The Days of Melbourne were held in St.Petersburg on February 16 through 19, 2009, devoted to the 20th anniversary of establishing partnership between the two cities. The Days program was attended by the delegation of Melbourne led by Jane Sharwood, Head of the Department for Economic and International Relations of Melbourne City Council. The delegation also included teachers and students of Victorian College of Arts (Melbourne, Victoria).
The Days of Melbourne and an exhibition on book illustrations «Australia Old and New» were opened in the new building of Russian National Library (165 Moskovskiy Ave) on Monday, February 16. The exhibition also featured children’s drawings and artworks by the pupils of secondary school No 606 (Town Pushkin) devoted to Australia, as well as photos of Melbourne from the archive of Central Naval Museum.
A joint concert was performed by the students of Victorian College of Arts (Melbourne) and St.Petersburg State Conservatoire named after N.A. Rimskiy-Korsakov, at State Academic Capella named after M.I. Glinka on Tuesday, February 17. The concert program included pieces by W.A. Mozart, P.I. Tchaikovsky, D.D. Shostakovich, and the Australian composer R. Mills.
St.Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (21 Sadovaya St.) hosted a round table on prospects of business cooperation between Melbourne and St.Petersburg on Wednesday, February 18. The round table was attended by representatives of business circles of St.Petersburg and Australia, the Melbourne City Council and the Administration of St.Petersburg, St.Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Honorary Consulate of Australia, as well as the representatives of Victoria State in Europe; the prospects of bilateral cooperation in the areas of investments, transport and transit policy, tourism, science, and higher education were discussed.
On the same day, a presentation on cultural and educational potential of Melbourne was held, with the participation of teachers and students of Victorian College of Arts, as well as the students of St.Petersburg educational insitutions, at the conference hall of Linguistics Faculty at St.Petersburg State University of Economy and Finances (4 Moskatelny Lane).
On Thursday, February 19, the delegation of Melbourne met with the pupils of secondary school No 606 with in-depth study of English language. S. Fitzlion, Honorary Consul of Australia, and Mrs J. Sharwood awarded the winners of the essay contest «My Australia» and the drawing contest.
Within the Days framework, the meetings of the delegation of Melbourne with representatives of the Committee for Investments and Strategic Projects and the administration of the State Hermitage Museum were also arranged.