From 22nd to 27th July, Voronezh State University (Voronezh, Russian Federation) hosted the International Student Rally ‘Among Our Own: The Image of Future Partnership through the Eyes of Youth’. Students of P.M. Masherov Vitebsk State University took part in the conference for the second time. This year the participants were Milana Zakharova, a student of the Faculty of Humanities and Language Communications, and Natalia Chikun, a student of the Faculty of Pedagogy.

A rich educational and cultural programme was organised as part of the ‘Among Our Own’ event. The participants attended lectures and master-classes from leading experts, where, among other things, they learnt about the tools of public diplomacy, artificial intelligence, innovative activities at the university, youth ethno-tourism, which allowed them to deepen their knowledge and gain valuable practical skills. In addition, the students had the opportunity to learn about the cultural heritage of the region through excursions and cultural events, which undoubtedly enriched their experience and fostered intercultural ties. For example, the students visited Russia's leading agrarian holding EkoNivaAgro and the natural architectural and archaeological museum-reserve Divnogorie, and had the opportunity to participate in the cultural and entertainment programme ‘Journey to Russian Traditions’ and the concert ‘International Mosaic’.

Milana and Natalia did not stay aside and took part in the concert, singing the song ‘Razam we’, which sings that we are forever together with our native country. Together with our students, the song was performed by a participant from Minsk State Economic University Gumbar Artem.

Participation in the event allowed the students not only to show their developments, but also to exchange experience with colleagues from other regions of Russia and foreign countries. This year they presented projects covering various areas: business, culture, sports, information technology, tourism and education. Milana was in the team that developed a project in the field of education, and Natalia was in the field of sports. This exchange of knowledge and ideas contributes to the students' professional and personal growth, as well as broadening the horizons of their future career opportunities.