This year, Southampton University Student’s Union (SUSU) did just so by holding its first ever Culture Festival. From the 24th until the 30th of April the Union hosted activities within and outside of its campuses which immersed students into the cultures of its diverse student body from across the globe.
From food and activities, to language sessions and movies; all the bases were covered. Some events even had free entry, such as the language lessons, film screenings, and the halls food exchange in which students had the opportunity to share food from their home country and try other traditional cuisines.
It certainly was a memorable week before the crunch of summer exams.
The Travel Fair
The first event I went to was the Travel Fair which was brilliantly organised by the Travelling Society. It consisted of the Union’s international societies which gave practical tips on travelling and suggestions on where to go when visiting their members’ countries of origin.
I was involved in the fair through being the President of the Filipino Society (FilSoc). Our committee held a stall which answered keen travellers’ questions on what it may be like to be a first time traveller to the Philippines and what other useful information they may take with them when planning a visit. Entry was completely free and even had drinks deals at The Bridge where the fair was held.
The fair filling up fast with keen travellers
Speaking to Alicia about Jamaican food and how just upon entering the restaurant you can guess whether or not the food is going to be good or bad
Drinks deals at the Bridge made especially for the event
International Performance Night
My favourite event out of all during the festival is definitely the International Culture Night. Superbly organised by AISEC Southampton every year, this was an evening of music, dancing, poetry and a range of all other creative performances by the Union’s international societies.
What really struck me about this evening was the differences, similarities and the colourful traditions within this University that we are all surrounded with.
The Vietnamese society won 1st place as having given the best performance of the night. This picture was taken during the spontaneous dance off between all societies
With the President of AISEC, Rofini
Global Village
The purpose of this event was to showcase the different cultures and nationalities within the University through global cuisine, international music, art, international exhibits and activities. Guests were provided with a free and unique opportunity to experience a variety of cultures through sight, sound and taste. In essence, this “Global Village” offered attendees a trip around the world without leaving Southampton!
Societies were able to set up stalls which portrayed their culture through their traditional food, clothes, music and games.
The societies who participated include: Polish Students’ Society, Bruneian Society, Malaysian Society, Pakistan Society, Nepalese Society, Omani Society, Indonesian Society, Lebanese Society and many more.
Of course the Filipino Society took part and we brought along our karaoke machine with us for attendees to have a go at! A big part of Filipino culture is singing. Filipinos love to sing and almost every household in the Philippines own a karaoke machine so we thought it would be a fantastic idea to use as a prop for our stall.
The Filipino Society’s stall at the Global Village. Behind me is our karaoke machine where we encouraged guests to perform a song before they got their stamp on your activities passport
Certainly many other events were available during the week. There was even a Holi Festival on the Redbrick area on Highfield Campus!
Not your average day at the Union…
All in all, SUSU’s first ever Culture Festival was a success. I most definitely had fun participating in the events and enjoyed meeting new people from different cultures.
Being at university is the perfect time to expand your horizons by experiencing cultures you never thought you could ever have the chance to get involved in… and I didn’t even have to leave Southampton!
Rylyn
cool
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