In celebration of South Africa’s Heritage Month, the International Students Organisation (ISO) at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) hosted its annual Cultural Diversity Day on Friday, 20 September 2024, at the ML Sultan Campus Conference Room. This vibrant event highlighted the richness of global cultures within the university, bringing students together to celebrate their unique heritage.
Organised in partnership with the DUT International Education and Partnerships (IEP) unit, Cultural Diversity Day serves as a platform to foster unity and promote inclusivity across DUT’s diverse cultural landscape. By embracing the distinct customs and traditions of its international community, the university seeks to create a welcoming environment that values multiculturalism.
This year’s event took an innovative approach by integrating DUT’s institutional living values with the core cultural principles of the countries represented within the ISO. This initiative was designed to honour the individual cultural identities of international students while cultivating a shared sense of belonging within the DUT community
The event was directed by Kieron Dzavairo who also performed a poem for the attendees. The attendees were very excited to learn the different cultures. The guests were dressed in their traditional attires, enjoying traditional food, music, dancing and the games that taught them about the history of African culture.
The Faculty of Arts and Design Interim Executive Dean, Prof J Baxen warmly welcomed the attendees. She shared that cultural diversity is complex, and it involves considering several interests and sometimes conflicting ideas, and aspects and for the most part as cultural diversity is about recognition and acknowledgement.
“It is my honour to welcome you to this prestigious function where we celebrate diversity and acknowledge our interconnectedness. Cultural diversity is about seeing an individual for who he or she is without judgement, noting that he or she might hold different views. It means considering that we inhabit the world differently and take up space in different ways. At a deeper level, cultural diversity can also cause tension, conflict, discontinuity, shake our responsibility, disrupting our sense of being and our identity,’’ said Prof Baxen.
Prof Baxen further highlighted on what is happening to other African countries as the prime example of cultural diversity conflicts.
“When you look at countries like South Sudan and Palestine. It is not only the politics but also how they identify themselves. Therefore, it is necessary to think about ways on how we investigate cultural diversity because it can cause barriers, pains, wars and dislocate communities,’’ added Prof Baxen.
She also urged everyone to take responsibility and go beyond superficial boundaries, create spaces that provoke, disrupt, transform ways to embrace the diversity. “Let us find ways to continually engage in difficult conversations and create opportunities for us to see each other and create spaces for transformation,’’ added Prof Baxen.
The guest speaker of the event was Dr Kehinde Adewumi who explored the cultural diversity and inclusivity. He said that he was very honoured to be part of the event and deliver a talk on such a vital aspect of cultural diversity. Furthermore, he claimed that there is more to cultural diversity than race and cultural differences.
“When we talk about cultural diversity the first thing that comes our mind is differences in gender, race and culture whereas there is so much more than that. There are differences in, age, language, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientations and ideologies,” explained Adewumi.
Dr Adewumi believes that life is made of diversities and diversity is not about everyone agreeing together. It is about people’s differences, bringing different perspectives together and respecting differences. According to him, DUT students are in the institution to encounter the ‘other’. ‘
’Others in this case means other ideas, people, culture, ways of knowing, doing, seeing, religions and opinions. It means all people are human but not all people are the same. Everyone has their own unique perspective and identity,’’ said Dr Adewumi.
Thobeka Dlamini from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was also part of the programme to share brief information on bursary opportunities for students to study abroad in India. DUT Drama students, as well as the Consulate General of India representatives entertained the attendees with music and dance.
The DUT ISO president Ene Awodi delivered a vote of thanks, and extended her appreciation to her team, the guests, DUT IEP and everyone who made the event a successful one.
“We believe strongly that through embracing the DUT living values individually and collectively, the student body and the institution will be impacted positively. While differences and diversity are inevitable, recognition and inclusion are imperative to the sustainable development of the DUT community,” said Awodi.
Pictured: DUT International Students Organisation (ISO) at the cultural diversity event.
Vukani Langa
