OVCSA-ISR brings students together to know each other's culture in ‘Kalinangan 2023’

The UPLB International Student Relations (ISR) of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) brought international and Filipino students together to learn more about each other through food, arts, and performances of selected countries from South Asia, South East Asia, and Africa.

This happened in “Kalinangan: A Cultural Immersion Program” on July 15 and 17 at the Student Union (SU) Building, an event to foster cultural awareness, appreciation, and understanding among the students.

It featured Kusina Serye, which promoted cuisines, and the culminating activity, which showcased performances, history, and art of the participating countries.

Kusina Serye: A taste of diversity

The event kicked off with Kusina Serye, a cooking class highlighting traditional dishes of the represented countries, held on July 15 at Molawin Hall, SU Building.

International students prepared different dishes from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Liberia, and Myanmar that were showcased and shared with UP constituents who gathered at the venue. 

Bangladeshi fish kabab and lunu miris savory dishes, shemai and sujir halua desserts, fried rice, milk rice, wade, fried peanut, and malu ambul thiyal from Sri Lanka represented South Asian cuisine. 

Liberian dishes such as potato greens soup, palaver sauce, okra gravy, and pumpkin gravy, all served with rice, were put together to represent Africa. 

Lastly, the South East Asian group made ohn no khauk swè, a savory chicken coconut noodle soup originating in Myanmar.

Video blogs were made to document the food preparation and onsite display of the various delicacies, which were then viewed during the culminating program.

Cultural richness through art and performances

The culminating activity of the Kalinangan Project was held at the Makiling Ballroom Hall, SU Building, on July 17. It featured performances that showcased the cultural richness of participating countries from South Asia, South East Asia, and Africa.

The international students introduced their respective country’s traditional crafts, music, dance, and other cultural displays.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janette H. Malata-Silva welcomed the event attendees. It was followed by viewing the curated photos and videos from the Kusina Serye, where the international students shared their experiences from the previous activity.

Furthermore, the students exhibited cultural performances through dance and informational presentations, sporting notable dresses from South Asia, South East Asia, and Africa. The international students engaged the audience by inviting them to join their cultural dances after each performance.

The program concluded with Harmonya: The String Ensemble of UPLB performing their rendition of hit OPM songs Moonstar88’s Migraine and Pinoy Ako by Orange and Lemons.