Parade and Concert

Part of One Week - One World 

Saturday 19 May 2012

In conjunction with United Nations’ WORLD DAY FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY FOR DIALOGUE AND DEVELOPMENT on 21 May 2012, the International Office will be hosting a series of events from Friday 18 – Friday 25 May to celebrate Rhodes’ International Week. The week will end with Africa Day on Friday 25 May, when SRC and the African Societies will host an event to celebrate the African continent.

Call to get involved

On Saturday 19 May, we are calling on all national and international students and staff as well as the Grahamstown communities to showcase their cultural heritages in a parade through town. This will be followed by a concert in which we would like each group to present something creative that represents their country in the form of song (eg. a song in your mother tongue or your national anthem), dance, poetry, prose or other visual or dramatic arts. Your piece can be traditional or modern. Diversity in an inclusive welcoming environment is exactly what we are looking for! In keeping with the spirit of the day, we are of course wanting pieces that are hopeful and open and reaching out to others.

The Parade will start at 10h00 at the Botanical Gardens, go via Rhodes and end at the City Hall. The Concert will be in the City Hall from 11h00 to about 12h30. Snacks and lunch will be on sale from 11h00 until 14h00.

Please have a look at the photos and articles from the 2011 International Day.

Please could you let us know if your society or group would like to take part in the parade, and how you would like to showcase your country in the concert. 

Please email the International Office (internationaloffice@ru.ac.za) by no later than Monday 30 April. 

We look forward to seeing something special from your country and for everyone to have fun valuing our culturally-diverse university!

What can you do?

We are looking for a diversity of Sound, Visuals and Movement which will contribute to a colourful and culturally diverse parade. We invite participants to sing, chant, play instruments or play sound tracks from your chosen country, on a portable beat box with soundtracks. We welcome ideas for walking or “sliding” along in formation…perhaps you can call in the help of the creative students/dancers/cheer leaders in your residence? Obviously, different suggestions will suit some groups better than others.

We encourage each group to find someone from the country you are representing to consult with, involve and test that what you are proposing is an acceptable representation.

Some practical suggestions:

1. Wear traditional dress from the country.

2. Wear everyday clothes in the colours of the country’s flag.

3. Carry balloons in the same colour as the national flag.

4. Do cut-outs of the symbols of the country: national flower, animal etc.

5. Carry photographs/ posters of iconic buildings/people from the country.

6. Carry art work from the country.

7. Represent the national sports of the country.

8. Learn a poem by a poet from the country and recite/read it as you walk.

9. Write greetings from that country on a placard and say the greeting to everyone you meet as you walk.

10. Write proverbs from the country on a placard.

11. Write a fact sheet about your chosen country and share with others in the parade or people passing by.

12. Dress up as well-known figures from the country (singer, footballer, political figure) and make sure that everyone knows who you are meant to be by the end of the parade!

13. Mime/performance art of anything representing the country, as you parade.

14. Face-paint a flag on your face or get temporary stick-on tattoos.

15. Sing in the language of the country you are representing or sing in English about an aspect of the country you are representing.

16. Sing a national anthem.

17. Hand out greetings on little slips of paper (with a local language translation)

18. Blow bubbles!...it will delight the children.

19. Use kazoos or a South African equivalent?

20. Use percussion instruments, drums, vuvuzelas… anything that can add to the vibrancy of the event.

21. Use cell phones to play songs/national anthems.

22. Perhaps swop places with other people across the residences to increase the diversity of you own group?

23. Take photos of your group and put them on our Facebook page.

What did people do last year?

1. French students had the French flag and the South African flag embossed on the back of their sweatshirts, painted the French flag on their faces, sang in French and carried the French flag as they walked.

2. The Zimbabwean students sang a popular song in Shona, wore their Zimbabwean society

3. T-shirts and carried the Zimbabwean flag.

4. Lesotho students wore their national hats and carried their flag.

5. Local South African community groups dressed in traditional costumes, sang and danced.

6. The West African contingent dressed in traditional dress and carried flags.

7. The East African contingent also dressed in traditional dress and carried their flag.

8. The Indian contingent wore Indian dress and carried their flag.

9. The Irish contingent dressed in the colours of the Irish flag, carried the Irish flag and had two Irish therapy dogs, wearing little green coats stating their credentials!

10. Student dance societies did Latin and ballroom dancing as they moved, instead of walking.

11. Some of our Indian colleagues wore a national dress and carried a flag.