9-12 June 2024 more than 150 representatives of Asian, African and Latin American states met at the II International Forum of Ministers of Education "Shaping the Future" in Kazan to discuss current challenges of the international educational environment, the role of education in the development of the economy, the availability of quality education and its assessment, Russian language teaching in the world.
The Forum, organised by the Ministry of Education of Russia, the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan and the "My History" Humanities Support Foundation, was full of events that promoted the development of long-established partnerships and the consolidation of new friendships between educational institutions of different countries.
At the plenary session, Russian Minister of Education S.S. Kravtsov welcomed the guests of honour and presented the country's experience in the development of digital technologies in education, supplementary education, introduction of a vocational guidance system, educational work and informed them about the creation of flagship schools for talented children and the holding of All-Russian professional skills championships, and invited them to join the projects of building joint schools and preparing joint textbooks.
During the working part of the event, foreign participants of the forum made reports on the achievements of national education systems, as well as plans for international cooperation.
The exhibition space "Russia to the World. World to Russia", which in an interactive format tells about Russia's contribution to the world piggy bank, where guests could get acquainted with the educational potential of Russia and the latest technologies in the field of education and science. The 24 stands presented such projects as: "The Power of Mind" - interesting physical experiments, fascinating story about the history of inventions from V.G. Korolenko Glazov State Engineering and Pedagogical University; "International Humanitarian Project "Russian Teacher Abroad" and International Volunteer Programme "Ambassadors of the Russian Language in the World", aimed at promoting the Russian language and Russian education; Career Guidance Project "Ticket to the Future", aimed at conducting career guidance activities and trials for schoolchildren, which helps them to make informed decisions about their future.
11 June 2024 Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov held working meetings with Minister of Primary and Secondary Education of the Republic of the Gambia Hon. Haddi Yatou Sey. He told his colleagues about the achievements of the Russian education system and discussed the areas for further cooperation.
Sergey Kravtsov mentioned that Russian education is considered one of the best in the world. It is especially valuable that African countries are interested in educating their schoolchildren according to russian educational standards, and they are ready to share experience, including the field of secondary vocational education, early career guidance for schoolchildren, and teacher training.
The head of the Russian Ministry of Education told the foreign colleagues about the popularity of secondary vocational education in the country and the fact that the events of the All-Russian championship movement on professional mastery allow children to demonstrate skills and competences in the specialities of the leading sectors of the economy. He invited students from colleges and technical schools in The Gambia to take part in the Professionals Vocational Skills Championship.
The Minister of Education of the Russian Federation also spoke on the importance of professional development and professional retraining of teaching staff. He said that in 2023, Russia's first federal technopark for professional education was opened in Kaluga to train teachers.
Sergey Kravtsov informed about the department's readiness to develop direct partnerships between interested educational organisations of the Russian Federation and foreign countries.
The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education of the Republic of The Gambia thanked the Head of the Russian Ministry of Education for the attention to the development of teacher education and noted that one of the main tasks of the Gambia is the professional development of teachers, and emphasised that Russia has a high quality of engineering education.
Thanks to participation in such events, representatives build up international relations and forms new approaches to the development of projects that meet the demands of foreign society.
For many delegates it was their first visit to the Russian Federation, which left them with an extremely positive image of a progressive hospitable state, ready to willingly share its accumulated knowledge and experience with those who need it and contribute to improving the quality and accessibility of education even in the most remote corners of the world.
