African students at the «Magic Carpet» travel tournament of NArFU.

In the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, an active member of the RAFU consortium, the results of the first all-Russian travel tournament for international students "Magic Carpet" were summed up.

The competition, organized by the scientific and educational center "Russian as a Foreign Language" of NArFU, was held from April 20 to June 15 and brought together participants from more than ten countries around the world, including 5 African countries.

The tournament was aimed at forming a positive image of Russia on the international stage, demonstrating the tourist potential of cities, attracting the attention of foreign citizens to Russian attractions and popularizing Russian culture in intercultural communication.

Participants from Morocco, Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Sudan, India, Iraq, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan shared their discoveries over two months, talking about the unique nature and incredible sights of the cities where they study. "The scale of the competition was impressive: from Kaliningrad to Irkutsk, from Arkhangelsk to Stavropol," the organizers noted. Together with the tournament participants, the audience visited the banks of the Irtysh and the Northern Dvina, admired the beauty of Lake Baikal, and met the fairy-tale inhabitants of Ryazan and Kaliningrad.

The competition was held in five original categories, named in the spirit of Russian fairy tales:

• "Seven-League Boots" (a 3-minute express tour of the city),
• "Wonderful Casket" (unusual sights),
• "Firebird" (unique nature of the region),
• "Samogudy Gusli" (traditional holidays),
• "Sword-Kladinets" (memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War).

African students won in several tournament categories:

Nomination "Seven-League Boots":

• 3rd place: Amara Marega (Mali, Vyatka State University) – a video about the city of Kirov.

Nomination "Wonderful Casket":

• 2nd place: Ubukhush Noureddine (Morocco, Ryazan State University named after S.A. Yesenin) – work "Ryazan: the city of mushrooms with eyes";
• 3rd place: collective work of students from Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria and Mali (Mari State University) – "Amazing Yoshkar-Ola".

The most popular among the participants were the categories "Seven-League Boots", "Wonderful Casket" and "Firebird". The expert commission highly appreciated the creative approach of the participants and their sincere interest in Russian culture. The organizers plan to make the "Magic Carpet" travel tournament an annual event, expanding the geography and themes of the competitive works.