Uniting Avid Readers: Between Countries&Pages Club Celebrates International English Language Day at BelSU

Students from Belgorod National Research University (BelSU), members of the International Friendship Club of the Belgorod Region, and pupils from local schools gathered at the Centre of Friendship of Peoples. The event was held in a hybrid format, with participants joining via video conference to share excerpts from their favourite works of fiction.

The gathering welcomed participants from Russia, Angola, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Turkmenistan, and Ecuador. Professor Olga Prokhorova, Director of the Institute of Intercultural Communication and International Relations, opened the event with a warm greeting.

“Literature is an excellent teacher of any language and culture. Meetings in the literary salon provide a fantastic opportunity to practice your English, listen to excerpts from books, and discover the literary tastes of your friends and colleagues,” she noted.

The meeting commenced with a recitation from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, honouring the playwright’s birth and death anniversary of William Shakespeare on April 23, the date designated by the UN as International English Language Day.

Representatives from the university and co-organisers discussed various opportunities for studying and mastering the English language. Ivan Govorishchev, a staff member at the Belgorod State Universal Scientific Library and member of the BelSU Alumni Association, highlighted the library’s extensive collection, which features books in English as well as other languages.

Polina Sazonova, Deputy Chairperson of the English Conversation Club at the International Student Office, elaborated on the benefits of joining the student association. She also recited poems by William Wordsworth, whose 225th anniversary was celebrated on April 7.

Throughout the literary salon, attendees enjoyed readings from works by other notable authors celebrating anniversaries this year, including Agatha Christie and Rudyard Kipling. They also shared excerpts from folklore and contemporary writers such as Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Maya Angelou.

As the meeting drew to a close, Olga Lyutova, Director of the International Information Centre, expressed gratitude to all participants for their passion for reading, literature, and foreign languages. She presented souvenirs featuring the university and Centre’s symbols to Danil Glushko, a student from Lyceum No. 9 and the youngest speaker of the day.