FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — The 11th annual International Festival at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will use sights, sounds, tastes and discussions of global engagement to celebrate IUPUI’s strategic internationalization initiative.
The festival takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Feb. 19 on the first floor and lower level of the Campus Center, including inside Barnes & Noble bookstore, 420 University Blvd. The festival is free and open to the public.
It will feature international students dressed in colorful native clothing, a Chinese lion dance, other performers and free food from four countries and one region, underscoring campus efforts to broaden and deepen internationalization, forge and expand effective international partnerships and position IUPUI students to be global citizens.
A lecture series, beginning at 9 a.m. in Rooms 307 and 309 at the Campus Center, accompanies the festival.
Among festival activities:
- 11 a.m. — Free food samples will be served, including: From China, shrimp lo mein; from Africa/Ivory Coast, alloco; from Puerto Rico, chicharrones de pollo; from Turkey, Turkish rissoles; and from India, aloo chaat.
- Noon — Best Dressed Contest winner announced at the atrium stage. Faculty, students, staff and community members can win a $25 gift card from the IUPUI Barnes & Noble Bookstore by wearing clothing from their home country or a place they’ve visited.
- 12:05 p.m. — Chinese lion dance performance.
- 12:30 p.m. — The Office of International Affairs hosts an awards ceremony at the atrium stage on the first floor of the Campus Center, recognizing winners of IUPUI’s first Global Engagement Award and the Sutton Awards for Study Abroad.
- 1 p.m. — Musicians, dancers and cultural artists perform.
- 2 p.m. — Second Best Dressed Contest winner announced.
Festival guests may post a photo on social media with the hashtag #globalJags for a chance to win one of several prizes.
The IUPUI flag collection, curated by the International Center and including flags of all U.N.-recognized member states, will be on display.
The lecture series features a keynote lecture at 9 a.m. in Room 307 by Richard Kiely, director of engaged learning and research at Cornell University. Kiely is an expert in adult learning and well-known for his research on international service learning program design and assessment, intercultural learning, transformative student learning outcomes in service learning, and critical global citizenship.
Other lectures include:
- 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. — “The Internationalization of Higher Education: How Today’s Landscape Differs From the Past,” Susan Sutton, senior advisor for international initiatives at Bryn Mawr College, Room 307.
- 11 to 11:25 a.m. — “Whose Bridge Is It Anyway? Nationalism and Architectural Fiction on the Euro,” Elizabeth Thill, assistant professor of classical studies, world languages and cultures, Room 309.
- 11:30 – 11:55am Discovering the Peaceful and Generous Hospitality of Hispaniola, Jose Vargas-Vila, Lecturer in Spanish, World Languages and Cultures, Room 309.
- Noon to 12:25 p.m. — “Toward a Critical Global Citizenship: Opportunities and Challenges,” Richard Kiely, director of engaged learning and research at Cornell University, Room 309.
- 1:30 to 1:55 p.m. — “So you want to know about deaf culture and language?,” Laura Smith, senior lecturer, ASL coordinator, American Sign Language/English Interpreting Program, Room 309.
- 2:00 – 2:25pm Building Nursery and Primary Schools in the Rural Niger Delta, Pegg Scott, Professor of Political Science, Room 309.
The lectures are hosted by the Department of World Languages and Cultures, the Center for Service and Learning, and the Office of International Affairs at IUPUI.
More than 40 IUPUI schools, clubs and organizations are participating in the festival, along with the Indianapolis mayor’s International and Cultural Affairs Office, the Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis, Global Gifts, Indy Eleven and other community groups with an international focus.