Cultural Soirée 2023 photo gallery

Below we present photos from the Cultural Soiree 2023 and the speech of Melissa Akalonu, 3rd year student of 6MD programme, MUL Student Government Social Director. Full gallery is available here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB9FBk

What is Culture?

According to the Oxford dictionary – “Culture is the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society”.

So, in other words, Culture is a compass. It’s our eyes, our smile, the distinct nose we inherited from our fathers. It is our tongues, whenever we speak – always points us straight home. And for when words fail, it is our dance and the movement of our bodies.

Culture is our communication: Dzień Dobry, Bonjour, Otuotuoma, Maskadii, مرحبا “Marrhaban”, Namaste – all of which means one thing – “Hello”. It is what brings us together.

Although I identify as both Nigerian and Irish, I remember my first year studying in Ireland. I was so determined to blend in and fit in, that every time my teachers spoke, it took me about 1 minute to understand him. The words didn’t quite translate as easily in my head and so what I did was – practice. I practised changing my accent, practising each word exactly as my teacher would say.

But most times, I preferred to be silent, if I hadn’t yet practised the rhythm and flow of the words yet. I stopped rolling my “r’s” and speaking in cursive and instead, opted for the same font as everyone else around me. Then, I thought culture was about assimilating and changing but it wasn’t. Because when you do that, you deny yourself of your own heritage… what makes you – You.

So, I’ll tell you what culture isn’t, it is not our ever fluctuating currencies or our somewhat questionable government – it is about acknowledging our similarities and celebrating our differences.

It is about knowing that integration is far better than assimilation and that there is a power in this diversity that we share.

The truth is, we are not all the same. For some of us the history has been kind and unkind to our ancestors, but with culture, we learn about empathy and community. I don’t know your pain, but I see you, I hear you, I support you, I stand in solidarity with you.

Culture is about being compassionate, and today, we get to celebrate the beauty in each other and what our uniqueness brings, to the Medical University of Lodz. This is a wonderful day to celebrate our openness as students and future doctors, and I am blessed to be a part of this event. And so, on this special day , I encourage you all, to celebrate diversity , work on Unity, to overcome all adversities. And why should we do this ? Because “Our Culture is Our Compass , It always points us home.”