FRIENDS Teahouse at APU, Malaysia
FRIENDS International and Intercultural Festival at APU, June 2021
The International and Intercultural Festival was incorporated into the 2nd APU FRIENDS Day and started at 10.30 am on 30th June 2021 with an introduction to the Erasmus+ FRIENDS Project and the Intercultural and International Festival, by Prof Dr Andy Seddon, at the e-Orientation session to students. The agenda of the FRIENDS International and Intercultural Festival is available here.
Throughout the day, students were introduced to different aspects of multicultural life at APU and the Student Representative Council members provided a snapshot of the clubs, societies, and support groups available at APU.
The event progressed to a live broadcast on YouTube and Facebook with the official opening speech by the APU Vice-Chancellor and introduction to some of the Non-Government Organisations that APU works with to provide support to students and to the local community.
The Erasmus+ FRIENDS Teahouse was officially launched (though virtually) with an explanation of its purpose and the types of activities that it can be used for. The FRIENDS Intercultural Passport was discussed, and this was followed by the announcement of the five winners to coincide with the International Friends Day a month later on 30th July 2021.
The event concluded at approximately 9.05 pm following a series of video presentations by the cultural societies at APU (The Erasmus+ Programme Presentation, FRIENDS Teahouse Opening Presentation, FRIENDS Winner Announcement Presentation).
Event Calendar (version as of January 2021)
Official Opening Event at APU, April 2021
On 27 April 2021, Prof. Dr Andy Seddon, Assoc. Prof. Dr Jason Turner & Assoc. Prof. Suan delivered a support class from the APU FRIENDS Teahouse to the students enrolled for the Intercultural Awareness and Cultural Diversity MOOC. The online event marked the official opening of APU’s FRIENDS Teahouse. The latter will be maintained by the Student Representative Council (SRC) within the Student Affairs/Experience Department to ensure the Teahouse evolves into a true multicultural hub and social space where students from different cultural backgrounds will meet, gather, create, share, interact, and learn from each other. The Teahouse will also be used as the base for the SRC to organize social activities and events promoting the diverse backgrounds of APU students, which culminates in a yearly Multicultural Night. APU’s FRIENDS Teahouse has been strategically located at the heart of the student environment on Level 5 of APU’s Centre Court.
