Global moves

Many other college-going men and women from countries like Brazil,Italy,Portugal,Russia,China,Hungary,Canada,Czech Republic,Switzerland,the Netherlands and Ukraine were present at the school premises to represent their country through individual stalls built and managed with the help of students of a city school.

In the City of Joy as part of the Global Village initiative,organised by AIESEC Kolkata,American Center Kolkata,and Friends of Alumni,Colleges,Educational Institutes and Schools (FACES),these interns have come as part of a cultural exchange initiative where they will interact with students of a particular school for a couple of months.

Annachiara Foschi,the intern from Italy,who has been working with St Stephen’s Bowbazar,said,“I’m here for the past two months and will be here for another month. I’ve been conducting occasional music classes and workshops for the students of the school. I’ve taught them an Italian song,choreographed a dance performance and a play on an Italian story will be staged on Friday. They have also taught me a Bengali song.”

Minister of State for urban development Saugata Roy and Bishop of Kolkata,Ashoke Biswas,inaugurated the event. Roy said,“There is no alternative to person-to-person contact,which makes this initiative such a great concept. The world is becoming smaller even as we speak. Hopefully,a day will come when all 193 countries in the world will participate in such an event.”

For Anna Baranova,18,and Helena Khlopoda,19,it was a great day as they were adjudged runners-up along with the La Martiniere for Boys in the dance competition which marked the inaugural day. These two students from Kharkiv in Ukraine taught the LMB boys the “winning” moves and described the fun they were having for over a month. “It is an experience I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Coming to this lovely city of India and interacting with these students have taught me a lot about the cultural aspects. And hopefully they have learnt something too,” Anna said.

St Augustine School had Brazilians Lorena Santos,18,from Fortaleza and Ruan Caetano,a resident of Ouro Preto. According to principal Richard Gasper,the similarities between Brazil and Kolkata made the experience much more interesting,both for the students as well as the interns. “We love football,they worship it. Tea is called cha in Bengali,while they call it chah. Sweets and music also are common interests. So this interaction of ideas became much more enriching,” Gasper said.