Culture Day 2024 was the biggest day of the year again, with over 30 countries represented with stalls; with singing, dancing, music and celebrating, students were truly able to embrace their own and the cultures of others within the St David’s College community.
In 2023, Culture Day quickly became a success when students Vinay and Iffatara had the idea to start a day of celebration for the cultures within St David’s community. This idea quickly became a culminated effort between staff and students, resulting in a fantastic day of cultural outfits, celebrations, food, and music that stood out in the calendar year.
To keep with tradition, Culture Day 2024 was met with an air of excitement as students planned their stalls, playlists and snacks.
Countries were represented from across the globe, with a host of countries from all over Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe – a total of 36 different countries. Stallholders brought goods, snacks, and drinks for people to get a taste of their culture.
When the DJ, Joshua Lima, the resident DJ of Mocka Lounge, began with a mix of afrobeats, the energy in the room amplified and the dancing began. Students erupted with flags being waved and circles breaking out with individuals demonstrating the dances from their culture.
We had a number of cultural dance performances, including Dona and Ann who showed us a traditional South Indian dance, Joan shook the stage with an Igbo Dance from Nigerian culture and Brianna demonstrated a traditional dance from Nicaraguan folklore.
The afternoon culminated in a parade led by the Indian drum of former student Jo Singh. Friends came together with flags draped over their shoulders in a train of global individuality.
As well as the energetic and spirited atmosphere in the sports hall, the day also had a quiet area for neurodiverse learners and students with sensory sensitivities, who may have found the active and animated energy in the hall overwhelming.
We were also joined by external organisations, like the charity Oasis, who help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into our local communities, and the Modern Foreign Languages department of Cardiff University, which offered small workshops about the Catalan language and culture, as well as Chinese, German and Spanish.
We were also joined by Radio Cardiff, The Welsh Centre for International Affairs, Reda Johnson from Cardiff City Football Club, and Ibby Tarafdar.
St David’s College has always been a college that is aimed at serving its community. Over recent years, that community has become more and more culturally rich, with St David’s having the most diverse student body of any college in Wales for 16 to 19-year-olds.
Well done to everyone who was involved with the planning of the event, especially Mr Todd, Mr Hazel and the students who attended the meetings weeks in advance.
