BelSU Health Day Brings Together Cultures and Continents in a Celebration of Movement and Unity

Organised by the Belgorod National Research University’s (BelSU) Institute of Cross-Cultural Communication and International Relations and the Department of International Cooperation, the large-scale event unfolded simultaneously at Lenin Central Park of Culture and Leisure and the sandy stretch of the Berega Park beach. Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Alexey Chernitsov and Vice-Rector and Director of the Department of International Cooperation Nikolay Tsybulya both took an active part in the day’s programme.

Opening the festivities at Lenin Park, Olga Prokhorova, Director of the Institute of Intercultural Communication and International Relations, captured the spirit of the gathering.

“Health Day is not just a sporting event. It is a true celebration of friendship, openness, and mutual respect,” she said, adding that true wellbeing means finding harmony with oneself, with others, and with the world – especially across cultural lines.

Over at Berega beach, Nikolay Tsybulya struck a similar chord.

“There is not a single country whose national culture does not embrace a healthy lifestyle and physical fitness. Today we have a unique chance to experience the fitness traditions of many different countries at once,” he emphasised. 

At Lenin Park, the summer cinema quickly filled with people eager to move. Face painters decorated cheeks with designs inspired by nature, while student Wu Xinyi from China led a master class in Ba Duan Jin health gymnastics. The tempo shifted as Latin American rhythms took over: Omar Contreras, Assistant Professor of the Department of Second Foreign Languages, and fourth-year student Luisa Barrera guided participants through the basics of salsa. Then Nigerian student John Paul Emeka turned up the energy, teaching national African dance moves and pulling the growing crowd into the circle.

The programme on the Berega beach proved equally magnetic. Feng Yinghong, Assistant Teacher at the Department of Second Foreign Languages, led a Tai Chi Chuan session so compelling that Chinese students from a partner university in Dezhou joined via live teleconference, performing the movements in synchrony with the Belgorod participants. Medical volunteers, headed by Abdellatif Rawda Abdallah, quizzed beachgoers on healthy habits and physical activity, while Angolan student António Josefina Manuel brought African dance to the shoreline, sparking spontaneous movement among BelSU students, teachers, staff and city sunbathers alike.

The day closed with a moment of unity. African students Oloyede Sylvia Oluwafikayomi and Otaigbe Zoe Ehinomen sang a popular Russian song Marushka Zemlya as participants joined hands, formed circles, and wove a traditional “stream” dance – a living symbol of friendship and connection. Across both venues, the atmosphere was one of genuine warmth, mutual support, and shared joy, reaffirming Health Day as a powerful expression of BelSU’s commitment to intercultural dialogue and student wellbeing.