Those who passed near the main bar of UBI early afternoon on March third could not avoid noticing something different. Some tables displaying food samples, flyers promoting more or less distant countries, students from different backgrounds dancing in harmony, cross talk in different languages, the panorama was different from usual. All thanks to an initiative of AIESEC, that brought together representatives of Poland, France, Turkey and Romania to promote the best that these countries have.
Foreign stands betted in more or less sweet desserts, but Erasmus students could also learn about Portuguese traditions. Between a snack and a dance, students had some chitchat. Everyone agreed on one point: they made the right choice by coming to study in Portugal, because they felt welcome. But they do not understand why the opposite does not happen. "It's safe. You should not be afraid", said Abraham Erdur, an Erasmus student, about Turkey.
The day ended with a hand-full of conferences and workshops jointly organized by AIESEC and Lancaster College, all around the theme "Global Village". At Language as a barrier, Professor Antonio Barros showed to the audience that any language, if it’s learned and used properly, can be a unifying point of different cultures.
The new president of AIESEC Covilhã, Cátia Silva, seemed pleased with the outcome of this event, "despite the lack of time and support" that have not allowed for a larger participation. However, she promises that «this is a tradition to continue with even greater power in the coming years».