Late last week the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy (FVLA) held a cultural webinar about Asia for the FISU Student Ambassadors. This is part of a series of educational sessions that supports not only sport but also cultural education. The Asia session was developed to inform student ambassadors about the continent, its incredible diversity, and to provide broader context about its traditions and current affairs.
The session, hosted by, Mahdieh Seraji of the Republic of Iran, commenced with Ahmad Halawi of Lebanon presenting about countries of the Middle East and the Arab Peninsula. He spoke about culture and cultural understanding while also touching on religion, food, dress, and social norms.
Next up was Fahimeh Mohammad Hassan, also of Iran, speaking about Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. She too spoke of cultural traditions and norms, while outlining languages spoken, and unique facts about each country. She also highlighted the traditional and most popular sports in each country, which included some regionally known sports and global ones such as cricket, football, and wrestling.
Sri Lanka native Mevan Induruwa presented to the group on southern and eastern Asia. This included Sri Lanka, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Maldives. He highlighted interesting places and the unique geography of each country. Lastly, Min Joo Kim and Kyung Eun Lee of South Korea highlighted northeast Asia, and specifically China, Japan, and South Korea. Not only were unique characteristics presented about each country, but attendees took part in a challenging chopstick activity that also outlined how those utensils are different in each nation.
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This informative session provided FISU Student Ambassadors an opportunity to gain additional knowledge about this vast and distinctive continent and will further their development in the world of university sport.