Global Culture Fair: celebrating our international community

At Birkerød Gymnasium, we have just held our international celebration, the Global Culture Fair, for the 13th year in a row. The Global Culture Fair is a beloved tradition among students and teachers across all school programs – and for very good reason. The Global Culture Fair is a cozy and community-strengthening event that encourages curiosity and openness toward other cultures and traditions. It also represents global education in a time when international tensions, politics, conflicts, and news streams fill everyone’s daily lives.

The event takes place following one of the regular Tuesday morning assemblies and begins with a presentation by students from a range of countries, each showcasing their national flag, clothing, music, and artifacts. This is always met with great excitement and cheers from a hall full of BG students. Afterwards, all Pre-IB, 1.g, and 1.HF students are invited to the assembly hall, where all of the school’s 2u students have prepared elaborately decorated booths with food samples from their home countries. Students meet and mingle across groups over the food – a reference point everyone can relate to, which allows for further conversation and exchange of experiences. It is engaging, fun, and friendly.

BG is a local school with a global outlook. We have over 50 nationalities represented at the school, and BG students therefore experience an everyday life where the international is ever-present. With the Global Culture Fair, we want to give our international students the opportunity to showcase their country (or countries), not only to the rest of the school but also to their classmates. For while being an international student can be an identity all on its own, there should also be room to highlight the many different places in the world that have found their way to Birkerød Gymnasium.

Each year, we experience how the event helps encourages intercultural understanding among all students across programs and classes. Particularly significant is the fact that at BG, with our more than 50 different nationalities, we sometimes also have students from conflict-affected areas around the world. These students attend school and live their daily lives side by side, and with an event like the Global Culture Fair, we as a school support our students’ right to be proud of who they are, and to recognize that there is a difference between a country’s citizens and its politics. Each year, it is moving to see students whose countries of origin may even be in conflict with one another find refuge in their school life, where as young people they can build relationships across divides and in spite of global politics and conflict.

This experience is important not only for our international students but also for our Danish STX and HF students. With the Global Culture Fair, we as a school can encourage that, as we academically engage with international issues and other cultures, we also meet the people behind the textbooks, statistics, and news articles. At the Global Culture Fair, the focus is first and foremost on people, traditions, and cultures.

A huge thank you to the many 2u students who bravely stepped forward to share a glimpse of their home country (or countries), worked hard to set up beautiful and inviting booths, and not least served delicious food from all over the world.

We look forward to next year!