30/7/2008 - Mackay Culture-Fest
Mackay to play host to 9 international students
World Youth Day may be over, but Australia’s sugar capital is set to be overwhelmed with a culture fest of its own. Mackay will welcome nine students into the city from countries far and wide when they arrive on Australian soil at the end of this week. With their expectations and hopes at stake, these nine young adventure-seekers are in for an enlightening and challenging time in Australia thanks to AFS Intercultural Programs.
The students hail from countries all across the globe: Costa Rica, Finland, Belgium, Italy, the Dominican Republic, India, Mexico, Germany and Austria. With such an amazing variety of cultural experiences and lifestyles inundating the city of Mackay, the students are hoping to indulge themselves in the social, cultural, political and historical miens of Australia whilst imparting their own unique customs and traditions to the community they will spend the next six months to one year with.
Austrian student Ivan Galagan is one of the young ambassadors who will be joining the community of Mackay for the next one year. Studying and living in a foreign country is no easy feat, but he assures us that the next year will be an educational and moving experience in his life. “From the exchange I hope to learn a new culture and get some important experiences for my further life. This experience is immeasurable and I do not know when I will have the chance to do something similar,” he said.
17-year-old Italian student Julia Mazzei will be in Australia on a six month program – a time in which she will be engaging with the rich cultural and historical offerings of the city and forming lifelong friendships with the people she will share the next months of her life with. “I’m curious and I find wonderful the idea to learn about a different culture and to become a member of a new family,” she said.
Mackay’s phenomenal blend of unique landscape, history, and cultural fanfare has set the foundation for a memorable intercultural experience for these young students. Not only will their imminent journey serve as a fundamental force that will shape their cultural perspectives, but also foster an understanding and tolerance for difference. At the end of their experience AFS hopes this future generation will discover and appreciate the key concept behind intercultural exchange in today’s world – we relate to each other because we are similar; we learn from each other because we are different. Let the journey begin…
Media contact:
Barbara Ratusznik
barbara.ratusznik@afs.org