Semmelweis University’s largest event for international students, the Semmelweis Carnival was held for the seventh time this year. The event aims to bring together Hungarian and foreign students and in 2016 the Carnival had more than a thousand participants from 22 countries.
In his opening speech, Dr. György Bagdy, Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs said that the carnival was a great occasion to escape from our everyday routines and recharge.
“At Semmelweis University carnival is also about multiculturalism, as one third of our students are foreigners. We are very proud of our foreign language programmes that have been running for over 30 years and our international students, who come from more than 70 countries all around the world.”, he said.
The participants were greeted in English by Dr. Andrea Székely, assistant professor of the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, while Dr. Attila Mócsai, Director of the German Language Programme at the Secretariat of Foreign Students welcomed the students in German.
As part of the carnival’s programme the Multicultural Food Festival was held, which presented the gastronomic specialities of 22 nations. During the Multicultural Food Festival students from different countries prepared their national dishes, such as Norwegian salmon roll, Indian mango lassi and fried sesame-seed bananas from Thailand.
Besides the presentation of national cuisines, performances incorporating the different countries’ culture and traditions were put on stage by the students. Hungarians presented the folk dances of Kalotaszeg, while Palestinian and Indian students performed their traditional dances. Semmelweis Carnival is always a themed event, this year the decorations reflected the glamour of Broadway.
Péter Pogrányi
Photo: Attila Kovács – Semmelweis University
Translation: Ágnes Raubinek
