OUR CULTURAL PROGRAMME

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STEAR’s cultural programme seeks to drive cultural value-exchange across the think tank’s global audience through the successful delivery of events that unearth cultural values and practices, breaking down barriers through education and cross-cultural communication.

In a world that is more interconnected than ever before, cultural ignorance and ambivalence provide some of the largest challenges to cooperation across nations and between people. Through our wide range of internal and external activities, our cultural programme facilitates interpersonal exchange, and provides young people with the opportunity to learn about and experience different cultural backgrounds on a deeper level.

World Poetry Day

Recommended by Nicola Crowe

Being from Scotland, the most famous/influential poet is definitely Roburt Burns. So much so that we hold a Burns Night Supper on the 25th January every year to celebrate the day of his birth. During this, we usually eat traditional Scottish food like haggis, neeps, and tatties, and clootie dumplings. The tradition is for the haggis to be piped in with bagpipes and addressed by Burns' poem, 'Address to a Haggis'. Due to this, a lot of traditional aspects of Scottish culture, including food and music, have become synonymous with Burns.

So from Address to a Haggis:

"Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,

Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race!

Aboon them a’ ye tak your place"

"Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware

That jaups in luggies;

But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer,

Gie her a Haggis"

The top quote is essentially wishing the Haggis luck and saying that it is the best kind of meat pudding.

The bottom quote is saying that Scotland doesn't want anything watery/not substantial and that if you're wanting to wish someone well you should give them a Haggis. And from Auld Lang Syne:

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne."

So this is the first verse and chorus. It's essentially a song about reflecting on old friends and memories, which is why it's traditionally sung to ring in the new year. So it basically is saying you shouldn't forget old friends and the days gone by, but instead drink to and remember them

STEAR recommends

Happy Lunar New Year!

STEAR members celebrated the Lunar New Year with a Culture Share Day.

Winning contribution
from Kevin Gramegna

On the 15th of January, STEAR organised a virtual get-together focused on the Lunar Year celebrations. We invited two special guests and STEAR members, Yingxue Wu and Harry Lee, to explain China's and Korea's respective traditions for celebrating the Lunar New Year.

The members also held a creative contest, answering the question "What does lunar New Year mean to you?".

Having seen all the beautiful contributions of the participants, Kevin Gramegna was chosen as the winner, thanks to his cute drawing (image to the left).

Congratulations!

UN DAY 2022

Our members asked themselves

"What bilateral/multilateral organisation do you resonate with the most?”

“The organisation I celebrate the most is the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS). Spearheaded by Thailand, it is a quintessential cooperation between Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand that could contribute to seamless connectivity and economic prosperity within the sub-region.”

Siwat Varnakomola

"I have always been in awe of UNICEF’s campaigns to create a safer and more protective environment for every child, especially the ones who are victims of poverty, war, malnutrition, and exploitation. They have been serving for 75 years and still strive to take further action in peace-building and face and address challenges that threaten the rights of children worldwide. As a person who also advocates for their cause, I will always support their campaigns in taking action to address the crisis involving children all around the world and in creating a safer environment where each and everyone will be equipped with the right resources and opportunities that they need."

Barachiel Concepcion

“I resonate with UNESCO most since it seeks to create peace by enhancing education, sciences and culture. The idea for UNESCO emerged during the Second World War to promote mutual understanding and create a ‘genuine culture of peace’ with the larger goal to avoid another world war. I especially cherish UNESCO’s contributions to caring for historic cultural sites around the world.”

Pia Heckmann

The Global Village

The Virtual Global Village is our flagship cultural activity, facilitating the interpersonal exchange between participants and providing young people with an opportunity to learn about and experience different cultural backgrounds on a deeper level.

In our uniquely crafted virtual conference space, chosen performers will be able to showcase their own country through various activities, and other participants can follow along. For example, a performer may hold a presentation and later cook a particular dish. Another performer from a different country may teach a particular skill, while elsewhere we might have a language class. If this wasn’t enough, we will invite up and coming artists from Europe and Asia to kick-off the session before we open the virtual fair.

To find out more about our Cultural Programme, including our Cultural Launch Event, please visit our Previous Events Page