Portsmouth Business School
International bazaar opens up the world to school children
Thu, Mar 25, 2010
Nadine Tchaho organised the cultural bazaar to bring together international university students and year-eight school children from Mayfield Secondary School in North End. The bazaar tied in with a school event to celebrate global citizenship.
International students from the University of Portsmouth set up stands representing sixteen countries across four continents – including Bulgaria, Brazil, Ghana and Poland – to demonstrate their country’s customs.
Nadine is on a year’s placement with Business in the Community, an organisation which mobilises businesses to make a positive impact in the community, workplace, marketplace and environment. She planned the event to enrich the school children’s learning and show how important it is for different cultures to engage.
“The world is going global, making it even more critical to interact with other cultures, be diverse and learn people’s stories. I am studying international business studies so this event was perfect to combine my cross-cultural networking and business skills,” she said.
“The children have been really engrossed. Most of them have heard of Brazil because of football but have no idea where Ghana and Cameroon are. For them this is a great opportunity to learn about different countries to broaden their horizons beyond Portsmouth.”
Nadine was born in Congo but has lived in seven other countries, including Cameroon and Gabon, before settling in the UK to study.
“Portsmouth has a campus full of fascinating faces, ethnic dresses and vivid colours. It’s so important to prepare young people for comfortable interaction with others from all corners of the world.”
Sponsored by the Portsmouth Business School, a member of Business in the Community, the event came about after Nadine submitted a proposal to Associate Dean (Students), Richard Tonge.
Richard said: “The cultural bazaar was a great success because it was both educational and fun. Nadine is a good student, a fantastic ambassador for the Business School and fulfilling the best ideals of Business in the Community”.
“Getting our students out into schools is crucial so they can connect with the university instead of seeing it as something remote from their lives. This event is another means by which we can make that all-important connection. These kids are our future – not just our future potential students, but our city’s future too.”