University of KwaZulu-Natal Cultural Diversity Week & International Food Evening

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Any higher learning institution strives to be all-inclusive in various dimensions to capture a huge cultural and ethnic diversity of its members. Culture diversely plays a very special role within the university’s mandate, permeating all professional fields of competence in learning and unlearning its students and staff to become their country’s elites and cultural ambassadors: encompassing the safeguarding and promotion of heritage in all its forms, encouraging creativity, and facilitating mutual understanding through intercultural dialogue. Cultural inculcation is, therefore, a source of satisfaction with cross-cutting relevance in academic institutions, and should thus be underlined, remembered and celebrated amongst everyday activities.



Cultural diversity is progressively becoming a key concern at the turn of this new digital generation. Accelerated globalization processes and the liberalization of the goods and services market, including academics, as had been predicted by some, will eventually lead to cultural standardization and reinforcement of existing imbalances between cultures. Diversity is, unquestionably, a rallying call among those who denounce persistent socio-economic inequalities. Scientists have postulated the possible dangers leading to the Earth’s environmental degradation as a result of human activities, drawing parallels between the erosion of biodiversity and the deviation from traditional modes of life due to immense adoption and spread of modern lifestyles.

Therefore, full recognition of cultural diversity no doubt strengthens the universality and preserves the natural human ecosystem, ensuring its effective functioning and continuation. The diversity of human cultures, including, but not limited to, the wealth of languages, ideas, beliefs, kinship systems, customs, tools, artistic works, rituals, and other expressions, collectively encapsulate complex human indeterminism that would be improbable to achieve by any other means. Beyond the mere fact of its existence, cultural diversity has aesthetic, moral and instrumental value as the expression of human creativity, the embodiment of human strivings and the sum of humanity’s collective experience. Conclusively, cultural diversity is both a scarce resource that needs to be preserved and predominantly acts as a lever for sustainable development and economic growth.

In the context of response to culture and diversity threats, the UKZN International Student Association in collaboration with the International Students Office launched a series of events from 9th - 11th October 2019 across its campuses, to celebrate and embrace cultural diversity. Activities inherently comprised of a wide variety of cultural forms, including showcases, of art display and fashion, tangible and intangible heritage, cultural expressions, intellectual and artistic heritage. These instruments were dedicated to preserving and promoting such testimonies to human creativity as expressions of the common heritage of humankind. Such activities further aimed to create a safe space for resident and non-resident students and staff to express their cultural heritage and remembrance of where they come from as well as their cultural beliefs and promote Ubuntu.

The Cultural and Diversity week culminated with a fascinating extravaganza and food evening on 11th October 2019.

Tanzania poster



Tanzania Booth

Tanzania community

Tanzania songs which were sung during the Cultural Day




Tanzania Bonus cultural and touristic photos

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Tanzania and Kenya

UKZN Community