On 25 September, the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency hosted the opening ceremony of a new round of InteRussia fellowship entitled MENA and Russia: Background, Narratives, and Prospects. This programme is organised by the Gorchakov Fund in cooperation with Rossotrudnichestvo, Rossiya Segodnya, and the Sputnik radio station. It is attended by 12 journalists from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the UAE.
Vasily Pushkov, Director for International Cooperation at the Rossiya Segodnya and Sputnik, was the first to welcome the foreign guests:
Vasily Pushkov, Director for International Cooperation at the Rossiya Segodnya and Sputnik, was the first to welcome the foreign guests:
"You have arrived at a good time and will get to see mellow autumn, visit Moscow and St Petersburg: two Russian capitals that are not like each other. We will inevitably interact with the media you work for in the future, and we have already signed cooperation agreements with some of them. We welcome you!"
Dmitry Polikanov, Deputy Head of Rossotrudnichestvo, followed Vasily in greeting journalists from the Arab East countries:
"It is very important to us that you have a positive experience and stay in touch with us after you return home. The main mission of this programme is for you not only to get to know the work of the Russian media, but also to learn more about real life in our country. Russia is a country of opportunities: we hope you will see her that way!"
Lyana Dymova, Academic Programmes Coordinator at the Gorchakov Fund, wished the fellows fruitful work and introduced them to the Fund’s activities:
"Our priority is to develop new forms of cooperation with other countries in the fields of science and education. Each InteRussia programme is unique, as we try to make it interesting for you first and foremost. North Africa and the Middle East are more important to us today than ever before due to changes in world politics. I am happy to see you!"
The foreign journalists also shared their expectations from the programme: they noted that they wanted to know the Russian point of view on events taking place in different parts of the world today.
InteRussia fellowship programmes are a unique opportunity to get to know the Russian agenda first-hand, attend lectures and workshops organised by leading media agencies, take part in partner events in the field of public diplomacy, and exchange experience with colleagues from different countries.
InteRussia fellowship programmes are a unique opportunity to get to know the Russian agenda first-hand, attend lectures and workshops organised by leading media agencies, take part in partner events in the field of public diplomacy, and exchange experience with colleagues from different countries.
