Global Week – celebrating diversity and creating friendships

The University’s Global Week 2019 included a Global Food and Culture Festival and World of Sport Tournament

OVER a thousand students from the University took part in the highly-anticipated Global Week and ensured the campus was alive with activity as they celebrated diversity and created international friendships.

The week-long programme of events, known previously as International Week, is now in its ninth year and more students than ever before came along to take part in the activities hosted by the University’s Global Campus Events Team and Global Student Societies. 

The highlight of the week was the Global Food and Culture Festival where students provided traditional dishes from their homelands for others to taste.  This was followed by an evening’s entertainment of traditional song and dance, which celebrated the diversity and array of cultures that make up the University’s student population.

Global Week 2019 began with a World of Sport Tournament where teams of students came together to compete in four sports which included basketball, volleyball, table tennis and badminton.  The overall winners were the team representing Nigeria.

There was a ‘futsal’ (football) tournament – won by Libya, a celebration of languages event organised by the linguistics department and a global fashion show that showcased traditional costumes and styles from around the world.

A world board games day allowed students to show a competitive side before later coming together to enjoy Hispanic night, which featured music, performance and food from Spain and Latin America.

Also popular was the global tea party, which demonstrated there are more ways to brew a cup of tea than with an English tea bag, as students enjoyed tea brewed from traditional kettles for visitors to taste.

The week culminated with an awards ceremony where everyone who hosted an event or won a competition was presented with a certificate.

Global Week is one of many international events taking place on the University’s campus and it has gone from strength to strength under the supervision of the University’s International Student Experience Manager, Alan Tobi.  As Global Week celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, he anticipates that the festivities will be bigger and better than ever.

“Ultimately, these events create friendships and memories,” he said, “, which give our students the best experience possible whilst allowing them to develop a global mind-set and better understanding of other countries in the world.  This also helps them to be better prepared for the world of work, once they graduate.

“Everyone who hosted and participated throughout the week helps to make Huddersfield a great place to be and I would like to thank all of the students who took part and made it all happen,” he added.