Uniting cultures through international cooperation
Sharing experiences, thoughts and expanding knowledge about different countries of the world in an international project to achieve transcultural competence - all this has once again become possible for active students of UzhNU in the framework of partnerships with universities in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Among the participants of the spring semester of the 2023 / 2024 academic year in the project “Epistemic Justice: Transcultural Competence and Identity Resilience” were: Universidad del Azuay (Ecuador), Masaryk University (Czech Republic), Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (Dominican Republic), Catholic University of Salta (Argentina), University College London (UK), from Ukraine, Horlivka Institute of Foreign Languages of the State Higher Educational Institution “Donbas State Pedagogical University” and Uzhhorod National University.
This is the third phase of the partnership project aimed at improving mutual understanding between peoples from different parts of the world, including deepening global awareness and the ability to interact correctly in an intercultural environment. Based on the material collected during the project, a joint article was prepared and submitted, which is currently undergoing a peer review process. Its authors are teachers from the above-mentioned universities involved in the project.
Each university had the opportunity to represent its own country, focusing on important and relevant points, according to its own vision. There were eight such presentations over four sessions lasting an hour and a half. In particular, a team of students from UzhNU, led by coordinator Antonina Bulyna, told the story of Anzhela Babkina, a woman who was born and raised in the city of Ilovaysk, Donetsk region, but was forced to migrate within the country many times due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Based on the interviews conducted by the students themselves and with the assistance of A. Bulyna, they managed to reveal the uniqueness and diversity of Ukraine and Ukrainians. They also talked about stereotypes about Ukrainians from different regions, IDPs, and the terrible war and its impact on citizens and communities. After all, given the events of today, it is impossible not to dwell on this when talking about Ukraine. The main goal for the Ukrainian team was to present our country as a modern, European, incredibly strong country with a fearless and unbreakable people.
After the presentation of the teams from each of the partner universities, the participants had time to discuss the answers to the prepared questions (based on the presentation) about a particular country and exchange views on the outlined aspects in separate Zoom rooms of 5-10 participants, necessarily from different universities (countries) involved. These conversations, in addition to the obvious goals of the project, have become a valuable experience for students. Since the communication was in English, it created a favorable opportunity for practice, especially for those participants who had not yet overcome the language barrier. This is why Vladyslava Mishko, a 1st year student of the Faculty of Foreign Philology, expresses her gratitude to the project: “This was my first experience of international communication, and I hope it will not be the last. I had mixed emotions during and after the project. It was difficult to break the language barrier, but with the help of other participants, I managed to understand the project topic in more detail and communicate more easily,” she shares her impressions. Third-year student Yulia Panfilova from the Faculty of Philology shares the same opinion: “This experience helped me to feel the diversity of cultures of the participating countries, because it was the first time I communicated with representatives of some of them. Of course, the language barrier could have made communication between us a bit more difficult, but it also improved our ability to adapt to a different environment.”
Despite the differences in culture or interpretation of certain social issues, communication with foreign students was easy and relaxed. Such discussions helped all parties to understand each other's positions, and for some, they even became an impetus to reconsider their own beliefs.
All the participating students from Uzhhorod University, regardless of their faculty, specialty, level of experience in terms of participation in international projects, and openness in communicating with foreign colleagues, were very satisfied with their participation. Kseniia Kaniuka, a 4th year student of the Faculty of Foreign Philology, shares her expectations and impressions of the project: “The reason for my participation in the project “Epistemic Justice: Transcultural competence and the Sustainability of Identity” is the desire to learn about a new, previously unknown world and the opportunity to communicate. The realization that there are 7 billion people on Earth and about 1 billion are your like-minded people has been a constant source of excitement for me.” She says that the most interesting thing for her was the process of creating our presentation at the event, as it was a fruitful and exciting teamwork. “Our team members are inspiring people who charge you with their positive energy. I would also like to express my gratitude to Antonina Mykhailivna, a wonderful person and teacher who accompanied our participation throughout the entire period, supporting and guiding us on the right path of international interaction and beyond.” The girl speaks of her experience of communicating with foreign colleagues with particular warmth: “It's amazing how there can be so many different views and ways of researching the same topic, it helps to understand it from all sides. Of course, communicating with new people always teaches you something, even if their presence in our lives is very fleeting.”
“Global partnerships like this one,” Myroslava Lendiel and Oksana Svezhentseva note, ”make it possible to increase the effectiveness of solving global problems and thus ensure sustainable social development. Antonina Bulyna says that such virtual platforms, where it is possible to learn how to build communication and find understanding peacefully with representatives from near and far countries in a synchronous mode, have the ability to create a reality where there are no wars.
Personally, as a project participant, such events seem to be one of the best types of extracurricular activities. I am incredibly happy to communicate with foreigners, thus exploring the diversity of our planet. In addition to the topics that the project was aimed at revealing and discussing, I also learned about the peculiarities of nature, traditions, and the socio-political structure of countries whose names I had previously only seen in books or on the Internet. Communicating with South Americans, even though it was only a little bit, brought me closer to understanding their culture and even made me think about visiting those lands in the future. Thanks to the opportunity to interact with students from the Global South and the Global North during each of the sessions, I even managed to exchange contacts with some of the participants and we continue to communicate and learn about each other's cultures. I really appreciate and thank the university, its teachers, and project coordinators for such opportunities and sincerely advise all students to get a similar experience. After all, now, in a modern, inclusive and developed society, it is the duty of each of us to strive to expand our horizons, to understand the world in which we live. This will help us become more open and tolerant citizens of a global society that strives for harmony, cooperation and mutual respect.
