University

04 Mar 10

Hundreds of Oxford students, as well as local residents of Oxford, attended a festival this week to celebrate the international mix of the University student body, enjoying food and performances representing some of the 145 different countries from which Oxford students come.

Over a third of Oxford’s students are non-British: nearly 7,500 out of a student body of 20,000. The Oxford International Festival, held at the Examination Schools and organised by students themselves, celebrated cultural and international diversity through performances, exhibits and food stalls from cultures around the globe.

1,500 people attended, enjoying highlights such as a Chinese orchestra, a Turkish folklore show, Middle Eastern dance, and West African drumming. For many attendees the best thing was the food, coming from over 20 different countries. They sampled Lebanese baklava; Russian beetroot salad; Korean chilli and sweet fried chicken; Israeli chocolate rugelach cakes; Caribbean sweetcorn fritters; Algerian tagine; Pakistani traditional spicy nuts; Japanese miso soup; Greek cheese pie (tyropita); Chinese spring rolls, Romanian Easter chocolate bread; Indian flatbreads; Ugandan samosas and chapati, and Turkish delight.

Oxford students come from 145 different countries. Around 1,500 people attended the International Festival.

The festival, now in its third year, is organised by the International Students’ Campaign, one of six autonomous equal opportunities campaigns of the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU). The campaign aims to represent, and improve welfare for, the very many international students in the University, thinking particularly of the challenges facing someone starting university in a different country. Projects include the International Students’ Handbook, involvement in the University’s international orientation programme, and several social events.

Weige Wu, a second-year undergraduate reading PPE at Queen’s College, who chairs the campaign, said: ‘It’s amazing that we have so many people, students, residents and even tourists come to the festival. We’ve expanded the festival every year since it started two years ago. Oxford is extremely diverse and I think it's important to understand and celebrate this diversity here. The University Offices, and the Exam Schools staff, have been extremely supportive and helpful. Much of the success of this event is owed to them.’

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andy Hamilton, who attended the event, said: ‘This was my first ever OUSU International Festival: what a fantastic event. It was a great showcase of the talents of Oxford's international students, who now make up more than a third of our student body and who bring immeasurable cultural richness to the University. This was amply demonstrated in the songs we heard, the dancing we saw, and the excellent food we all sampled.’