LISA REINKE, VALERIE PSZOLLA

The International Office along with student assistants is organising an International Week on campus from June 8th until June 12th.


The International Week is open to the public and is part of the GO OUT Studieren Weltweit Project, initiated by the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) and the Bundesministerium für Bildung and Forschung. The main goal is to motivate current and future students to study abroad and broaden their international competences. GO OUT aims to help universities improve the outgoing student mobility.

At the International Week the public will be able to experience the culture of more than 60 countries through various activities:
On Monday, June 8th, at around 11.00 a.m. the week starts with an Intercultural Day where the International Student Festival Competition will take place with exhibitions by foreign and German students.Five continents will be presented in five large tents. Students will be sharing the culture of their countries and their experience in their semester abroad. They will be presenting stories, handcrafts, live performances and traditional food from other countries. The best overall exhibition will receive a prize. Later, in the afternoon, there will be the International Sports Games where teams formed by faculty, staff and students (international and national) will compete against each other in short tournaments. Following will take place the International Film Festival part I, where the audience can enjoy international films (short, animated, and features).


On Tuesday, June 9th at 9.00 a.m. the Language and Culture Day begins. It is a day to learn and be entertained by languages and culture of the English, Danish and Spanish speaking countries. This day includes 1. A Business Workshop about the Andean Community. 2. Presentations full of colour, humour and music in English, Danish and German. 3. The GO OUT Open House where students will get an overview over the possibilities of studying abroad with partner universities. 4. An exhibition from publishing companies in different languages. 4. A Cultural Show to amuse the audience.

At the end of this day there will be the International Film Festival part II where again international films will be shown.
On Friday, June 12th, at 10.00 a.m. the World Citizen Debate starts. It uses a format similar to the UN model. Iinternational and German students play diplomats and have the opportunity to prepare and represent a country to discuss world issues such as minority rights. The team presenting the best resolution will be awarded a prize. A team of experts will help to prepare them.

Later in the evening the following prizes will be awarded at the GO OUT Awards 2009: Prizes for the “Best Student Exhibition” at the International Student Festival, a prize for the “Best Resolution” at the World Citizen Debate, and prizes for the Best Photographs of the Foreign Semester Photo Competition in the categories “Student Life” and “Impressions of the Country”. The photo competition already started on April 6th and students had the possibility to enter until the 6th of May. Students who already spent a semester abroad had the possibility to hand in pictures in the two categories previously named. From May 18th to June 4th, all pictures will be exhibited in the library and the public has the opportunity to vote for its favourite photographs. After the GO OUT Awards the finalist photographs will be exhibited in MODUL 1 in Rote Strasse from June 18th to July 2nd.

Lucila Morales de Mittag, organiser and co-ordinator of the International Office staff, expects a good turn out in the International Week on the part of students, high school students, Flensburg citizens and University staff. She hopes that it will become a regular event in the academic calendar and adds “it is a unique opportunity for Flensburg citizens to experience first hand other cultures and countries through our foreign students. It also helps the internationalization of the university and, most of all, everyone has the chance to learn about the possibilities of going abroad for a semester exchange or an internship”

The international office staff expresses that being international is very important in a world that becomes more and more global. Throughout the last years, this trend has been reflecting itself in the professional needs for more international competences and languages. Every year, students have the chance of spending a certain time of their studies in a foreign country but they need to get informed about the possibilities. At the International Week everyone can get a glimpse of the world and perhaps starts thinking where to go to study.