Thriving in multiculturalism…

It has been a tradition in this blog to introduce the writer first… But I won’t do it. If you need to know more about me, you can find details below or on nussuirc.com. Also, I am sure you all have had enough of the “experiences with IRC”. Now, there are other highbrow things we can talk about!!!

Multicultural is the word to describe the society we live in today and multiculturalism is the doctrine which is the key to our peaceful co-existence here. For NOT a brief definition, multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context which empowers all within the organization or society. We at IRC are here to promote and endorse multiculturalism at NUS among students from over 100 different countries. Notice the words in the definition of multiculturalism – “recognizes and respects”, “acknowledges and values” and “encourages and enables”. These are some of the words embodied in all the IRC events conducted year after year.

IN-FUSION was the one multi-cultural event that I will always remember because in every bit of it there was a culture shock and there was something so different and enlightening that stirs your mind. It is an event which “acknowledges and values” the various cultural differences between countries and brings out the true value and essence of each of them with unique dance performances and other shows. Next, about SPARKZ the one talent show at NUS which has been hunting down the brightest talents to perform year after year. What’s a talent show got to do with promoting multiculturalism? This is what I think. SPARKZ “encourages and enables” the best talents in NUS from so many different countries to come out and share the same stage and fight for the same prize. The participants from various countries perform in front of a multinational audience – the participants either learn to satisfy every taste of the varied audience OR the audience itself gets a cocktail of varied performances to watch and enrich their cultural tastes. Further about OlymNUS which is the one fun-filled sporting extravaganza on NUS grounds. Sports don’t promote multiculturalism? I think they do at least when you have people from 4-5 different countries in the same futsal or basketball team. OlymNUS is nothing about winning the cup. It is all about “recognizing and respecting” one another’s abilities in a team. Hence, there can be no better way to foster multiculturalism than to play sports together with people from different races.  As a freshman at NUS, I have witnessed these sort of events for the first time and hence my descriptions would be quite naïve and raw. So yeah, trust me!! From the usage of words, you would have by now figured that I am quite obsessed with ‘multiculturalism’. Why do you think I joined IRC?

But ultimately the fact is that in a country with over 30 nationalities and as many races and religions, maintaining harmony with diversity is a challenging task. We all breathe in a world of change. Changes and different views of the world come up and can ultimately even lead to the extent of changes in the languages used to name this “new” world!! Our societies are fast changing and becoming more and more multiracial and multicultural. The 21^st century would thus demand man to be culturally and racially sensitive and internationally focused, with an orientation toward the future and not the past, for the existence of a serene society.

So let’s all EMBRACE the CHANGE. ADOPT and ADAPT!

P.S.: If you got a hang of why multiculturalism is essential in our society, I achieved my purpose. Thanks.

 

Akhilesh Mohan
IT Director
NUSSU International Relations Committee

 

Awesomeness forever :D

Hi people,

I am Akaash Gupta, I am from India and  am one of the two IT Directors for the International Relations Committee. I am studying Computer Engineering and am currently a first year student. I joined IRC as an IT Team member in my first semester at NUS. It was a good decision because I got to meet a lot of people from all over the world and interact with them.

As my post “seems” to suggest , I like computers. I like playing PC games and reading novels to relax. Outdoor activities include playing basketball and hanging out with friends. Apart from these, I am quite good at painting too.

Its been about 7 months since i joined IRC. So far the ride has been quite eventful – pun intended. There have been ups and downs with loads of work to do throughout and new experiences to gain. I learned to create websites (www.nussu.org.sg/irc), to create flash animations and even ended up creating a sms voting system for the events.

I still remember the international freshmen orientation where people from IRC first introduced themselves and also enlightened us about their events – SPARKZ , INFUSION and OLYMNUS (then known as International Sports Day). It was my first contact with IRC and frankly, I wanted to join IRC to help in doing something that mattered. Thus when i joined IRC, it was quite awesome.

I have so far helped create two of the most wonderful events happening in NUS – Sparkz and Infusion. Sparkz was the Talent Show of NUS – with a whopping 1000$ as the first prize. There were a horde of talented people who participated but only 12 went to the finale and only 1 was a winner. However, it can be said that each and every one of them was AWESOME. It was also fun to be a part of the judging process ( we(IT Team) created the sms voting system).

The second event which i witnessed was InFusion – Culture Shock. It was held in 2 parts -International Fair and International Students Night. The International Fair was a mixture of colours and cultures. There were stalls from many countries each representing their cultures in a small way, through clothes and food predominantly.
The second part was International Students Night. Though i ended up missing half the show ( because of Committee duties ), it was fun to watch the 2nd half and to witness the emotions on the faces of the people as the event ended. As the IRC Chairperson said – It was an event by the crazies and for the crazies .

In conclusion, I hope that i can continue to enjoy my time in IRC along with my fellow committee members.

Thanks for listening to me rant ……
Akaash Gupta
Computer Engineering || School of Computing / Faculty of Engineering
IT Director || 7th Management Committee
International Relations Committee
NUS Students Union

Experience the IRC spirit

To follow the routine, let me introduce myself first. I am Zeng Zheng, the hosting director in NUSSU IRC. IRC was, is and always will be a passionate committee. It has a group of team players who work together to make our projects a grand success. In-Fusion, Sparz, Olymnus and Freshman Orientation Camp are always the highlights of the year. Yes, I am proud be part of the NUSSU IRC.
Then, you may have a question, what do I do inside this committee. Ha~ What I am doing is quite different. Being the Hosting Directer, we receive delegations around the globe and organized activities for them to know more about our university. The team was initiated last year by the NUSSU president, and with the support from NUSSU, we successfully organized dozens events for delegations from country such as the U.S., Netherlands, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Japan, Korea, etc. Talking with people from a different cultural background has always been an interesting experience. Thus, in the near future, we plan to reform our way of conducting the events, and open this special opportunity to the NUS community.
Apart from my own duty, joining the other projects has always been a pleasant experience for me. NUS owns a significant number of internationals. Together, we cherish our culture and celebrate our culture, through events such as International Student Night under In-Fusion. It is a great way to experience other culture and discover the hidden views in life. You just never know!
Hence, let’s join those celebrations together and cya!!   ^^

Zeng Zheng(Ms)

NUS Faculty of Science, Year 2

Hosting Director

NUSSU IRC

My Time with In-Fusion

Hi Everyone,

Before going in to the main thing, let me introduce myself first. My name is Verry Gunawan, and you would have guessed, I came from Indonesia. I am currently doing my 3^rd year in Applied Chemistry (although I do more projects rather than modules ^^). I would like to say sorry first for all the grammatical and vocabulary mistakes that I am going to make from here onwards, since grammar is not just my thing.

Enough with the introduction about me, let’s start on the introduction of my nearest and dearest event this academic year, In-Fusion 2012: Culture Shock. To make it simple and easy, In-Fusion is basically an annual event held by NUSSU International Relation Committee to promote all the different international culture in NUS. As for the more elaborate explanation about In-Fusion 2012 Culture Shock, I believe that you guys should have seen a lot about it around NUS or from your international friends. If you don’t, you can always visit our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Fusion-2012-Culture-Shock/259577540752056.

Rather than talking a lot about In-Fusion, which you guys should be cleared enough, I prefer to talk about my experience with In-Fusion. In-Fusion is the first event that I joined when I get into NUS. Back then, I wanted to involve myself with NUSSU but I am not sure which committees should I applied for. I don’t really walk around during my first year in Matriculation Fair. The one who introduced me to IRC was Michael Joseph Kristiono (a.k.a. Van Wilder for NUS?). He was one of the few seniors that I considered as fun when we first met. Come to think of it, I learnt a lot of things from him since my first year, which makes me join a lot of projects. It is because of hearing his experience from his 3 years of studies in NUS that made me choose IRC. Thus, I applied as an IRC exco but was kicked to In-Fusion (T_T). That is when I first know about In-Fusion. Being part of logistic for International Fair, I was supposed to liaise with country groups for their logistic items and requests. Not a pretty much work, but it sure takes a lot patience to liaise with them. At my second year, I applied again for IRC exco, but I cannot make it to the interview (-_-). Thus, I involved myself in In-Fusion again (International Fair again). When I went to the interview, I was kind of worried that the Project Director is blurred about International Fair (sorry Sam, HAHA). But in the end, he proved me wrong. During the middle of International Fair, I was involved in International Students Night as well. Although I applied for Assistant Stage Manager, I had to do Stage Manager because the Stage Manager went MIA. Thanks to this, I have to leave most of the International Fair stuffs to my logistic committee. Not a very pleasant experience though, but it was worth it. Fyi, In-Fusion is awarded as the best event of the year (nice right). Hats off to Sam and Akash who inspired me a lot as In-Fusion project directors and sorry for causing a lot of troubles to you guys ^^. As what Sam said and I quote, “I fell in love with In-Fusion along the way”.

Thus, that ends my experience with In-Fusion from my 1^st year and 2^nd year in NUS. This year, as the project director of the 6^th In-Fusion, I present you with In-Fusion 2012: Culture Shock. These 3 days of multicultural will provide you with information about various cultures (in terms of food, attire, games, and performances) that you never would have guessed. Join us in this awesomeness beyond borders for 3 days to get an experience that you will never forget.

When you meet me around campus, feel free to talk me.

P.S: Don’t forget to purchase our International Students Night ticket at http://tinyurl.com/ISNticket at 8$. You don’t want to miss it!

Warmest Regards,

Verry Gunawan

Applied Chemistry, Year 3

Project Director In-Fusion 2012: Culture Shock | 7^th Management Committee

National University of Singapore Students’ Union – International Relations Committee.

My time in IRC

Hi everyone,

I’m Ai Zhen and I’m the General Secretary of IRC. I’ve very honored to have the opportunity to serve in IRC where I get to meet students from different cultures and backgrounds. Such exposure to diverse points of views and different ways of doing things is invaluable.

My interests lie in theatre and books. Many aspects of theatre interest me such as lights, sounds, sets and props, production as well as acting.  In fact, if one can regard any place as a kind of stage, then life is a performance that ends at the very last moment of life.

IRC is one very special wing of NUSSU with many activities that enable one to explore different interests. Some activities include SPARKZ, Infusion, OlymNUS and International Freshmen Orientation. In SPARKZ and Infusion, people who are passionate in performing arts will definitely have a fantastic time. The more athletic ones will shine in OlymNUS. For the social butterflies, International Freshmen Orientation not only gives you the opportunities to meet many friends, it also is good platform to be exposed to different cultures.

For me, my first encounter with IRC was International Freshmen Orientation. I signed up as an OGL and had a marvelous time in it. Freshmen typically arrived at NUS for merely a few days and were unfamiliar with their surroundings. I was glad to be able to welcome them to NUS and help them familiarize with their new surroundings.

As a General Secretary, I take down the minutes of every meeting so that everything that was discussed gets done! In addition, together with Ei Phyu, we organized a BBQ welfare gathering last semester. That was my first time organizing a BBQ! What an experience!

In a nutshell, I hope to have a great time with my fellow teammates in IRC exco for the rest of the semester!

 

Cheers,

Ai Zhen

NUSSU IRC

General Secretary

Hello World!!!

Hi everyone,

Let me introduce myself first. I am Minh Tuan, from Vietnam, final year in Project and Facilities Management. I am kind of an otaku, so you will be more than welcomed to talk to me about “the study of modern visual culture” (yeah, I am quoting Genshiken here). In my free time, other than my otaku habit, I enjoy roller-blading, especially at night. I am a decent cook and quite bad at baking .

So, here comes the tough part for me. What am I supposed to talk about in this blog post, other than my usual unstoppable blabbering about myself? Well, let me talk about my experience in IRC. It’s still me, but at least it will be more interesting than just me.

I have cross-roaded with IRC many times before joining. From a performer for the Vietnam group in In-Fusion in my 1^st year to manning the Vietnamese booth for the Union Week in my 2^nd year. Only in my third year, I am officially a member of NUSSU IRC.

So how is my journey in IRC so far? Believe me, IRC is one of the most unique clubs in NUS. Call us fun-loving and passionate. Call us quirky and flaky. There are just so many ways to describe us. Since, just as our once slogan “diversity at its divergence”, we have members from many different countries and cultures, which allows us to organize the most diverse range of events, since as a great man once said, diversity is the best birthplace for innovations.

You wanna play sport. We have OlymNUS. You wanna play sport though you do not yet have any background. It’s even better, since we welcome not only those come to play but also those to learn, and most of all, to join and make great friends.

You wanna join a multiculture event. In-Fusion has the niché of the only event in NUS where you can enjoy some Vietnamese snacks with delightful Pakistan beverage while chatting with an Irani or playing a game originally from Bangladesh.  It is as well the only event that host traditional performance from many different cultures like India, Indonesian, China, Myanmar, etc., all in one stage.

You are proud as an NUS student. You want to show the underlying uniqueness of the school you love so much. Our hosting team always welcomes you to join and host students visiting us from many universities around the world, from Japan, German, Korea, etc.

And last but not least, may I ask if you can dance? Or sing? Or do magic? There are so many students in NUS with great talents underneath our everyday academic activities. It’s there IRC proudly presents to you SPARKZ, NUS’ first and own talent show.

So I have had my great time. If you want a meaningful journey in NUS, don’t hesitate to join us, for I can promise you a journey of awesomeness beyond borders, and I mean it literally.

Minh Tuan

A playful lad

OlymNUS

Being a pretty good athlete myself, all I ever wanted was to get the international exposure. Watching television and seeing “my stars” play around in the arenas all over the world, it made me dream; that one day, I could play among these fellas. Well that could not happen but NUS provided me with the same chance (to play with multinational friends), and as expected, I HELD that chance. Not only that, IRC-NUS provided me with the opportunity to be a part of different cultures, by not only dressing culturally, or cultural foods, or cultural activities, but thorough SPORTS. Sports; the place where ACTUAL friendships take place, the place where it goes down to personal level, and the place where you go BEYOND BORDERS.

OlymNUS 2012 is approaching so is Olympics 2012. No, OlymNUS is not exactly Olympics, where you compete on a whole new level, but, YES, it’s the place where you compete to be YOURSELF. OlymNUS 2012 is about who can be the BESTIEST of FRIENDS. It’s about who can be a TEAM-MATE. It’s about who can be the most affectionate and compassionate to other opponents. YOU compete with your opponents not for GLORY, but for winning HEARTS. It’s about WHO goes away with a MILLION FRIENDS.

If you don’t know HOW to play, that’s the best of it. YOU learn to play. YOU learn to manage with limited abilities, and YOU learn to tackle limited resources thorough your commitment shown for your team.

It’s a sporting event, of course there HAVE to be MEDALS, prizes to win, but again, in the end, all that matters is what YOU take away, and remember for a long time; FRIENDS.

This January, you will start to see; the biggest, the marvelous, and the most un-competitively competitive event of all, starts to materialize. And YOU cannot miss it. Join us, because

In Team Spirit, We Believe

OlymNUS 2012
Co-Project Director
Aaqib Khalid Alvi

Experiences with IRC

Yohoo~ Hope you are all enjoying your vacation!!! I am enjoying my vacation in Malaysia. It’s COOL. Besides having fun time here, I am still working with SPARKZ Marketing Team to look for more sponsorship for our awesome SPARKZ. We need more support from corporate establishments to achieve another HUGE success this year.

This is my first year in IRC as one of the marketing directors. This is a very new experience for me. It gives me a chance to meet friends from different countries. I really like to work with people from different backgrounds. Besides working with IRC Exco, I enjoy working with SPARKZ committee. They are all lovely!!!

The only thing I can say is — You have to experience the true awesomeness personally. Do join ALL IRC events – SPARKZ / InFusion / OlymNUS and you will know you LOVE IRC!

*Oh ya! I really inspired by performance of SPARKZ! Do check out our SPARKZ website! http://nussu.org.sg/irc/sparkz/finalists.html

Lum Shi Yun(Ashley)
Marketing Director 
NUSSU IRC 

IRC – Our awesome is more awesome than your awesome ;)

Hello my friends,

Hope you all are having an exciting vacation after exams and refilling energy for next hectic semester. Besides enjoying leisure time, most of our International Relation Committee members are preparing for three big events In-Fusion, Sparkz , Olympus and hosting activities which will happen next semester. These events were phenomenal last year and to take our success to a higher level, we are  taking feedbacks and suggestions from audiences into consideration and incorporating new creative ideas for events this year.

I joined IRC last year as a member in marketing team of Sparkz and currently  as treasurer of IRC. The new role gives me opportunities to work with team-mates from many countries and sharpen my communication skill and enhance my thoughtfulness as well as carefulness which are crucial for a treasurer.

I believe that we are awesome when we’re confident that we are awesome. And there is no exception for IRC. But actually, the feelings base on facts and experiences I have had with IRC so far.

Last year, I totally got dazzled by amazing performances of NUS students in Sparkz. However, compared to performances in Sparkz Audition this year, there are even many more super thrilling showcases from diversifying base of talent pool.

Different from Sparkz, In-Fusion is one of a biggest events organised by student’s societies in NUS. The day fair together with the night concert had drawn more than 1,500 participants on campus last year. This year, In-Fusion will last for 3 days with lots of endlessly exciting activities and performances from different countries.

OlymNUS and hosting are other 2 events which also promote cultural integration between students from different backgrounds. Keep update  about these events in our next posts in this blog.

And finally, do participate and be a part of our awesome IRC

 

Hoa NGUYEN
Year 2 | Real Estate
Treasurer
NUSSU IRC  

Experience NUSSU IRC

Dear all,

Hope your exams are more or less over by now. Another semester has come to an end again. NUSSU IRC is excited for the new semester because we have all our big events lined up: SPARKZ, In-Fusion and OLYMNUS!

So if you want to know how it’s like to participate in our IRC events, let me share my first hand experience with you. This is my first year joining IRC as a part of exco. After participating as an OGL in the International Freshmen Orientation during the previous vacation, I was tremendously drawn to the NUSSU IRC culture and family. And this semester, besides being the Projects Secretary of the exco, I joined both In-Fusion and SPARKZ as a participant.

I’m leading an informal group of Myanmar students in NUS this year. Myanmar has never participated in In-Fusion before. Thus, this would be our debut performance. Even though we lack experience and were nervous till the last minute, I’m proud to say that my entire team gave an awesome performance during the auditions. It’s a result of all our efforts put in and the amazing teamwork of my fellow Myanmar students. So, the auditions are over but the real performance will be even more striking with our full glittering costumes! If you are curious, come down to UCC for the real extravagant In-Fusion performances in February!

Next, I participated in SPARKZ. This semester, I and the like-minded Kpop (Korean pop) fanatics from Tembusu College started an interest group called Tembusu Kpop Dance Group. We did a dance cover for SNSD’s Hoot and Genie. After much persuasion by Samarth, our PD for SPARKZ, and the entire IRC team, we decided to give it a try at SPARKZ. My girls and I had so much fun preparing for it, even though we didn’t make it to the Finalists. The experience made us realize the areas we need to improve on. If given a chance again, we would like to try out again for next year’s SPARKZ! Even though I’m sadly not a part of it, we have such talented Finalists this year. Make sure to check them out at http://www.nussuirc-sparkz.com/, and of course come down for our SPARKZ finale night at the end of January.

Dear all, I would like to invite all of you to experience NUSSU IRC. Join our events and I promise you that they will be fascinating!

For now, I wish you all a joyous holiday! Please rest well and enjoy a short break from our very stressful yet, exciting university life. Please keep reading our blog and follow the updates for our big events!

Ei Phyu
Year 3 | Electrical Engineering
Projects Secretary
NUSSU IRC