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BIDDEFORD, Maine

UNE hosts International Children's Festival for Biddeford Intermediate School students

The University of New England's Offices of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs and International Education will host a Passport to Culture International Children's Festival on Friday, March 26, 2010 in the Campus Center on the Biddeford Campus. 

The festival will bring 220 fourth grade students from Biddeford Intermediate School to the UNE Biddeford Campus for a one-day festival to help promote cross-cultural understanding, create goodwill, and enhance elementary students' awareness of the wider global community.

The program is made possible through Grant from Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation and advances the University of New England's commitment to helping build community partnerships and fostering connections between UNE and the Biddeford community.

Passport to Culture

It is also an extension of a "Passport to Culture" international festival program that UNE's Multicultural Affairs and International Education Program have sponsored internally for the past three years.  This year's Festival will expand its outreach to bring elementary aged students to the UNE Campus Center for a mini "tour of the world."

"In our increasingly global world and multicultural society, it is important for kids to be exposed to different people and cultures," said Donna Gaspar Jarvis, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs & Diversity Programs.  "The goal with the International Children's Festival is to provide an opportunity for children from the Biddeford community to experience professional world arts and cultural programming and to allow UNE college students the opportunity to share their cultural heritage or expertise about cultural traditions from around the world."

Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation

During difficult economic times, when many schools' arts and cultural enrichment budgets have been cut, the UNE Passport to Culture International Children's Festival will offer an important arts education experience to schools free of charge with support from a $2,000 grant from the Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation.

The Center for Cultural Exchange Foundation is a grant-making foundation dedicated to advancing cultural understanding through arts and education programs in collaboration with diverse communities, artists and arts organizations in the state of Maine.

Local and regional artists and performance groups will offer world music and dance performances and storytelling at the Passport to Culture International Children's Festival.  In addition, elementary aged school students will have the opportunity to engage with UNE college students in an interactive "Global Village."

"UNE international and multicultural students as well as other student volunteers who have participated in study abroad programs or have interest or expertise on a particular country, will host country-specific tables highlighting  arts and crafts, food, games and other visual displays," said Trisha Mason, director of International Education. "Students will be given festival passport and will 'travel the world' in the Campus Center, collecting passport stamps as they go."

For more information about the University of New England's Passport to Culture International Children's Festival, contact Donna Gaspar Jarvis at (207) 602-2461 or Trisha Mason at (207) 602-2451. 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.