Source: Peoples’Friendship University of Russia –
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A delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, led by Patrice Lumumba’s daughter Juliana, paid another visit to RUDN University. This time, Patrice’s grandson, Kahi Lumumba, was among the honored guests of our university.
Juliana’s Russian relatives
First, the guests were given a tour of the university campus and taken to the RUDN Museum. Aleksander Gladush, director of the museum and exhibition complex, told the delegation that Nikita Khrushchev was the initiator of the foundation of our university, and Charles Didier Kitenge, secretary and assistant to Patrice Lumumba, was among the university’s first students. He studied at the General Medicine program. Several decades later, his son, Chibvila Kitenge, also graduated from the RUDN Institute of Medicine.
Aleksander Gladush also told the delegation that in various cities across Russia there are streets named after the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the past, in Siberia, a two-deck river ship, the “Patrice Lumumba,” used to sail along the Ob’ River.
For her part, Juliana shared that her uncle turned out to have studied in Moscow, has Russian relatives and a Russian wife, and speaks Russian. He is over 90 years old and currently lives in London.
To the “temple of knowledge” for a dissertation
After visiting the museum, the delegation went to a meeting with RUDN University Rector, Oleg Yastrebov. Kahi Lumumba made an entry in the Visitor’s Book. The parties discussed the development of their cooperation. According to Juliana Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is interested not only in joint work in the educational sphere, but also in collaborative scientific research. Moreover, it turned out that Patrice Lumumba’s daughter has decided to enroll in the postgraduate program at RUDN.
“I call your university nothing but a temple of knowledge. And after my first visit here, I thought it over and realized that at the age of 70 I want to become a postgraduate student and defend a PhD dissertation at RUDN on the topic ’Russian-Congolese Relations from the 1960s to the Present Day: Prospects and Opportunities’,” said Juliana Lumumba.
Oleg Yastrebov replied that Madam Juliana can consider herself already accepted to our university. As for cooperation with the DRC in scientific publications, the Rector of RUDN proposed to focus on research in the field of artificial intelligence.
“This is a promising area which, I believe, we need to grow in,” said Oleg Yastrebov.
The Rector of RUDN also informed the guests that on the day of the delegation’s visit, a themed train decorated with a portrait of Patrice Lumumba was launched in honor of the 65th anniversary of RUDN.
Advice for Students
Immediately after the conversation with the Rector, the guests met with students from the DRC who are studying at our university. The students expressed their gratitude to Juliana for the opportunity to meet her in person and asked the most important question: “What can they do for their country in this challenging situation in the world and the republic?”
“My father fought for the independence of our country, for its resources to belong to us only. Your main task is to get a good education, because it will be up to you to take decisions and build the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Juliana Lumumba.
At the end of the delegation’s visit, we managed to speak to Patrice Lumumba’s grandson, and he shared his impressions of RUDN.
“To visit the university that bears my grandfather’s name is an honor for me. I am filled with a sense of pride, gratitude and happiness. I was very impressed by the size of RUDN and the fact that you can meet young people from all over the world here. And, of course, I was touched by the statue of my grandfather — it’s nice to know that every day thousands of students of different nationalities walk past it, absorbing his values within the university’s walls,” said Kahi Lumumba.
Patrice Lumumba’s grandson noted that he really enjoyed the tour of the RUDN Museum, where he and Juliana were told about the university’s history and were given, as souvenirs, an old RUDN pennant and rare badges issued in honor of the university’s past anniversaries. He also wished the students studying here to be wise, discover their talents and apply them in the future for the benefit of their countries.
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