Cooperation of Russian Pedagogical Universities with West African Countries (the Case Study of Open Education Centers)

The objective of the present study is to analyze the nature of Russia-Africa relations in the field of education, with a particular focus on the experience of Russian language dissemination in West African countries and the work of the Centres for Open Education in Russian and Russian Language Teaching. The article considers the historical dimension of Russia’s collaboration with West African nations in the promotion of the Russian language. A particular emphasis is placed on the positive experience of the partnership that was formed by the Soviet Union over decades but was interrupted in the 1990s due to political circumstances. It also presents the current experience of some Russian universities in implementing the projects to spread the Russian language and culture in the countries of West Africa. The article highlights several significant aspects of educational interaction with African countries and describes the practices of cooperation between Russia and African countries. At present, Russia’s “soft power” in Africa is exercised mostly through the promotion of Russian education in African countries, including the implementation of supplementary general education programs, certification of foreign students in Russian as a foreign language, admission of foreign students to Russian universities under quotas, dissemination of Russian culture through the execution of educational and methodological academic activities, as well as professional development of higher education staff in Africa. The primary outcome of the study is the presentation of a comprehensive practical experience of promoting Russian as a foreign language by some pedagogical universities working in West Africa, which contributes to further African-Russian university partnerships

Economic growth · Economics · Open Education · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Higher Education Governance and Development · Higher Education Learning Practices · Second Language Learning and Teaching