An educational and outreach event for students has been held at the YSPU Center for Open Education in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, with the support of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Education and the «My History» Foundation for Support of Humanitarian Sciences.

On October 17th, the «Connoisseurs of the Russian Language» contest was held at the YSPU Center for Open Education on the premises of the ETIC University in Abidjan, with more than 50 students participating.

The main goal of the contest was not only to identify the best Russian language experts among the students but also to systematize knowledge in the field of stylistic features of the Russian language, the etymology of certain words and expressions, and, of course, to introduce them to the culture and traditions of Russia. The students split into 5 teams of 10 people each, arranged so that both beginners and those who have been studying Russian since the last academic year worked together in the same team. The contest challenges included not only questions to test knowledge but also creative tasks requiring reasoning and justification of one’s own opinion. The beginners tried their hand at reading an excerpt from Alexander Pushkin’s poem «Ruslan and Lyudmila.»

All participants received memorable prizes, and the best connoisseurs got T-shirts with the center’s logo.