International students brought a little flavour of their homeland to Nilai UC for the second 1World Culture competition.
The loud cheering and clapping could be heard from outside Nilai University College's (Nilai UC) President Hall. It was a sign that the Home Team had taken the stage for the second annual 1World Culture International Students Cultural festival. Nilai UC's dance team were getting a raucous response for their dance performance that reflected the many cultures of Pakistan – Arabic, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Balochi.
Alas, despite the overwhelming support, Nilai UC's dance troupe was unable to secure a place on the podium. However, all the Nilai UC participants which hailed from Mongolia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kenya and Uganda, were magnanimous in defeat.
"Even though the 1World Culture event is a singing and dancing competition, I feel everyone who participates and witnesses it benefits greatly as you learn so much about other cultures. Although we didn't win, the whole experience from rehearsing to performing in this event has brought all of us so much closer and I really got to know my fellow international students," says Sana K Niazi, an Accouting and Finance degree student from Pakistan, who choreographed and designed the costumes for the Nilai UC dance team.
For the second year, over 20 teams from public and private universities from all over Malaysia traveled to participate in this event. The 1World Culture event, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, aims to highlight the cultural diversity within the hallowed halls of higher learning in the country.
Divided into vocal and dance categories, the team from Universiti Malaya Perlis emerged champion in the former with a rendition of a Batak song from Indonesia. Universiti Teknologi Petronas and Universiti Putra Malaysia were first and second runner-up respectively. Universiti Malaya took the crown in the dance category with their performance of a Tari Saman, a traditional dance originating from Aceh Indonesia. First runner up in the dance category was Berjaya University College followed by Universiti Teknologi Petronas.
Nilai UC organises a host of event such as this 1World Culture and the forthcoming Future leaders Camp (23-25 Oct 2010) to improve the Total Student Experience. Nilai UC administrators firmly believe that this will help produce well-rounded graduates who have a broader perspective and are socially active.
"We constantly talk about unity and cultural understanding here in Malaysia but it is usually confined to a local context. We thought it was time we did something that promoted a wider worldview involving the large international student population within the country," says Nilai UC President, Prof Emeritus Tengku Dato' Shamsul Bahrin.
Though there were certainly some disappointed contestant who did not make the final three but the overall objective of promoting better cultural understanding was certainly met. This was borne out by the impromptu jam session during the lunch break. A group of African students had started singing traditional songs before instrumentalists from various other institutions joined in creating a joyful afternoon jamboree of music.
"Looking at the interaction between the students and how they were busy exchanging contact details certainly underlined the success of this year's event though I share my students' disappointment in not making the finals. But I congratulate them for a magnificent effort and we shall try again next year," declared an upbeat Tengku Shamsul.
