The American University in the Emirates (AUE) celebrated Global day by hosting an event on campus, which saw 15 Middle Eastern countries represented with cultural tents, theatrical plays, dancing performances and standup comedy, keeping the theme of togetherness alive.

AUE boasts a multicultural studentship that showcased the proudness of their origins through inventive tents filled with a full education of different countries. As such, the Emirati tent, which emphasized the Bedouin roots and flavoursome cuisine, included demonstrations of the progression the country has accomplished within the past 30 years through architectural designs.

Integrated in a day of awareness was a platform of performances by each of the 15 participating countries, from folkloric dancing from the Levant and Gulf and a theatrical moving play from Palestine to several comedians and singers.

Although divided by borders, AUE students were seen gracefully teaching one another the steps of their dances and feeding each other food from each tent, showing the tolerance, acceptance and love for each other.

Each tent was themed differently to show the large turnout of attendees the best from each country. Egypt decided to focus on the celebrity enticed classic period of the 1950’s, whereas Iran was sticking to the authentic food and ancient instruments and Iraq built a makeshift copy of the Martyr’s Memorial, famously known as the Al-Shaheed Monument in Baghdad.

A surprise visit included a star appearance from the Egyptian comedian, Ashraf Abdel Baqi, who congratulated AUE students on expressing their love for their countries through music, art and theatre. Star struck students were able to further their excitement of the day by requesting more music from each country.

The importance of Global Day in the United Arab Emirates is eminent on a day-to-day basis as it is a cosmopolitan country, acceptant and welcoming of all nationalities. This was shown at AUE Global Day through a special singing performance that simultaneously incorporated snippets of well-known songs into one song, resulting in students of all the participating nationalities join in in a sing-along and dance.

Global Day is one of the most popular events of the year at AUE, seeing students prepare months in advance to make sure all countries are represented with the optimum of uniqueness.