February 10, 2023

Culture Week is back at Elliott Hudson College: for the second year in a row we have been celebrating the college’s diversity, community, and culture! 

At Elliott Hudson College we believe in celebrating diversity. Culture is what makes our community so special and last year the Students’ Union wanted to show this by organising the first EHC Culture Day. 

“It was the Diversity Committee of the Students’ Union who came up with the idea of Culture Week last year, because they wanted to be able to celebrate their diversity.” Said Mrs Carr, “As staff, we loved this idea and wanted to be able to give students from all backgrounds this platform to showcase their culture.” 

After being inundated with ideas and requests to take part in activities, the one-day event turned into a full week and Culture Week at EHC was born. 

Day 1: Stalls, traditions and customs

This first day had students creating displays showcasing the traditions and customs from each of their own countries, including Henna artwork from South Asia and name tags from Ghana. 

 Henna is an ancient art form, long celebrated for its vibrant cultural heritage across many Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Palestine, Libya, Algeria and Sudan. It has been used for centuries to celebrate occasions such as Eid and weddings. Our students did Henna art and asked for donations for charities chosen by the students; the money raised has gone to support Islamic Relief, WEcause and Great Ormond Street Hospital.  

Radeyah Begum was a student leader for the charity fundraising during Culture Week: “The reason I have decided to donate to these charities specifically is that I wanted to be able to donate to causes, I was passionate about,” she said, “but also, because I feel as if these charities supporting minority groups do not get as much representation as they deserve, so I took the opportunity to embrace them and donate as much as we could to them all equally.”

Day 2: Live Music and Flag Face Painting

On Tuesday we had live music performances from our students over lunchtime and mini flag face painting.  

 “Culture Week is my favourite part of college, I love seeing everyone share and embrace their cultures,” said Damion Wint, who designed the Cultural Fashion Show programmes this year and last and is part of the SU Diversity Committee. “I chose to get involved with culture day because it’s important to me and so many other students. Getting involved is really fun and I would encourage all students to be a part of any aspect of culture week. Everyone looks beautiful and I enjoy every part of it, but my favourite would be getting my Henna done. Embracing and learning about all the different cultures in the world is so important because it shows us how much we all have in common with one another and brings us one step closer to each other.” 

Day 3: Cultural Fashion Show and Dance Performance

Wednesday was the biggest event of the week with the cultural fashion show and dance performances. 

 “Culture is something of importance to me, it’s a huge piece of my identity so taking part in culture day was a must!” said Zakiyah Alam, another member of the Diversity Committee who was one of the hosts of the Cultural Fashion Show.

“Being able to host and showcase the beauty in the different cultures was something I really wanted to be a part of and luckily was able to! It’s important to stay in touch with the parts of our identity we inherit, and I think it’s beautiful when you get to share it with other people. I recommend everyone taking part in things like culture days because it is such an experience and has such a cinematic feel to it.

Throughout the week I’ve got to say my favourite memory has been the actual fashion show walk and dances and seeing how much love and cheer you can get from the audience! It was a wholesome event and such an important part of really bringing everyone together, embracing every one of us.” 

Day 4: Food Stalls

On Thursday, students brought in traditional foods and signature dishes from all over the world and it was another great way to share their culture. Food is an important symbol of belonging and togetherness in many cultures, and it was exciting to be able to share it amongst our staff and students.  

Donations were collected from the food stalls with the money going towards the same charities as the Henna donations. 

Day 5: LGBQT+ Celebrations

On Friday, the Performing Arts department put on a Friday Lunchtime LGBTQ+ Concert, showcasing songs that are LGBTQ+ Anthems or mean a lot to members of our student and staff LGBTQ+ community. We enjoyed performances by the following students: 

 Joey Clarkson – Believe by Cher, I Want To Break Free by Queen

• Jess Frost – Man I Feel Like A Woman by Shania Twain, I Want To Break Free by Queen
• Georgia Hitchcock – Everybody Talks by Neon Trees
• Emily Carter – True Colours by Cyndi Lauper
• Isobel Jackson – Dandelions by Ruth B (vocals)
• Olivia Wheatley – Dandelions by Ruth B (guitar)

“At EHC, we aim to provide a safe space for students to express themselves so that they feel as comfortable as possible when they are in our building, whether that is about their religion, ethnic background, gender or sexuality. This allows us as the college to teach the best version of each student” said Mr Green, Maths Teacher. “The audience size and engagement at the concert really showed that EHC is a supportive environment and that the students are behind our messages of inclusivity and celebration of all communities.” 

 As well as celebration, Culture Week is also a time for reflection. Opening the Cultural Fashion Show on Wednesday we took a minute of silent reflection to acknowledge discrimination that people are facing in current world events and to appreciate our fortunate position to freely celebrate our cultures. 

 Vice Principal, Mrs Quashie said as she opened Wednesday’s event: “Culture Week at EHC is a time to celebrate our unique, diverse community and the richness that this brings to all our lives. I am so proud of all that we have achieved together and know that each one of you will have a positive impact upon our wider society as you highlight the importance of celebrating diversity and show respect and kindness to all. It is also important that we take a moment to reflect and to think about all those whose lives have been impacted by hate crime. Our hope is that we can all continue to work towards a more peaceful and tolerant world free from violence and discrimination.” 

Culture Week Photo Gallery