The festival ended with a big concert. Photo: RGS press service
On October 3, Victory Park became the venue for a large-scale celebration in Stavropol. It was organized by the Russian Geographical Society, North-Caucasus Federal University (NCFU), and the city administration. The program was timed to coincide with the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. Radio «Gordost» became the information partner.
One of the main objectives of the festival was to introduce guests to the traditions, crafts, and cuisine of different peoples of Russia and the world, as well as to popularize geographical, historical and cultural heritage.
National farmsteads from seven regions of Russia and 23 countries of the world worked at the venue. The visitors participated in tastings and interactive events, got acquainted with the culture and customs of different nations.
The program included concerts, master classes in national crafts, quizzes, contests, and screenings of documentary films, including in the virtual reality format. Interactive platforms and exhibitions about the natural and cultural wealth of the regions were especially popular.
«We live in a country where representatives of the most diverse cultures have lived side by side for centuries, and projects like the International RGS Festival 'Geography’ allow us to get to know each other better, preserve traditions, and pass them on to new generations. Today, we can see how geography is becoming a living space for dialogue, where every nation can tell its own story, and guests can rediscover Russia and the world. I am confident that this partnership will become the foundation for new joint initiatives aimed at preserving historical and cultural heritage and promoting geography, ” said Nikolai Vershigora, Deputy Director of the Regional Development Department of the Executive Directorate of the RGS.
National farmsteads from seven regions of Russia and 23 countries around the world were set up at the venue. Photo: press-service of the RGS
Special attention was paid to the unity of Russia’s regions. Representatives of the RGS from all federal districts of the country, as well as historical territories, congratulated the guests in an online format. Video greetings from the regional branches of the Society highlighted the scale of the event, which brought together representatives of different nationalities.
The festival ended with a big concert. A musical gift from the RGS for the residents and guests of the Stavropol Territory was the performance of the band «Propaganda».
«North-Caucasus Federal University sees its mission in creating a space for open intercultural dialogue. The festival, held jointly with the RGS, became a definitive confirmation that academic knowledge and a living cultural tradition do not exist separately, but complement each other, creating the basis on which the younger generation is brought up. We have shown that geography is not only the science of space, but also the science of mutual understanding between people and nations. And in this sense, the festival fully meets the strategic line of NCFU and the Russian Geographical Society, preserving the continuity of the great traditions of Russian geographical discoveries of friendly countries,» said Tatyana Shebzukhova, NCFU Rector, Professor, Chairman of the Stavropol Regional Branch of the RGS.