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Each year the Office of International Programs and Development sponsors a week full of activities to celebrate International Education Week (IEW). IEW as created jointly by the U.S. State Department and Department of Education to recognize the benefits of international students studying in the United States and American students studying abroad. Each year, there are events and workshops each day during the week. On Wednesday, the International Taste of Culture brings together the Saint Martin’s community for a cultural festival where students, staff, and faculty bring dishes of their culture and restaurants donate dishes which are shared in a potluck-style setting. The event is also filled with various musical and cultural performances from student groups. It is a memorable day! 2007 International Education Week - November 13 – 16 Tuesday, November 13: International Movie and Pizza Night Wednesday, November 14: Taste of Culture Thursday, November 15: Dr. Raymond Reyes: Keynote Speaker Friday, November 17: 2006 International Education Week This year's International Education Week kicked off with a great "Suitcase Stories" panel, featuring Secretary of State Sam Reed, who talked about his experiences abroad to a packed room in the Worthington Center. On Wednesday, the annual Taste of Culture took place, which drew the largest crowd in its history. SMU students, staff, and faculty experienced delicious cuisine from all over the world. On Thursday, SMU students experienced hands-on the Indonesian Gamelan drums. Friday night, the week was capped off with the Most Extreme International Olympics. Students competed in some fun internationally-themed games and had lots of fun! 2005 International Education Week 2005 was a very successful year for International Education week! Saint Martin's University alum, Wray Wade spoke about his experiences running an international company promoting trade, sports and media in the US & Japan. It was an inspiring talk about intercultural communication and business abroad. On Tuesday, local master and Chinese instructor June Nickoff gave a presentation on the Chinese art of Feng Shui. Each year the International Education Division hosts International Taste of Culture and each year it grows in its scope and coverage. It is a cultural festival where students, faculty and staff bring food dishes from their cultures and share in a potluck style setting. On Wednesday of International Education Week, more people participated than ever before and with an estimated count at nearly 500 people, we had to open the entire Pavilion to the event. With performances from around the world, it was definitely the highlight. On Thursday we continued our lunchtime talks Dr. Heather Grob, professor of economics and Local business owners, Dick Meyers of Traditions Fair Trade and Olowo-n’djo Tchala of Agbanga Karite giving an inspiring and informational talk on Fair Trade. Friday's lunchtime talk was hosted by Dr. Jeff Birkenstein and Renee Ellis. Co-sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Initiatives, this important talk started a dialogue and highlighted the importance of intercultural communication. There was a large event lasting all day Saturday! Worthington Center saw an arts and crafts vendor fair, followed by a concert sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Initiatives: Nirvana in November. These events highlighted once again the varied cultures represented in the Saint Martin's Community and our University's commitment to Benedictine hospitality and understanding of all cultures.
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