Pre-departure:
I was fortunate in being selected as one of five South Africans to represent brand SA at the BRICS International School. Through the support of the National Russian Committee on BRICS Research and the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund in Moscow, I attended the BRICS International School which was hosted on August 27 – 31, 2018. The hosts covered costs such as accommodation, meals and ground transport in Moscow, except for flights to and from Russia. Therefore, my only administration was booking my flight ticket.
This placed me under much pressure as I had at least three weeks to prepare for this trip. Therefore, when I applied for a travel grant by the international office, there was not much time to deliberate my airfare. But with the support of my supervisor Dr Oostendorp and the International Office I was granted a travel bursary. However, it is important that you do not make any financial commitments to the respective summer school until you have received confirmation from Stellenbosch University International office.
Because I was a postgraduate student, with no compulsory classes, I was able to attend this International School on short notice without it interfering with and me neglecting my course at Stellenbosch University. However, I would advise that you plan and select your relevant modules a head of time for the summer or winter school.
The month of August in Russia is a summer season, thus plane tickets are more expensive. It is advised to book tickets in advance to save on airfare expenses. I booked a return ticket through Emitates who allowed 2 x 25 kg per bag and had enough money from my travel grant left over to get travel insurance from Bidvest. Do not underestimate the importance of purchasing travel insurance especially when you are a first time traveller. This covers you against loss of personal belongings, travel delays, baggage delay and any unforeseen events like medial attentions that you need when being in a foreign country. Also, make sure that your connecting flights are booked a few hours apart from each other as some airport are huge. This gives you ample time to get to the relevant platforms and board the plane in time.
Fortunately for me, I did not have to apply for a visa as it is not a requirement when traveling to Russia. Visa applications could be a lengthy process depending on the duration of your stay in the hosting country. This is because some visas requires police clearance, which could take up to 3 to 4 weeks, medical assessments and bank statement. Therefore, it is important to make sure whether the country you are traveling to require visas or not.
As a tip for those traveling abroad, always exchange a few rand into the hosting countries currency for any unforeseen difficulties, such as buying a sim card to stay in contact with the organizers once you arrive in the hosting country. Make sure to order money in advance as some foreign exchange may not have that particular currency.
Also, check the exchange rate to see whether is it beneficial to exchange money in South Africa or abroad. In my case, it was best to exchange money in Cape Town as their exchange rate in Russia is not that good. It is also best to use a debit card.
Experience at the Host Programme:
I landed at Domodedovo airport, which is situated about 52km from Moscow. The airport was quite advanced and very well planned. When I stepped outside of the airport the first thing I noticed was the countryside, the many trees and the village houses from the road were rather different from what we have in Cape Town.
A total of 35 young professionals from the age of 18 to 35, who are diplomats, scientists, journalists, working in government, graduate students etc., were invited through a competitive process to the School from the BRICS countries, Europe and Asia. The BRICS International School is a unique scientific and educational programme for training young specialists in the field of studying BRICS political, economic and humanitarian issues and specific areas of the five countries interaction.
The BRICS International School presented a unique opportunity for personal and professional growth. Among the topics discussed were:
- Theory and practice of public diplomacy
- New technologies in the energy sector
- Window to Africa
- BRICS: The second decade
- Financial and investment cooperation of BRICS countries
- Situation and prospects for trade and economic cooperation of BRICS countries
- Youth cooperation within BRICS: the prospects of BRICS cooperation in the sphere of international security
- BRICS in the system of global governance and international organizations to name
The master classes were led by a team of international experts in the respective fields. The emphasis was on how Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa can tackle these topics together.
During my stay in Russia, I was accommodated at the Vatutinky Spa- Hotel where I also received three meals per day. This very hotel had also accommodated the German National Football team during the FIFA World Cup and I was staying in the room of Mesut Ozil (to be honest, I did not know who he was until I googled him, and it turns out he is a great football player).
The food served at the hotel was good, however in the beginning I struggled to acquire a taste for Russian food as everything lacked salt/spice and was boiled. The food was healthy of course as it had negligible amounts of oil. As part of our team building exercise, the different countries competed against one another in pool relay.
Since the hotel was situated an hour from Moscow, we were transported by bus to Moscow were we had the opportunity to explore its rich history on a river cruise on Moscova river. Here, I got to see important landmarks that I only read about in books and seen on television. The views was beautiful during the day but was superseded by the view at night. The city had some horrible traffic jams and people there drives much faster than here in Cape Town. However, they do have good traffic rules and very little horn sounds. People have the perception that Russia is a cold country and everyone advised me to be prepared for cold weather. On the contrary, it was extremely hot, even at night. This good weather made it pleasant to walk around and explore the town. The locals in Russia generally refuse to speak English and finding directions was quite challenging. Google translate was a very useful tool to use during such situations. It heard many ordeals of crime against foreigners but I had experienced none of this. Instead, I felt rather safe roaming the streets at night after classes had ended.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affair and other influential people namely, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sherpa of BRICS, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, and other experts in respective fields. It is a great platform to form a network of young BRICS leaders from South Africa with whom other BRICS youth can continue to foster youth cooperation and practice of public diplomacy. It was also a unique opportunity to promote the brand of South Africa in the BRICS and Russian Federation especially since it coincides with South Africa’s year as BRICS chair. It was also an opportunity to network and find out what challenges other young people across the world were facing and finding solutions to these regional and international issues.
Return to Stellenbosch:
I am very family orientated and therefore returning home was a joyous occasion. One week in Russia is definitely too short as there is still so many things that I would have liked to explore and experience. I met so many great people that I’ll always stay in touch with. The week abroad has open my eyes to different regional and international issues that different countries face, it has helped me with communicating effectively and also helped me to get to know myself better, such the role I can play in responding to regional modern challenges of the world politics. It was a great networking experience with young leaders of other BRICS countries and getting to know each other. This opportunity has further helped broadened my professional horizon to develop communicative skills, to study features of BRICS country interaction, their position on the global arena, and prospects for BRICS institutionalization and cooperation.
After meeting people from 10 different countries, Brazil is definitely a country I would like to visit next. I have no regrets participating in this international school and I have no tips for bettering this experience as I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it. I highly recommend that every student should consider participating in a summer or winter school. Russia is a much underrated country but it is a perfect country to visit, especially in summer. It has many trees, vintage buildings and a rich history. The living expense is not expensive as the Rand is stronger that the Russian Ruble and there is so many things to explore and see. Lastly, I hope that more emphasis could be placed on academic disciples in the social sciences at par with that of the natural sciences, so that we can be evoke more critical thinkers and do away with the narrative that social sciences is a less important disciple and focus on solving many of the world’s biggest issues.