FRIENDS Teahouse at APU, Malaysia
Intercultural Passport Exploitation – Endorsement Letter on Institutional Level
FRIENDS Reunion at APU, December 2021
On 16 December 2021, APU organized a FRIENDS Reunion event to promote on campus FRIENDS’ impact and major project achievements. The Reunion event was attended by 103 participants face-to-face and virtually. The event’s agenda included project results and presentation on the importance of cultural dialogue and the relevance of intercultural awareness and competence from employability point of view. As part of the agenda, APU was proud to host the FRIENDS Reunion Award Ceremony at which the winners of the December 2021 Intercultural Awareness and Cultural Diversity (IACD) digital story competition received their certificates and prizes, as well as shared their experiences of the IACD MOOC and the Erasmus+ FRIENDS project. The event provided a chance for everyone involved in the project to discuss various achievements of the FRIENDS project and APU’s Internationalisation at Home strategy. 78% of the attendees who shared their response stated that they are either very satisfied or satisfied form the event (FRIENDS Reunions Agenda, FRIENDS Reunions Minutes, Post-Event Facebook Post, FRIENDS Reunion Presentation, Link to the Event’s Video Recording)
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 30 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 virtual module was discussed, and this was followed by the announcement of the five winners to coincide with the International Friends Day a month later on 30 July 2021. The event concluded at approximately 9.05 pm following a series of video presentations by the cultural societies at APU. A total of 458 attendees participated in this large-scale virtual event (The Erasmus+ Programme Presentation, FRIENDS Teahouse Opening Presentation, FRIENDS Winner Announcement Presentation).
Event Calendar (version as of July 2022)
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.
