The International 16 is based at the International Society at the University of Manchester in Manchester, UK. The 2008/2009 International 16 brings 16 students (and one dog!) from fifteen different countries together for a uniques shared educational and cultural experience. The group attend regular meetings and workshops together and work towards promoting international friendship and raising cultural awareness.
Every year, the 16 create a performance and workshop which includes songs, stories, dances and games to help introduce children to other cultures.
This year's 16 is:
Alba (and Tori the dog, our official mascot) - Spain
William - France
Annis - Malaysia
Claudia - Portugal/Cape Verde
Achin - India
Dwi - Indonesia
Maksim - Russia
John - Hong Kong
Dragos - Romania
Paul - Germany
Aleksandra - Poland
Maria - Mexico
Wendy - USA
Kirsten - The Netherlands
Artem - Russia
Washington - Zimbabwe
We would never exclude Sam, our British director and fearless leader. He works for the International Society and came up with the idea of the 16 some years ago.
The idea is to post what goes on at our meetings on this blog, extending our goal of making other people aware of different cultures. At our meetings each week, one person will be giving a short presentation about their country, and I hope that a condensed version of that will be available here. As for our initial meeting, we learned everyone's names and where they are from. It doesn't seem like much, but for me personally, it was tough. Being in a different country with a lot of strangers means learning new names every day!
Cheers!
Wendy
