Full Menu of Events Slated for International Education Week at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo is joining schools, colleges and universities across the country in the celebration of International Education Week, being held Nov. 15-21.

UB will present a full schedule of free public events in recognition of the important cultural, academic and economic contributions of international education to Western New York and the nation.

Throughout the week, 14 international student clubs and associations representing students from Iran, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Greece, Malaysia, India and other nations will present sessions that showcase their countries or cultures. There will be several live performances, "Sapno Ki Raat" (Night of Dreams), a semi-formal gala sponsored by the Indian Students Association, cultural presentations and more -- all illuminating the importance of international educational exchange.

Notable recent films from Canada, France, Iran, Palestine, Taiwan and Vietnam will be featured as part of a weeklong international film festival.

Various Asian cuisines can be sampled during "A Taste of Asia" from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 in the lobby of the Student Union on the North (Amherst) Campus. Several different Asian student clubs sponsor this event.

A special performance of "Dongnae Yaryu: A Korean Masked Dance Play" will take place at 8 p.m. Nov. 21 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts (CFA) on the North Campus.

Another highlight will be the U.S. premiere of the documentary "The Will To Live: A Notebook About Love, Hate and Reconciliation." Danish director and filmmaker Anne-Gyrithe Bonne will be in attendance at the event, along with Chanrithy Him, the award-winning Cambodian-American author who appears in the film. The screening will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 in the Screening Room of the CFA.

Buffalo/Niagara World Connect will co-sponsor a presentation by local residents who traveled to Afghanistan to assist in the reconstruction of that country. "Rebuilding Afghanistan: Buffalo Residents Discuss their Experiences," will take place at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Student Union Theatre, North Campus.

J.M. Coetzee, a former UB faculty member and winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Literature will be the subject of a lecture, "J.M. Coetzee: Voicing the Heart of the Country," by Shaun

Irlam, professor and chair of the Department of Comparative Literatures and a former student of Coetzee's in Capetown, South Africa. The lecture will be at noon on Nov. 20 in Room 145A of the Student Union, North Campus.

At noon on Nov. 21, Mark Ashwill, director of the World Languages Institute, campus Fulbright Program advisor and founding director of the U.S.-Indochina Educational Foundation, will give a talk, "Vietnam and America: Overcoming the Past," in 280 Park Hall, North Campus, as part of the Asia at Noon lecture series, sponsored by the Asian Studies Program.

On Nov. 17, selections from the Study Abroad Programs' first annual photo contest will be on display from noon to 3 p.m. in the Student Union. The photos were taken by UB students during recent study-abroad experiences.

There will be two sessions during the week, entitled "Living on Campus: An International Perspective," that will highlight the experiences of international students in this regard and compare their experiences here to living on campus back home.

A full schedule of events for International Education Week may be viewed at http://wings.buffalo.edu/intlservices/edu.pdf.

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education designed to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study in the United States.

"International Education Week is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the diversity of our campus community, celebrate the contributions of the many cultures represented at UB and highlight the many benefits of cross-cultural interaction," says Ellen A. Dussourd, director of International Student and Scholar Services, pointing out that there are now almost 3,500 international students at UB.

Stephen Dunnett, vice provost for international education, points out that it is widely recognized throughout the world that students who study outside their native countries develop important relationships, perspectives and a tolerance of global similarities and differences that serve them and their countries well throughout their lives.

IEW 2003 is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for International Education, the Council on International Studies and Programs, the Graduate Student Association, HSBC Bank, M&T Bank, Key Bank, Global Ambassadors, 10 different GSA clubs and four Student Association clubs.

For more information, contact the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at 645-2258 or intlservices@buffalo.edu, or visit http://wings.buffalo.edu/intlservicese.

The International Education Week Web site at http://exchanges.state.gov/iew provides more information regarding the ways in which International Education Week activities are being celebrated throughout the world.