Its representatives explained why the need for access to quality education is one of the most urgent for them.
On Friday, May 24, the St. Petersburg Mining University of Empress Catherine II hosted the International Forum “Africa Day. Education for the Future”. It was held on the eve of Liberation Day, which was established 61 years ago in Addis Ababa. This holiday symbolizes the aspiration of all states located on the Sunny continent to unity, peace and prosperity.
As Arbi Abubakarov, Acting Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of the City Government, told before the opening ceremony, the oldest technical university in Russia was chosen as the venue for this event not by chance. After all, it has the largest number of students from Africa in the northern capital - 325.
In addition, last December, at the initiative of the Mining University management, the consortium “Subsoil of Africa” was established, which aims to improve the quality of engineering education on the continent. It is no secret that the continent has enormous mineral resources - up to 40% of the world's gold deposits, up to 90% of chromium and platinum, as well as cobalt, diamonds, uranium, copper and many other resources. However, the lack of national personnel capable of monetizing them is a serious obstacle to improving the quality of life on the continent. President of the consortium, Paul Omaji, spoke about this on the sidelines of the forum.
“To become truly free, we need a fundamental restructuring of the university engineering program. In order to localize innovation, empower local businesses and entire industries, we need, above all, competent professionals capable of implementing and managing new technologies. So far, this sphere has been given over to the West, on which we are, without exaggeration, slavishly dependent. That is why many African universities willingly cooperate with St. Petersburg Mining University,” explained Paul Omaji.
Rector of Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko, who opened the forum, also spoke about the fact that Africa today is facing a new colonial invasion, even more devastating in its scale and consequences than in the 19th century. He specified that more than a hundred European and American transnational companies operate in 37 sub-Saharan countries. Moreover, the main form of their admission to subsoil use is concession agreements. Their essence is that the deposits are leased to corporations for a very moderate fee. And when market conditions are favorable, up to 90-95% of all profits go into the pockets of their shareholders.
“Metropolises see the regions where they extract minerals solely as a source of resources. They are not interested in improving the quality of life of the local population, treat ecosystems barbarically, and violate elementary requirements of labor protection. Often the state, from whose subsoil strategically valuable raw materials are extracted and exported abroad, is left with less than 5% of income, from which it still has to pay international financial institutions imposed in the past loans and interest on them", - emphasized Vladimir Litvinenko.
He also noted that the talk about Western investments is mostly based on the substitution of concepts. After all, we are talking, first of all, not about investments in the construction of modern public infrastructure, but about the financing of projects, the beneficiaries of which are the same foreign companies.
“Just over 130 billion dollars flows into Africa every year in loans, investments and donations. But at least $192 billion a year is withdrawn. So it should not be assumed that we are talking about some kind of social assistance. This is pure business, and the saddest thing is that it is based on artificial restraint of the continent's development. In particular, at the expense of restrictions related to the access of the local population to quality secondary and higher education", - emphasized Vladimir Litvinenko.
In conclusion, he urged the young people in the hall, and there were about 400 African students who study in various universities of St. Petersburg, “to find a worthy use for the knowledge received in Russia.”
“We are, beyond any doubt, ready to help your continent: to teach young people who come from there, to engage in joint scientific research within the framework of the consortium ‘Subsoil of Africa’. But you yourselves should play the first fiddle in the industrialization of your countries, improving the quality of life there, including through the monetization of resources. Do not go to the West after graduation to try to become your own, but return to your homeland and, guided by both personal and national interests, work on gaining real sovereignty,” summarized the Rector.
It should be noted that the forum was also attended by the Chairman of the Committee for Science and Higher Education of the Government of St. Petersburg Andrey Maximov, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Mali in St. Petersburg, Associate Professor of the Engineering and Construction Institute, which is part of St. Petersburg Polytechnic, Issa Togo, Head of the Russian House in Tunisia Yuri Zaitsev.
