UBC International Week

Enzula Tavormina, Community Programmer, IHouse, Office of the Vice-President, Student Development and Services

Objectives: MultiMonde UBC is a UBC student-initiated vision. An annual week of interactive and participatory international events and symposiums, MultiMonde will bring together a wide range of contributors and participants from the UBC community. The program will highlight international guest speakers, workshops, seminars, as well as multicultural events and performances. Multimonde UBC will:

• Provide an opportunity for local UBC students and International students to learn from and with each other through academic, cultural, and social activity.
• Encourage debate and discussion among people from different social and cultural groups.
• Increase understanding, experience and appreciation of international interactions.
• Build cross-cultural awareness, experiences and friendships.
• Assist students to develop community leadership roles, facilitation and cross-cultural organizing skills.
• Celebrate diversity and multiculturalism.
• Encourage interest in study abroad and expand academic interests.
• Support UBC's interactive global community and promote our climate of global learning.
• Provide an annual focus for existing international programs (AMS, GSS, IHouse and UBC Departments).

Rationale: Trek 2000 challenges us to become global citizens of the twenty-first century through programs that are international in scope, interactive in process. UBC's Internationalization Strategy commits us to:

• Inform and excite the UBC community about the rich cultural, national, and religious traditions at UBC.
• Excite the university community about opportunities and challenges in international service and work.
• Develop sustainable ties to local internationally focused community, business, and cultural organizations.
• Increase appreciation of, and respect for, our international students.
• Develop global leadership skills and an understanding of the impact international efforts.

MultiMonde UBC was born out of the 2003 Global Student Leadership Group. MultiMonde UBC is an opportunity for and by students to celebrate our diversity, highlight international connections, learn international skills, identify ways students can engage further, and ways in which UBC can improve even further as an institution in support of internationalization. The Student Leadership Group's desire to build international community is echoed in the July 2003 survey of International students completing degrees at UBC. Students indicated that they do not feel part of a community (40%), are not connected to a student club (31%) or participate in faculty or intramural sports (67%). MultiMonde will both build community and promote the UBC’s commitment to global citizenship.

Enzula Tavormina, Community Programmer, IHouse, Office of the Vice-President, Student Development and Services

Objectives: International Week UBC is a UBC student-initiated vision of interactive and participatory international events and symposiums. International Week UBC will bring together a wide range of contributors and participants from the UBC community, provide mentorship and learning opportunities for student leaders, and be a catalyst for discussions of global citizenship. The program will further promote global citizenship through international guest speakers, workshops, seminars, and multicultural events. International Week UBC will:

• Develop global citizenship through mentorship of student leaders and community service learning.
• Provide an opportunity for local UBC students and International students to learn from and with each other through academic, cultural and social activity.
• Encourage debate and discussion among people from different social and cultural groups
• Increase understanding, experience and appreciation of international interactions.
• Build cross-cultural awareness, experiences and friendships and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism.
• Assist students to develop a variety of community leadership roles, facilitation skills, cross-cultural and organizing skills in aim global citizenry.
• Encourage interest in study abroad and expand academic interests.
• Support UBC's interactive global community and promote our climate of global learning.
• Provide a strong annual focus for international programming within IHouse, AMS, GSS, UBC departments.

Rationale: UBC is characterized by diversity, cultural sensitivity and growing networks of students across all nations. Our close links with major international universities can be seen in our many teaching and research collaborations, which build on our excellent international research profile. UBC's 4,000 plus international students and scholars on campus and our broad range of international engagement on campus create an ideal landscape for bringing together our community for international networking, learning, and global citizenship. However, an annual event for international networking and learning at UBC is lacking. International Week UBC is such an event. Through its commitment to the principles and objectives of internationalization and learning targeted by UBC President Dr. Martha Piper, International Week UBC will provide all students, international and local, staff, and faculty, opportunities to "broaden global awareness ... through innovative programs and educational outreach in a variety of formats" (TREK 2010). TLEF funding for International Week UBC would produce a meaningful and concrete example of internationalization and global citizenship at UBC.

Enzula Tavormina, Community Programmer, IHouse, Office of the Vice-President, Student Development and Services

Objectives: UBC International Week is a UBC student-initiated vision of interactive and participatory international events and symposiums. UBC International Week will bring together a wide range of contributors and participants from the UBC community, provide mentorship and learning opportunities for student leaders, and be a catalyst for discussions of global citizenship. The program will further promote global citizenship through international guest speakers, workshops, seminars, and multicultural events. UBC International Week will:

• Develop global citizenship through mentorship of student leaders and community service learning.
• Provide an opportunity for local UBC students and International students to learn from and with each other through academic, cultural, and social activity.
• Encourage debate and discussion among people from different social and cultural groups
• Increase understanding, experience and appreciation of international interactions.
• Build cross-cultural awareness, experiences and friendships and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism.
• Assist students to develop a variety of community leadership roles, facilitation skills, cross-cultural and organizing skills in aim global citizenry.
• Encourage interest in study abroad and expand academic interests.
• Support UBC's interactive global community and promote our climate of global learning.
• Provide a strong annual focus for international programming within I.House, AMS/GSS, UBC Depts.

Rationale: In the initial proposal to TLEF, this project had a three year timeline. Project funding has allowed for two successful and growing years. This is our final application to TLEF as we work to grow the project further to ensure that it reaches broadly into our campus community and university town, provides outstanding leadership and global citizenship development and to finalize the case for sustainable funding. As of the 2007/08 academic year, the VP Students Portfolio in concert with other campus and community partners is committed to finding the funding necessary to make this type of UBC International Week an on-going event.

UBC is characterized by diversity, cultural sensitivity and growing networks of students across all nations. Our international academic and community links, our international research, UBC's 4,000 plus international students and scholars and our broad range of international engagement on campus create an ideal landscape for bringing together our community during an annual UBC International Week. UBC International Week provides international and local students, staff, and faculty, opportunities to "broaden global awareness ... through innovative programs and educational outreach in a variety of formats" (Trek 2010).