The International Cultural Exchange – a collaboration between Rotary International and The Children’s Post of India, concluded with a grand finale on the International Children’s Day – November 20th, 2022.
The finale had presentations from 6 teams. They showcased the culture of 13 countries. The jury members – Ms. Girija Ananth, Ms. Padmini Nagachandra, and Mr. Ajit Kaikini, had a very tough time deciding.
Each team presented its cultures in a unique way.
“I did not know that India is so much like Pakistan.”
“I did not know that Pakistan is so much like India.”
“This looks like cream in a bun, but it’s a very important dish in Sweden.”
“This is a kurta. It’s like a long T shirt that is worn with a pyjama or trousers.”
“In my country, the New Year Day, when everyone is happy and celebrating, is the biggest festival.”
“In my country, we greet each other by saying ‘May good things happen to you.’ ”
I am from Pakistan, and I am going to talk about food in Indonesia.
I stayed up till midnight to check if I had been selected. I was so keen on getting into this program.
The proverb in my land says, “The sun, the moon, and the truth, cannot be concealed for long.”
– These were some of the things we heard as the International Cultural Exchange came to an end.
And one of the jury members said,
“I did not get a chance to do this during my childhood. But you have. Cherish these friends from all over the world. If possible, visit them one day. You will love it.”
Over 50 children – from Philippines to Argentina, from Nigeria to Sweden, came together to understand each other’s cultures through interaction. They shared details about their food, clothes, festivals, proverbs, and other small things that define culture.
The presentations over the last eight weeks were phenomenal, to say the least. But if they’d set a high bar, the creative presentations raised it even further.
One team took a food item – bread, and presented it as a starter, main course, and dessert in their own cultures. They all made that food item today! Another team dressed up in their traditional finery and after a greeting in their language, they spoke about their traditional dresses, and shared a proverb from their language. A third team made games about fun facts, monuments, food, and festivals of all their countries. The winning team had team members talk about each other’s food.
All through this, their mentors – who were masters students themselves, nudged, guided, pushed, and then beamed with pride as team after team completed its stupendous performance.
Only an organisation like Rotary could have pulled off something like this. The way Rotarians from all over the world came together to participate, take the message to children in their countries, become SPOCs for these participants, and ensure that the participants overcome issues like access to computers, school clashes, etc. to participate. Nine Weeks of frenzied activity came to a stupendous finale.