By: Carsyn Cann
Fayetteville, Ark. (UATV)- This year marks the 21st anniversary of International Education Week. The series began in 2000 under President Bill Clinton and the State and Education Departments. This week is not only a national initiative seen on campuses around the United Sates, but a global one celebrated by many other countries around the world.
At the University of Arkansas, International Education Week is hosted through a series of events, those of which began with an International Bazaar.
The bazaar invited different student and faculty representatives of countries from around the world to showcase special items and trinkets that are important in their culture. Some brought food, others brought clothing, musical instrument and many things in between.
The table from China included traditional clothing, literature and a string of colorful stuffed animals. “We have 12 animals that stand for each year.,” said international student Ximiao Yang. “Rat, ox, tiger, dragon, just all of the zodiac signs.”
Moving to a different country, but just across the room, was the table of Bangladesh. The students representing this country were giving out homemade food, showing off traditional jewelry and tiny-sized models of popular Bangladesh vehicles. “This is our traditional vehicle in our country, when you go to our country, you’ll see this kind of stuff,” said international Graduate Assistant Anindita Saha.
According to the U of A Admissions Office, 1,200 students from 110 countries are currently studying in Fayetteville. This week gives those international students a platform to share diverse topics and issues that are important to them.
This week, international students and scholars will host a variety of events from workshops, to scavenger hunts and dances. “We hope that everyone will take advantage of something this week, it is a very special week where we are highlighting lots of things that we don’t normally do,” said Cynthia Smith, the Assistant Outreach Director for International Students and Scholars.
The theme of this year’s International Education Week is “Better Together.” Smith said that this theme hopes to encourage campus members to see the benefits of learning about and connecting with international students. “There’s a lot of great things that happen from exchange, just the world coming closer together,” said Smith.
Each day of the week, starting Monday, November 15th, will have a variety of events around campus on different topics within international education. To view each event and its details, visit https://international-students.uark.edu/events/international-ed-week.php .