On February 4, 2022, Sri Lanka celebrated its 75th Independence Day. A number of events dedicated to this event were organized at Grodno State Medical University. The celebration was attended by the Honorary Consul of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in the Republic of Belarus Dmitry Yuryevich Ruzanov, the GrSMU administration, invited guests from other Belarusian medical universities, as well as representatives of compatriots. 15 students of the Sri Lankan community of VSMU also took part in this event.

The celebration began with the creative exhibition "My Beautiful Homeland Sri Lanka". The GrSMU students showed their guests the diversity of their country, demonstrated national costumes and jewelry, and served the dishes of their national cuisine. 

The warm words of greeting and congratulations were addressed to all the guests by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, Janita A. Liyanage. After the fire lighting ceremony, the celebration continued with a festive concert, in which VSMU students demonstrated their talents in the national dance "Kandyan" and songs with a guitar in Sinhala. 

The evening continued in an informal atmosphere, where Sri Lankan students from different universities sang songs, danced and just talked, creating an incredibly warm friendly atmosphere. The next day, we enjoyed walking around Grodno, seeing the historical places and sights of this beautiful city on the Neman. 

Such wonderful inter-university national events undoubtedly enrich our countries culturally, unite students from different universities and help them to better adapt and feel at home in our country. 

Deputy Dean of  the Overseas Students Training Faculty 
M.A. Senkovich