Rebecca Mueller/Winonan

Students from all cultures and walks of life came together to expand their knowledge of the world as Winona State University celebrated International Education Week 2013.

International Education Week is a national event created by the Department of State and the Department of Education. The year 2013 marks the 14th annual celebration of this event.

Minnesota governor Mark Dayton issued a proclamation on Nov. 1 declaring that the state would celebrate International Education Week 2013 from Nov. 12-15, the same days that Winona State scheduled its own events.

Winona State has hosted similar international events in the past four years in the form of a one-day International Expo. This year, the event was extended over four days.

Kemale Pinar, the director of International Services and Cultural Outreach, said, “In order to understand issues, we have to understand the people first.”

She said that meeting people from different cultures has a stronger impact than simply seeing footage on the television.

The week’s events began on Tuesday with a showing of “Crossing Borders,” a documentary about four Moroccan and four American college students who travel through Morocco.

International students were encouraged to come to class wearing traditional outfits from their native countries. Their purpose was to raise awareness about the week’s events and encourage questions about different cultures.

Beginning on Tuesday, students could use the markers attached to a large poster hung in Kryzsko Commons between East Hall and the Upper Hyphen to write the names of places around the world that they wanted to visit.

On Wednesday, global studies professor Michael Bowler presented a lecture on global citizenship.

The International Food and Language Fair also took place on Wednesday. At this event, students could taste dishes from several countries. They could also talk with the international students who prepared the food to learn more about their cultures.

John Otis, who works in the International Services office and is the co-president for International Club, said, “People can talk a lot over food.” He said that food has the power to bring people together, and this happens all around the world.

Otis and Grant Bodmer, his resident assistant in the Quad, began planning for their event in September. Bodmer wanted to do a program with his residents that had an international focus. He was able to collaborate with Otis and the international students to put the event together.

The program ultimately became one of the international students’ projects as part of the Cross-Cultural Outreach Program.

Pinar said, “The purpose of the program is to encourage students to share their culture with people living in Winona and southeastern Minnesota.” International students could complete these projects by visiting classrooms at local schools or participating in events like International Learning Day, she said.

Participants in the program receive the Cross-Cultural Scholarship and are required to complete three projects over the course of the school year.

Thursday’s International Learning Day was the key event for the week. Students from Winona State and area elementary and high schools attended the event, which took place in the Science Laboratory Center atrium. The all-day event also included games, food and lessons.

“It was organized in such a way that you had that one-on-one contact with students,” Pinar said.

The students in attendance could visit tables with information about 18 countries around the world. They could collect a flag sticker for their pretend passports after learning from the international students hosting each table and looking at images and props that demonstrated the country’s culture.

The week concluded with an open house for the International Services and Cultural Outreach offices, which sponsored all the events. At the event, Tunisian students Melek Hakim and Nadia Aissa presented on their country’s history and culture.

Otis said, “I think it’d be a really cool thing to do every year.”

Pinar intends to make International Education Week an annual event at Winona State. She said she sees it as a collaboration between the International Services office and the campus community, and she hopes to encourage more participation both next year and in future years.

Contact Rebecca at [email protected]