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Sunday, April 7th, 2024 12:00-4:30 EST
Harvard University, Davis Center
The New England Olympiada of Spoken Russian unequivocally condemns Russia’s war against Ukraine and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as they fight for their country and endure the consequences of Russia’s aggression, and with those citizens of Russia who protest against this war. We recognize that after February 24, 2022 our events take place in the shadow of the war and its horrific consequences. As we are all deeply distressed by these events, we continue to be committed to the humanistic mission of the Olympiada: to promote the value of language learning in today’s challenging, complex, and diverse world, to foster tolerance, and to bring people together.
12:00-1:00 - Arrival and check in. All participants are welcome to join us for lunch (provided by the Davis Center)
1:00-1:15 - Official opening
1:15-3:00 - Speech contest by level
- 1st year
- 2nd year
- 3rd and 4th year
3:00-4:00 - Judges convene [Tea and snacks. Harvard Campus walk in Russian, weather permitting]
4:00-4:30 - Award ceremony
New England Olympiada of Spoken Russian is a speech contest which invites students of New England colleges and universities to showcase their speaking skills in Russian. Whether you are currently taking a Russian language course or have studied Russian in the past, it is an opportunity for you to:
- demonstrate your achievements in learning the language;
- test your knowledge of Russian and showcase your speaking ability;
- explore your artistic side by participating in poetry declaration contest (optional);
- meet students from other colleges and universities of New England to build a community of learners of Russian;
- challenge yourself in a fun and exciting way.
The Olympiada is open to all undergraduate students studying Russian as a foreign language. Please note that heritage or native speakers of Russian or other Slavic languages are not eligible to participate at this time. Students will be competing against others based on their year of language study:
- 1st year Russian
- 2nd year Russian
- 3rd year Russian
- 4th year Russian
Each university can send up to 3 contestants for the 1st and 2nd year, and up to 3 students for the 3rd and 4th year combined. Registration deadline is April 1, 2024.
This year’s topics in the monologue and poetry contests reference "Мир книг/World of books." Students may participate in any of the contests: the monologue (performed live in front of judges), the poetry recital (submitted as a recording), and the singing competition (submitted as a recording).
Click here for more information on the three contests of this year’s Olympiada, including topics, requirements, evaluation guidelines, and submission links, or go to “For Students” tab.
Click here to register for the Olympiada, or go to “For Instructors” tab.