The summer session of the International Festival "Children! Summer! Ocean!" has come to the end at the All-Russian Children's Center "Okean." The event brought together 180 schoolchildren from regions of Russia and seven foreign countries. VVSU students worked as volunteer interpreters for the international guests.
Participants of the session included children from China, Laos, Mongolia, Thailand, Tajikistan, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan. Graduates of the Institute for Training Foreign Citizens of VVSU (now students of the Institute of Pedagogy and Linguistics), the Institute of Tourism and Creative Industries, and the Institute of International Business, Economics, and Management, assisted the guests with adapting to Russian culture and daily life.
University students acted as guides in intercultural communication. The volunteers accompanied delegations at all key stages: they helped with check-in, explained rules and schedules, showed them around the territory, and sorted out everyday matters.
The volunteers were present during specialized classes, workshops, sports, and creative events. Working in real-time alongside teachers and camp counselors, they helped children from different countries negotiate within teams, formulate ideas, and share their thoughts. VVSU students became a connecting link in the work of all key events of the session.
A separate line of work for the interpreters was support in informal communication. Students helped the kids get acquainted, explained jokes and cultural references, smoothed over misunderstandings, and turned them into opportunities for dialogue. Often, it was the volunteer who became that one "friend" a child would approach with any questions — both practical and personal.
Each VVSU volunteer was not just a "button interpreter": they were part of the team, living the same life as the children, and it was precisely this that helped build trust and facilitate cultural exchange.