Celebrating culture at Okanagan Mission Secondary

It’s multiculturalism week in British Columbia, so international students at OKM in Kelowna gathered to share their culture with Canadian students.

“We wanted to give our international students, as well as our general population, an opportunity to showcase their countries of origin, and a chance to work together, so that’s what they’ve done," explained OKM teacher Lynn Simpson.

"They’ve picked their countries, they’ve shared things about their country they want to showcase, that’s what we’re doing here.”

Carolin Hansert, an international student from Switzerland, says it was a very cool experience to not only share her country with others, but to also learn about where other students come from.

“For me, every country has their own culture and it’s really important to show other people that their own country isn’t the only thing on this world," said Hansert.

"Of course, there are so many different countries and so many different people. It’s really important to represent them and to be proud of your country and who you are, but still be open to other things.”

Learning about other countries has Hansert interested in travelling the globe, and she’s encouraging other students to do the same.

“Go travel, go see the world, go see different cultures, eat food – a lot of food – because it’s really good," said Hansert.

According to Simpson, the success of the multicultural event has OKM already making plans to run it back again next year.