Published on: 2026-05-29
Source: Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University of Peter the Great –
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Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University of Peter the Great and the consortium “Russian-African Network University” (RAFU) participated in the event dedicated to the International Day of Africa.
This year, the celebration took place at two venues: the IV International Youth Forum “Africa in St. Petersburg” was held at the S. M. Kirov Forestry University, and on the same day a separate round table was held at the Polytechnic.
The forum at SPbPU united more than 250 participants from Russia and 40 African countries: representatives of the government of Saint Petersburg, scientists, experts, as well as students and graduate students of Petersburg universities — guests from Guinea, Cameroon, Nigeria, Congo, Mali, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia and other states.
The head of the project office of RAFU, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department of SPbPU, Alla Mazina, delivered a report on the goals and key projects of the consortium aimed at the development of academic mobility and joint research.
Today at RAFU — more than a hundred Russian universities and almost seventy African partners. And such meetings, like on Africa Day, once again prove that the youth are ready to study and work together. Our task is to help them in this, emphasized Alla Lazareva. The honorary guest at the forum was the consul of the Republic of Mali in Saint Petersburg, the ambassador of Russian education and science, associate professor of SPbPU Issa Togo, who stressed the importance of direct dialogue between universities and young leaders of the two continents.
Simultaneously with the forum in the International Activities Resource Center of SPbPU, a roundtable “African-Russian Interaction on Overcoming Neocolonialism” was held. The event, dedicated to the 63rd anniversary of the creation of the African Union and the 25th anniversary of Africa Day in Petersburg, was attended by Francois Ksavye Tulikunkiko — chairman of the board of the Union “Inganzo Gakondo”, head of the FAVLIS project (Forum of African Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities), member of the working group under the Committee on External Relations of Saint Petersburg.In his speech, he emphasized the importance of uniting the efforts of the African diaspora and Russian partners to counter modern forms of dependency and foster the development of an equal dialogue.
Today we see attempts to return old themes in a new format. We have gathered a roundtable on neocolonialism to jointly, with the participation of representatives of St. Petersburg universities, the business community, and the African diaspora, seek concrete instruments — from educational programs to economic projects that create fair and mutually beneficial models of cooperation, — emphasized François Xavier.
Since July 2023, Polite is a university coordinator of the RAFU consortium. The result is impressive: today RAFU includes more than 100 Russian and 68 African organizations from 16 countries. A Summer multidisciplinary university RAFU has been launched, an educational portal with 120 online courses, and dozens of major events have been held in Russia and Africa.
Events like Africa Day in Saint Petersburg are not just a tradition. It is a platform for direct communication among students, scientists, diaspora, and business. A platform where joint solutions to global challenges are born.
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