On Thursday, November 11, there was an online ceremony honouring the winners of the contest of student research papers on the formation of a tolerant environment in St. Petersburg. Elina Valiakhmetova's project “Oriental motifs in the decoration of St. Petersburg as a reflection of the dialogue of cultures” was recognized as the best in the category of Cultural Studies. She is a fourth-year student of the Civil Engineering Faculty of Mining University.
The Committee for Science and High School of St. Petersburg Administration, the organizer of the contest, said that its aim is “popularization of humanistic values, ideals of democracy and stimulation of research activities of students in the field of the tolerant environment”. In 14 years of the competition, more than 1900 people took part in it, 526 of them became the winners of the prize of the Government of the city on the Neva River.
"Every year St. Petersburg receives a large number of guests. It is very important to show them that a tolerant environment is an integral part of the historical and cultural heritage of the northern capital,” says Elina Valiakhmetova. “Together with the scientific supervisor of the project, we have developed a set of intellectual tasks and games, aimed at studying the oriental motifs presented in the decoration of the city. The developed methodology allows you to delve deeply into the process of studying cultural studies, to develop their creative abilities by independently seeking answers to many questions related to the study of architectural landmarks.”
This year, 170 applications from 23 universities were submitted to the contest. 33 students were announced as laureates and were awarded prizes by the St. Petersburg Government. The competition was held in four categories: psychology, sociology, cultural studies, and pedagogy.