The development of effective cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and Latin American countries in higher education and science became one of the key topics of the III International Scientific and Practical Conference "Academic Dialogue: Russia - Latin America", which took place on September 25-26 at the FinU. The discussion platform brought together more than 400 representatives of educational and scientific organizations and the expert scientific community of Russia and Latin American countries.
The guests were welcomed by Mikhail Eskindarov, President and Academic Supervisor of the FinU.
Lyudmila Skakovskaya, Deputy Chairperson of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, addressed the organizers and participants of the discussion. The senator noted that cooperation in education and science is an important resource for ensuring sustainable and effective socio-economic development and scientific and technological progress, one of the key factors for maintaining and deepening friendly relations between the countries. "It is pleasant to note that the higher education system of Russia and Latin American countries is united by long-standing close and mutually beneficial academic and cultural cooperation, as well as the high potential of national systems, which allows us to consider the educational environment as a basis for cooperation."
The conference was moderated by Ekaterina Kameneva, Vice Rector for Educational and Methodological Work of the FinU. Addressing the experts and guests, she stressed that science and education are the key areas of cooperation aimed at strengthening ties and finding new contacts, and expressed confidence that the conference will become a successful platform for exchanging experiences and best practices aimed at the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation and Latin American countries.
In his turn, Dmitry Belov, Deputy Director of the Latin American Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, noted the growing importance of strengthening ties between leading universities in Russia and Latin America and expressed his readiness to support new partnership projects.
The honorary guests of the conference were representatives of the diplomatic corps of Latin American countries: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Argentina in the Russian Federation Enrique Ignacio Ferrer Vieira, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia in the Russian Federation Hector Isidro Arenas Neira, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay to the Russian Federation Daniel Ruben Castillos Gomez, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador Juan Fernando Holguin Flores, Vicente Jose-Rafael Quintero, State Advisor to the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on Socio-Economic Issues.
In their speeches the guests emphasized the importance of extensive cooperation between Russian and Latin American universities, which will contribute to the development of economic, humanitarian, cultural and educational partnership.
Participants and guests of the event continued the discussion in the substantive part of the conference.
The experts paid special attention to the image of a teacher and mentor in the eyes of young people and discussed tools for raising the prestige of the academic profession. The agenda of the scientific discussion also included issues of consolidation of efforts to train a new generation of personnel for the economies of the countries and integration of scientific research into the educational process.
Summing up, the experts expressed confidence that the proposals announced during the conference will contribute to improving the quality of education and strengthening cooperation between the leading scientific and educational centers of the countries.
