Pitt to Celebrate International Week Sept. 18-24

PITTSBURGH—Each year, the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) and the Office of International Services (OIS) at Pitt celebrate the diversity of the University, Oakland, and the greater Pittsburgh community while encouraging students to explore the numerous international educational opportunities available at the University by hosting International Week. The 2004 celebration, titled "Connecting Cultures; Sharing Communities," begins Saturday, Sept. 18, and runs through Friday, Sept. 24. Music, art, food, and dance will be part of the festivities, with the goal of connecting cultures and sharing the diversity of global communities.

Also part of this year's International Week festivities is the Latin American & Caribbean Festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It takes place from 2 p.m. until midnight Sept. 18 at the William Pitt Union (WPU), 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland. The work of Mexican artist Ruben Alfonso Nieto, a visiting instructor of studio arts at Pitt-Greensburg, will be featured at the festival.

Other International Week highlights include:

Sept. 19 Sidewalk Chalk Mural competition

Chalking 2-5 p.m.; judging, 5:15-5:45 p.m.; Posvar Quad, between

Posvar Hall and the Hillman Library

Student groups create public art to celebrate the intercultural and

international diversity of their organizations.

Sept. 20 Global health lecture, "Global HIV Prevention—Where We Have

Been, Where We Are Going"

3 p.m., WPU Assembly Room

The inaugural John C. Cutler Annual Global Health Lecture will be

presented by Sten Vermund, professor of epidemiology, medicine,

pediatrics, and nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama,

Birmingham.

Sept. 21 Global issues lecture, "B is for Believe: Educating the Youth of Haiti"

1 p.m., 4130 Posvar Hall, 230 S. Bouquet St., Oakland

Visions of Hope founder and president Nadine Banks speaks about

educating the youth of Haiti. Visions of Hope provides basic education

to children in rural communities of southern Haiti.

Panel discussion on the political, historical, and economic conflicts of Eastern Africa, and the refugee crisis these conflicts have created

4-6 p.m., WPU Kurtzman Room

Three local experts on refugees, human rights, and regional issues

participating in the presentation are: Elena Baylis, Pitt assistant professor of law; Khadra Mohammed, executive director of the Pittsburgh Refugee Center—a nonprofit organization focusing on the long-term resettlement needs of refugees in the Pittsburgh area; and former U.S. Ambassador Dan Simpson, associate editor and member of the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Entertainment provided by the Pitt African Drum Ensemble. African food vendors also will be on hand selling Congolese and Ethiopian fare, and African artifacts, jewelry, and clothing will be displayed and for sale.

Oakland Restaurant Tour

6-10 p.m., at participating restaurants in Oakland

Pitt students, faculty, and staff can sample foods offered at each of seven

Oakland restaurants: India Garden, Lulu's Noodle Shop, Spice Cafe,

Qdoba Mexican Grill, Maggie's Vegetarian Cafe, Primanti Brothers, and Thai Place Cafe (Thai Place closes at 9:30 p.m.). Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the WPU Box Office.

Sept. 21-24 6th-annual International Week Soccer Tournament

2-6 p.m, Pitt's Cathedral of Learning lawn

Sept. 22 Lecture on Chinese-U.S. transnational adoptions and the construction of Asian femininities, presented by Frayda Cohen, a teaching fellow in Pitt's Women's Studies Program and a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology

Noon, 2201 Posvar Hall

Cohen completed two years of research in Bejing examining the

importance of gender in both the abandonment of Chinese children and

the adoption of Chinese children by American parents.

Ethnic folk dancing lessons

Noon, WPU Bigelow Porch

Kathy Maron-Wood, a 20-year member of the Bulgarian ensemble

Otets Paisi, will teach easy dances from around the world.

Sept. 23 Calypso music performance featuring Dr. Kwasi and the Islanders

Noon, WPU Bigelow Porch

Traditional Japanese tea ceremony and tasting

Noon-2p.m., University Book Center, 4000 Fifth Ave., Oakland

Sept. 24 Fall International Fair

10 a.m.-4 p.m. WPU lawn (inside WPU in the event of inclement weather)

Numerous campus organizations with an international focus will be on hand to provide information to students and guests and to sell foods of

the regions they represent.

International Week 2004 is sponsored by UCIS, OIS, and 25 other Pitt departments and organizations. For more information and a complete calendar of events, visit www.ucis.pitt.edu/internationalweek or call 412-624-7120.

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