10 March 2010

Sheffield students celebrate World Week

Students at the University will be celebrating their international diversity with a week of multicultural events as part of World Week from 13 March – 19 March 2010.

An international parade, featuring a variety of societies representing students from all over the world, will kick-start World Week on Saturday 13 March. The students, who will parade from the Union of Students to the Peace Gardens, will also collect for the Haiti earthquake appeal during the event, which starts at 11:30am.

A World Sports Day, which will see students from different nationalities competing in seven different sports including football, basketball, table tennis and cricket for the World Sports Trophy, will take place on Sunday at the University´s Goodwin Sports Centre. This will be followed by an international twist to a popular British tradition – the pub quiz – with a Global Pub Quiz in Bar One at the Union of Students in the evening. Entry to both events is free.

Activities throughout the week will focus on a different region of the world each day. Language taster sessions will be taking place at the Union of Students, with the chance to learn the basics in a range of languages, from Arabic to Japanese. On Thursday 18 March a Battle of the Bands contest, which will see student bands from different countries competing against each other, will take place at the Raynor Lounge at Bar One.

The University of Sheffield has over 3,900 international students representing 125 countries, making up 21% of the student population.

Alex Erdlenbruch, International Officer at the University´s Union of Students, said: "We hope this week long celebration of our multicultural and global student body will give all our students the opportunity to show their pride in their heritage and home culture. It also gives the entire student body a glimpse into the diversity of our students which we value greatly.

"World Week serves not only international students feeling at home in Sheffield, as it allows them to feel comfortable demonstrating their home culture, but it also gives all our students the chance to experience a different mindset, a different language and new friendships."

World Week will take place at the University of Sheffield between 13 March and 19 March 2010.