The original version of this article misspelled Colombia. This article has been updated for accuracy. 

FAU’s Multicultural Programming (MP) will be hosting “Winter Around the World” showcasing different nations on Friday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m in the Live Oak Pavilion. 

Different community partners such as Black Student Union, Next in Action and Italian Club will represent each nation involved. This is the second time MP is hosting the event, and they are looking for volunteers to help set up.

According to MP Director Mariana Vallejo, MP financed the event and allotted each country with $300, including a $20 leeway if they have a huge item. 

“The reason why I [allocated each country with a budget] is because […] we’re college students; many of us are not financially accessible,” said Vallejo. “And I did not want a student to be like, ‘oh I can’t participate because I cannot afford it.’ This should not be the case, we do have the budget for it.”

MP wants to reflect the diversity of the nations by seating them next to each other, but not according to geographical lines. 

“You can look at Colombia, Nigeria and really establish a difference,” Vallejo said. “And you’re going like, ‘oh, that’s the same,’ no, you know that they’re different. They’re different colored flags, they’re different people, they’re different passions and their own perspective. So essentially, this is our hard work of what’s currently been happening.” 

Asher Iqbal, an international student getting a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in computer science, is the president of the Pakistani Student Association. The club will be representing Pakistan during the event. 

Iqbal’s main reason for establishing the Pakistani Student Association was to not only include students from Pakistan, but also to interact with non-Pakistani students.

“As a Pakistani, as an international student, I always wanted to project the ground realities of Pakistan,” Iqbal said. “The main goal of the club is to promote the culture of Pakistan on our diverse campus and to interact with [the] student body to let them know about what the ground realities in Pakistan are. Because I grew up in mid-2000 and I’ve seen, and I’ve been following Western media, and there wasn’t many good news coming up on the global media regarding my country.”

To keep up with future events from Multicultural Programming, check out their Instagram.

Mary Rasura is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or DM her on Instagram @maryrasura