The festival “We are different, we are equal, we are together” started on February 22 in dormitory N.6. The 3^rd students’ festival of national traditions on the occasion of Thanksgiving Day of the people of Kazakhstan took place in the form of the week of nations.

The celebration started with the song “Tum balalaika” performed in the Jewish and Russian languages by the representatives of the Jewish community.  In return the students showed the Greek, Kazakh and Uzbek people.

Kazakh Russian and English were spoken all the evening.

On February 24. dormitory N.4 met the guests from the Dagestan and Lithuanian communities. The guests told a lot of interesting things about the historical background of their nations.

On February 25^th the representatives of the Union of the Cossacks of the Steppe Region were received by a dombra quartette in dormitory N.5. On entering the building the guests were scattered with sweets over according to the “Shashu” ceremony. The guests made the audience acquainted with the history of the arrival and settlement of the Cossacks in Kazakhstan. 

On February 26 the closing event of the festival of nations took place in dormitory N.1. The students were given thanks for their creativity and respect to national traditions by the representatives of the Polish and Ukrainian communities as well as our veterans.

Kazakh and Ukrainian motives as well as Russian and Indian tunes could be heard everywhere within the whole festival week. Dancers in silk Uzbek wide trousers and in as in spring colourful Belorussian wreaths were competitively beautiful. In other words, the entire variety of nations of Kazakhstan was presented in the festival programme.

The festival has been conducted for the third time and we hope the tradition will be kept for many years.

Department of Youth Affairs