and Russia.
“The culture of each country is very beautiful and has its own features. Culture is an integral part of everyone’s life. Introducing the culture of Vietnam always gives every other person a chance to understand themselves, their culture, and develop their knowledge.”
Nguyen Trong Nhan, a graduate student in the Department of Radio Engineering Systems
The City Student Evening of Oriental Poetry brings together students from different countries and nationalities, allows them to build an intercultural dialogue, and shows that people from different corners of the world share the same ideas of the good and the eternal.
