The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Borders shrink, cultures shine at Global Village

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 18, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Borders shrink, cultures shine at Global Village

Staff Reporter

Youth from 15 nations share information on their home countries

— PHOTO: S.R. Raghunathan

FRIENDLY DIPLOMACY: U.S. Consul-General David T. Hopper interacts with AIESEC trainees at Global Village 2007 on Sunday.

CHENNAI: A slice of the world, its people and culture in the confines of a conference room of a Chennai hotel might sound far fetched, but not so if one visited Global Village 2007 here on Sunday.

The multi-cultural forum was organised by the Chennai wing of AIESEC International, one of the world’s largest youth-run organisations, and brought together young people from 15 nations to share information on their home countries with one another and experience the culture of the host, India.

The president of AIESEC, Chennai, Shezaan Hamid, said AIESEC offers “living diversity” to its members and the forum titled ‘Global Village-2007, redefining boundaries,’ brought together trainees from various parts of the world to offer each other a taste of their own culture.

AIESEC organises internships for young people, especially students from various countries with Indian corporates as well as development organisations and non-governmental organisations. The president of the organising committee for global village, Gayathri Nair, said each year, an event such as this was organised to expose the members to the various cultures and identities. “The trainees are all itching to share their own cultures with one another, this forum helps to serve the purpose,” she said.

A walk around the stall put up by trainees from Lithuania to Korea; Russia to China and Brazil was a treat. Trainees brought with them not just picture post cards, films, costumes and memorabilia from their respective countries, but also had some of their quintessential cuisine to be savoured by the foreign palate. The camaraderie was genuine and the youthful energy abundant.

Chief guest U.S. Consul-General in South India David T. Hopper said the forum was a great chance to see the world on one afternoon in Chennai. “The best diplomacy happens when different people from different parts of the world meet and share experience and build cultural understanding. It is the most powerful force to build international understanding and peace,” he said. Stating that it was young people with skills such as these that could combat negative forces worldwide, he said it was increasingly important to seek out avenues to bridge the borders between peoples.

Pavel Nesterov, a Russian working as consultant for Satyam Computers as part of his AIESEC internship programme said he chose to come to India because he wanted an experience completely different from that in Russia. “The place is completely different, the culture is different, its tradition and heritage are different and the mentality of the people is also different. I wanted exposure to a completely different experience and that is what I have got in India,” he said.

Ms. Nair said that apart from the cultural stalls and presentations, the AIESEC also focused on certain international issues such as HIV/AIDS.

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