IPS Secondary pupils celebrate a series of ‘International days’, promoting key school values.

You could argue that every day is International Day here at IPS with our community of over 40 nationalities spread across the school; but our Secondary pupils dived deeper in order to develop their understanding of the values of internationalism, cultural awareness, and acceptance.

Throughout the past few weeks, pupils in Years 7 to 10 have engaged in a wide range of activities from museum visits, to guest speaker sessions that encouraged them to reflect on identity and inclusion.
 

Guest Speakers

A Taste of Canada and Diplomatic Life
We were honoured to host Madam Elise, the Canadian Ambassador to Portugal, who provided an insight into the world of international diplomacy and Canadian culture. Madam Elise discussed her role in Portugal, including responsibilities and what the daily life of an ambassador entails. She also shared her life experience, personal anecdotes and the journey that led her to a career in international service.

Exploring Dutch Culture and Innovation
Ms. Karin was also an honoured guest, coming from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Her presentation began on a very sweet note, as our pupils were lucky enough to get a taste of some delicious Dutch stroopwafels.
Ms. Karin discussed beloved Dutch traditions and their obsession for travelling around on bikes. She also highlighted the Dutch expertise in coastal engineering and water management, a critical element of the nation's history and ongoing innovation.

The Lisbon Project
On the same day, Eva from the Lisbon Project came in. She shared incredibly thought-provoking insights into the struggles faced by refugees as they strive to integrate and build lives in a new place.

Eva focused on the fundamental nature of human connection. A particularly moving moment was hearing the story of Mo, a refugee from Iraq who was forced to flee his home as a young teenager at the start of the war. We learned how Mo was initially relocated with his mother, father, and siblings to a refugee camp. However, as conditions worsened there, he eventually faced a journey of immense hardship to escape, crossing borders to seek a better life; a decision that tragically meant leaving the rest of his family behind. He passionately emphasised the vital support he received from The Lisbon Project, whose impressive work helped him establish the life he now leads, including utilising his mother’s cooking lessons to become an established chef.

The Armenian community group - Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
The pupils were also visited by Vera and Annie from the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; the founder of which was originally from Armenia before settling in Portugal. The purpose of this talk was to demonstrate how even a small nation can find communities spread across the world.

We heard all about the history of the country, the struggles which led to displacement, religious imagery that is ingrained in the culture, and even touched on the language.

Vera and Annie then focused particularly on the life of Calouste Gulbenkian, and how he ended up moving his impressive art collection to Portugal.

An insight into Japanese culture
Our final presentation was arranged with the help of one of our wonderful parents, Akkiko. The pupils were greeted by 2 individuals in traditional Japanese dress, adding a real sense of authenticity to the presentation. They explained to the pupils how the first foreigners to in fact explore Japan were the Portuguese, and there are thus influences of this in the culture today.

We got a little lesson on the language, followed by an incredible traditional tea ceremony. This was a great hands-on experience where pupils were invited up to follow the rituals of the ceremony and then got to taste the tea at the end.

We want to sincerely thank all our guests and hope that we can invite more individuals in for these types of events, in the future. However, the fun did not stop there for the pupils.

Museum visits

As part of this International celebration, Years 7 and 8 went to the the Museu do Oriente to explore the exhibit "Japan: Festivals and Rituals", learning that respect and valuing others are core cultural beliefs where tradition and spirituality converge.

This was followed by a trip to the "An Atlantic Drift" exhibition (Berardo Collection) at the MAC/CCB (Museum of Contemporary Art).Here, they were encouraged to challenge common questions like, "How can a urinal be considered art?" or "What is the artistic value in a simply painted abstract piece?" They realised that art can be used to question societal norms and foster expression.

International Eco-Picnic
And lastly, the pupils got together on the Village Green to enjoy a homemade international Eco-picnic. We asked every pupil to bring one shareable food item that reflects their cultural heritage or a favourite dish that they love from another global culture to share with their classmates. It was the perfect end to this series of events and we were so lucky to have such wonderful weather on the day.

Thank you again to all who made these events for the pupils possible.
 

Written by:
Melissa Theobold
KS3 Phase leader 
&
Luke Provis
KS4 Phase leader