International Cultural Day 2015

Question asked

On 13 May 2015, Rotterdam Business School welcomed a colourful array of cultures from across the globe into the Kralingse Zoom campus. More than 2000 visitors participated in the day and helped to create a warm, community atmosphere around the building. International Cultural Day was born out of a vision to improve cultural diversity and awareness at Rotterdam Business School. Seven IBMS students set out to bring RBS students from more than 70 nations together for a day of cultural celebration, experiences and entertainment.

Approach

The students brainstormed, organised and executed the event from start to finish. Each student put in more than 200 hours of work across six months to make the event a success. The main element to arrange was a cultural market where visitors were able to experience many cultures first-hand through sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. This was made possible by a team of student volunteers who introduced and displayed their cultures. The students also arranged more than 15 workshops and many other events throughout the day for visitors to enjoy.

Result

The event was hosted at Kralingse Zoom, with a large cultural market taking the centre stage. Throughout the day visitors could experience a wide array of cultural activities including food tasting, calligraphy writing, henna tattoos and cultural dancing. To further relations between RBS and the international community, a lunch for more than 20 Ambassadors and 40 diplomats from around the world was also arranged by the students. The RBS Education Diplomacy Initiative was launched, for collaboration with new international partners to create an even more exciting curriculum for students.