HSE University-St Petersburg Holds Pakistani Culture Night
On November 9, the building on Kantemirovskaya Street hosted Pakistani Culture Night. More than 80 people attended the event, including students and alumni of St Petersburg universities as well as Raja Qadeer Ahmed, a representative of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The event was organised by Syed Junaid Abbas, an international student of HSE University-St Petersburg.
HSE University-St Petersburg now has more than 50 students from Pakistan, making it one of the most numerous international communities at the university. To introduce students to Pakistani culture, the university organised a festive evening devoted to the country. The idea for the event came from Syed Junaid Abbas, student of the Master's programme 'Data Analytics for Business and Economics'.
The event started with a welcoming speech by Olga Gaidova, Director of the International Student and Alumni Centre. The organiser highlighted the significance of international cooperation and the exchange of cultural experience and thanked the participants for their interest in the event.
Olga Gaidova
Director of the International Student and Alumni Centre
For international students, it is truly important to keep in touch with representatives of their culture. It eases their adaptation and, in the end, helps them to integrate successfully into Russian society. We are happy to support such a student initiative and create a space for informal communication, networking, and experience exchange. We're looking forward to new suggestions from students from various countries!
Syed Junaid Abbas gave a speech and talked about the process of adapting to a new country, the difficulties he has faced, and how he has overcome them. One year ago, Syed enrolled in preparatory courses at HSE University-Moscow. When he realised that there was no student community from Pakistan in Russia, he decided to create one himself. In addition to organising cultural events, he ran a video blog in which he shared details about enrolment and studies at HSE University with applicants from different countries.
The meeting introduced guests to the traditions, customs, and culture of Pakistan.
The participants prepared a stand-up routine about life as an international student in Russia, recited poetry in the traditional 'mushaira' format, and performed national songs and dances. The performances were in English, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Urdu.
The event concluded with a lively performance in which students showcased various dancing styles from across Pakistan and highlighted the cultural diversity of their homeland. The participants also performed several traditional dances: bhagra, jhumar, and attan, each of which has its own history and meaning. Guests were then invited to try the national dish biryani, enjoy tea, and get to know each other.
Syed Junaid Abbas
1st-year student of the Master's programme 'Data Analytics for Business and Economics'
On behalf of the whole Pakistani student community in St Petersburg, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the team of the International Student and Alumni Centre at HSE University-St Petersburg for organising such a successful and nice event. Thanks to your support and hospitality, everyone felt like a part of the large HSE community. We genuinely value all the effort you've put in to make this event unforgettable. I hope that in the future, we'll have an opportunity to introduce all HSE students to the culture and customs of Pakistan. For me, it's very important to share the culture of my native country, Pakistan, because it helps people to understand our traditions, values and lifestyle better. When we open the doors of our culture to others, we create bridges of understanding and respect. I believe that such an initiative helps to strengthen friendship between peoples.