The “Round Table” dedicated to discuss “The influence of American culture on the World” was held in the Fundamental Library of the Far Eastern National University on January 23, 2010.

25 best High School seniors and juniors from schools specializing in English in Vladivostok and special guests: Sylva Etian (Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok), her assistant Svetlana Demashova (former representative of IREX in Vladivostok) and Robyn Shifrin (Senior English Language Fellow in Vladivostok), 4 Korean Exchange students and 4 members of the Model United Nations of the Russian Far East (MUNRFE) were discussing different aspects of American culture and how it influences on the rest of the World for over 5 hours. The Smile Project was organized and administered by Anton Pak (Alumnus of the Global UGRAD) and Irina Lonshakova (Member of the MUNRFE).

The working language of the discussion was English. The main goal of the Smile Project was not only to form an entire image of American culture, broaden the teenagers’ horizons on the discussed topics through breaking stereotypes about Americans and their way of life, but also to look closely at the impact of American culture on the World and especially on Russia. There were 4 aspects of the discussion which were highly debated and talked over by participants; the high school seniors and juniors were giving different points of view and sharing with the information they prepared in forms of presentations, reports, essays, etc.

After the registration and opening ceremony, the main session started at 9:30 with a brief introduction of the MUNRFE made by Irina Lonshakova, and then IREX organization and its programs presented by Anton Pak.

The discussion of the American culture and its influence on the rest of the World began with the first presentation “The influence of American cartoons and movies on children” created by Shchepinskaya Veronika and Vasilyeva Kseniya. The idea, that some of American cartoons such as Simpsons, Family Guy, The South Park, etc. can create a harmful environment for children, promoting violence and bad habits, later causing the danger for a society, was brought up and debated by all of the participants and guests. Several solutions to this problem were generated during the debate, for example, parental control introduced by Sylva Etian; law enforcement to restrict the violence shown on TV; cultivation of the understanding what is good and bad when children watch TV and cable.

Malakhova Geliya did a presentation on how American movies and stars influence on people’s mind, their behavior and fashion. American TV shows were

brought up by Lyudenko Anastasiya, who showed to the participants and guests the its influence on young generation all over the World. Spreading of the English language in the World was the next aspect of American culture that was examined by participants.

Students made presentations about how English got into existence and how it is developing year by year, statistics were presented of how many people speak and study English, also why they do that and how English influences the World. Krasitskaya Anastasiya even did a survey why her classmates study English, and the results were impressive: more than 60 % said that being able to speak in English is the necessary to succeed in their careers and life. After these two aspects of American culture were discussed and the conclusions were made, the pizza-break started, which is also a part of the student life in the USA.

During the break Anton Pak was sharing his experience studying in the US university for a year as Fellow of the Global UGRAD program and giving some advices how to apply for different exchange programs. When the break ended, the next topic on the list “American Mass-Media” got onto the floor. The discussion of different sources of media and their influence on the World brought a lot of ideas how the media uses the information, and how it became the one of the most powerful tools to manage people’s minds. The rising power of the Internet was noted as a pillar of the world’s development. The last section was devoted to Educational and exchange programs of the USA.

Several students gave presentations and shared their experience of studying aboard, after which there were discussion about advantages and disadvantages of going overseas to get an education.

After finishing the 4 aspect of the “Round Table”, conclusions were made, and then the certificates were awarded to all the participants by Sylva Etian, Anton Pak and Irina Lonshakova.