Throughout 2011, the University will be celebrating ‘Crossing Boundaries: Aston's Year of Ethnicity & Culture’. .
Take the Crossing Boundaries quiz.
View photographs from the year so far.
The University is made up from a diverse mix of students, staff, partners and stakeholders (there are currently students from over 120 countries studying at Aston!) and this enriches all aspects of our campus community, making Aston University a vibrant, multi-cultural and exciting place at which to work and study. It is this vibrancy which Crossing Boundaries aims to celebrate. Through research, learning and teaching, community engagement and employment practice, Crossing Boundaries: Aston’s Year of Ethnicity & Culture, will build on the University’s experience of working to cross boundaries between people of different backgrounds.
As well as celebrating the diversity of our Community, the University will be launching projects aimed at accelerating equality of opportunity and promoting intercultural competency at Aston. We recognise that although we have much to celebrate, we need to continue to improve.
Crossing Boundaries: Aston’s Year of Ethnicity & Culture will be launched with a celebration event on Wednesday 16 February – join us in the Upper Foyer at 12 noon.
The year ties in with a fundraising initiative: ‘It’s on the Meter’ is an attempt by three Aston graduates to break the Guinness World Record for the longest taxi journey in history. The expedition will cover 4 continents, 33 countries, ten time zones and 30,000 miles in an old classic London Black Cab and the team will be raising money for the British Red Cross as they go (sponsor the graduates' It's on the Meter challenge).
Crossing Boundaries will be ‘following’ the cab round the world and as a University we will be exploring the 33 countries the team will be visiting through organised events, food, talks, art, exhibitions, and a Crossing Boundaries blog.
The 33 countries are: France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Monaco, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and the UK.
The University has pledged to keep up with (or even beat) the black cab through a ‘Match the Mileage’ initiative. Staff and students are needed to take part by walking, cycling, swimming, running etc the 30,000 miles over 9 months to beat the taxi. Simple! Find out how you can sign up to the Match the Mileage campaign.
If you would like any further information, have any suggestions, or want to find out how you can get involved, please get in touch with Shazia Tariq on ext 4414 or Louise Russell on ext 4637.
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