Booths with mini Flags and bright balloons covered the University Student Union Southwest Terrace on Monday as a festival to educate others about cultures around the world kicked off.
The annual International Education Week began at California State University, Long Beach with booths from Korean, Mexican and Indian organizations on campus.
“Really underscore for yourself and for us as an institution how important it is to remain engaged with the rest of the world and to remain connected with cultures and peoples around the world,” said Terrence F. Graham, executive director of international programs.
The nearly 20-year-old event is a state department initiative that showcases various cultures of students representing 95 countries around the world, Graham said.
CSULB departments at the event included the American Language Institution, which highlighted the Teaching English as a Foreign Language program. The program has students learn how to teach English for various grade levels, from primary to high school, in foreign countries, according Associate ALI director Sean Cochran.
The Phi Beta Delta International Education Honor Society, which includes faculty, staff and students, also attended the festival. The honor society talked about any international engagement as well as the experiences of students that go to study or teach abroad, Chapter President Colette Redden said.
The event itself had numerous aspects such as booths that offered information, snacks and activities from their native country, Korean Face Painting and multicultural dance performances.
“This is an event that highlights our commitment as a university to be engaged globally,” Graham said. “The tragic events this past weekend have really driven home how interconnected we all are.”
In solidarity for the events in Paris, a number of volunteers wore ribbons with the French national colors on them.
“Everything happening all over the world can touch us in different ways,” Graham said, “we are an environment that has a true appreciation for diversity of all kinds.”