STAR College’s principal, deputy principal and pupil, Njabulo Xhakaza, embarked on a journey to America for two weeks to attend the International Festival of Language and Culture (IFCL) in Washington DC.
The IFLC sprouts seeds of hope in celebration of rich diversity and intercultural dialogue, with its 14th annual language and culture festival, ‘Beautiful Colors of the World’, held this year. The IFLC drew participants from more than 160 countries across the globe, with more than 1 000 pupil performers at events worldwide, with Washington DC being one of many cities co-hosting this international event. The pupils exhibited their cultural traditions through poetry, song and dance in an expression of friendship and hope for the future.
Star College principal, Osman Karaayvaz, and deputy principal, Zafer Zor, accompanied pupil, Njabulo Xhakaza, on this once-in-a-life-time experience. The first show was held on 28 April in the nation’s capital at the Warner Theater. Talented performances drew approximately 2 000 spectators to the theatre. Among those who attended the festival were American senators. Comedian, Joel McHale, served as the master of ceremonies for the event. Several government officials and ambassadors could also be spotted in the audience. The countries which were represented in Washington DC were Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Lesotho, Mongolia, the Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine and the US.
The second show took the stage at the Cannon House Office Building caucus room to entertain congressional staffers as well as members of congress with their vibrant, talented performances. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, sent a message to all of the pupils: “I am delighted to greet the International Festival on Language and Culture. I commend the Peace Islands Institute for making this meeting possible and bringing young people from 27 countries together to discuss and celebrate our cultural and linguistic diversity.”
The highlight of the event was Senator Thom Tillis (NC) taking a selfie with some pupils, after which other guests in the audience started doing the same. This resulted in numerous selfies being tweeted out, which drew positive responses from the social media in the US as well as the rest of the world.
The tour’s last stop was New York and the White House. The final show took place at the United Nations Building in New York on 30 April. Zafer Zor said that the USA were really impressed with Njabulo’s song, ‘Waka Waka’.
The tour was topped off with a message from President Obama, released from the White House.
