The World Bank also notes that the Russian economy is the ninth largest in the world with U.S. exports surpassing $8 billion in 2011. That’s an increase of almost 50% in only two years.
To learn how to identify and qualify potential trade partners in Russia, understand Russian business culture and build bridges with our Russian Sister City attend our luncheon.
Details:
Date: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
Time: 11:30a-1p
Location: Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber, 5 Computer Drive, Albany
Cost: $ 35
Corporate Sponsor: EP&M International
Albany High School Teachers Tom Healey (left) an Alicia Abdul (2nd from right) visited Tula, Russia in April 2012 to judge the American Studies Olympiad.
We’re grateful to them for their efforts, to the Albany Fund for Education for its support, and to Sergei Pukhanov of Tula State University for inviting our participation!
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The International conference was organized in Tula. Its full title was “Teaching Language and Culture: Images of the American World in Discourse and Text.”
The conference started with plenary sessions about American culture by Toni Hull Senior English Language Fellow, ELO, US Embassy, Moscow, and about the problems of incorporating literature into language teaching by Vladimir Andreev, vice-president of Tula Regional English language Teachers Association.
Toni Hull made a report about different generations of US youth (X,Y,Z), which gave rise to many discussions. She also conducted a workshop on communication breakdown and brilliantly illustrated the importance of viewing a situation from different sides.
The agenda also included round-table discussion about youth problems as reflected in modern American literature with participants of the annual international essay competition. High school students spoke about their choice of literary works for the contest and shared their views on the importance of representing youth problems in literature.
The conference was organized by Tula Regional English Language Teachers’ Association, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University and English Language Office (U.S. Embassy in Moscow) with the financial support of the U.S. Department of State.
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The final round of the U.S. studies Olympiadwas completed on April 8. The Olympiad was a joint event organized by two major universities in Tula: Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical, which was responsible for college students’ contest, and Tula State, which took hold of high school students’ competition.
The students’ contest consisted of three rounds, two online and final face-to-face. About a hundred students took part in the first round where they wrote a quiz and tried to do a crossword puzzle. 35 participants made it to the second round. Their task was to write an essay on Obama’s pre-election video address about American dream. 14 students competed in the final round making guesses at jeopardy game and delivering their speeches on urgent topics such as virtual reality or decreasing of language diversity. For 5 minutes ordinary students became Bushes, Hilary Clinton, Eleonor Roosevelt, etc. while expressing American politicians’ point of view on the problems and suggest a program of measures.
– I was speaking about space tourism as if I were George Bush. I tried to imitate his style of communication, – says Anna Aristova, first year student and a winner of the second prize.
– The Olympiad was perfect. Thorough organization and the competent jury were a key to success, – another participant Alex Sinitsyn says.
– The most interesting part for me was transformation into a historical figure and an opportunity to comment on the problem on his behalf. Such contests broaden our mind and help to improve public speaking skills.
All the participants got CDs and books on cultural studies and thanked the organizers for the opportunity to enlarge their knowledge of U.S. culture.
The regional contest was organized by Tula Regional English Language Teachers’ Association, Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Tula State University and English Language Office (U.S. Embassy in Moscow) with the financial support of the U.S. Department of State.
]]>Many thanks to former WRGB Channel 6 CBS Reporter/Anchor Jack Aernecke and Videographer Ed Curley for finding this gem of history in the WRGB archive library.
In 1992 the two of them were invited to join the newly-formed Albany-Tula Alliance in Tula, Russia for several days. They produced this wonderful show for air in 1992 and several news stories.
As Aernecke puts it, “The aim of the trip was to formalize the sister city relationship. The delegation was led by Ray Joyce, the retired treasurer of the city of Albany and delegation members encompassed a variety of disciplines, including education, business, the arts and so on. The goal Ed and I had during the four days was to paint a picture of life in Tula, to give folks in the Capital District a look at life in a country that, until a short time earlier, had been our mortal enemy. The goal of the various members of the delegation was to find ways to interact through education, business, the arts etc. so that the movement started with so much bravery on the part of so many Russians would continue to grow through the relationships first started with the Albany-Tula Alliance.”
Clearly, much has changed since the early days of democracy in Russia. Economic, Social and Educational improvements being at the top of the list.
One thing that has remained a constant over the past 20 years is the hospitality and generosity of our Tulan friends. We are immeasurably grateful for what they have shared and shown us and our friendship grows stronger ever year.
]]>Dawn Stuart Weinraub (Education & Culture Committee) of Albany-Tula Alliance is a long time active participant and a retired teacher of Russian Language at Emma Willard School. She’ll discussed the 3rd Annual Essay Contest for High School Students on “Schenectady Today” – a cable access channel in the Capital Region. The 2012 Essay Contest topic was Leo Tolstoy’s influence on the thought of the world leaders. Winners will travel to Russia in September 2012 and attend the Tula State Pedagogical Univ. Conference on the Life and Works of Tolstoy.
]]>Events that are slated for March 3rd, 2012 at the Empire State Plaza Egg include a Fine Art Show by Boris Maslennikov, a Russian Poetry Recital competition, a fairy tale called “The Twelve Months,” and several amazing musical groups including The Kozak Family, Irina Petrik, The Kyrgystan Folk Group, The Golden Rooster, Ensemble Barynya and another children ensemble called “Pesvebi.”
The 3rd Rifle Division will reenact a typical squad of Russian rifle divisions from WWII. There will be tea-tastings in the samovar room, delicious authentic Russian food, dozens of craft vendors and beautiful Russian costumes to try on.
Join a day of Russian culture for only $7 for adults and $3 for children.
For more information: Visit the Russian Winter Festival Website.
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