VIU celebrates International Education Week with displays, speakers, entertainment

Vancouver Island University will celebrate International Education Week Nov. 15-19 with a series of learning opportunities, entertainment and a colorful multicultural festival.

Students, faculty and staff representing many countries are encouraged to share their native traditions, foods, dress and cultural perspectives with the university and the Nanaimo community.

“Canada is joining more than 85 countries around the globe in this international celebration,” said Audrey Hansen, coordinator for VIU’s International Education Week events. “The theme for the week is ‘International Education: Building a Society for the 21st Century.’

“The purpose of International Education Week is to showcase the significant contribution that international education makes in preparing Canadians for the global world and supports Canada’s efforts to engage effectively on the international stage,” she added.


International and intercultural knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes are increasingly important for students to develop in order to live and work in a complex and interdependent world.

“The presence of international students at VIU has the potential to expand the horizons of every student, faculty and staff member in the VIU community,” said Graham Pike, Dean of the Faculty of International Education.

“International students enrich all of us by sharing their perspectives, cultures, and ideas with us. We can learn first-hand about their homelands and how their countries are similar and different from ours.” VIU currently has more than 1,500 international students on campus representing more than 71 countries.

One of the highlights of International Education Week at VIU will be a presentation by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, author of the Price of Stones, the stirring story behind the Nyaka AIDS Orphans School in Uganda. Kaguri’s presentation will take place on Wednesday Nov. 17, from 10 am to 11:30 am in Building 200 Room 203, immediately followed by a book signing. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge for admission.

A fair trade sale featuring unique products from countries including India, Kyrgyzstan and Mexico, will take place on Thursday, Nov. 18 in the upper cafeteria (Building 300) from 11 am to 3 pm. Later on Thursday, VIU’s World University Service of Canada will host a reception where attendees can meet and hear the stories of two students who came from the refugee camps of Kenya to live and study in Nanaimo. The reception takes place between 5:30 pm and 7 pm in Building 305 Room 440. Everyone is welcome.

International Education Week will culminate Friday, Nov. 19 with the first annual multicultural festival. VIU will celebrate through cultural displays, a marimba band, talent shows and a fashion show. Everyone in the VIU community is encouraged to wear something representing the place they are from or a place they care about. The multicultural festival takes place in Building 255, Room 170 from 12 noon to 4 pm and the public is welcome to attend.

In addition to hosting international students, VIU offers dozens of international study tours and exchange programs that take Canadian students to the far reaches of the globe.

“Canadian students and faculty who engage in study abroad opportunities such as field schools, internships, and academic exchanges, often report that they find the experiences profoundly moving,” said Audrey Hansen, Manager of Education Abroad.


International study opportunities on offer in 2011 are already creating much interest on campus. Students can choose from once-in-a-lifetime experiences like excavating in a world-renowned Middle Paleolithic cave in Belgium, working in an orphanage in Indonesia or a study of the wine business in France.

For further information, contact Audrey Hansen, Manager, Education Abroad Audrey.Hansen@viu.ca or (250) 740-6312 and Richard Payne International Student Activity Coordinator at Ricard.Payne@VIU.ca or (250) 740-6315.