By Azra Farzana Shuib
Although diversity is much celebrated in my university, the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), such diversity comes in its own glittering way from international students who are mostly Muslims from more than 80 countries from across the globe. The whole gamut of cultures that make up the community adds colour to the university. We might have different views and opinions on certain things, but we learn to quickly integrate and adapt ourselves to the situation as time goes by.
Being appreciative of multiculturalism as a person that I am, I didn’t have any regrets travelling for more than 300 kilometres to University of Science Malaysia (USM) for the Immersion Project, Appreciation & Tribute (IMPACT 2016) event. Apart from the competition that I participated, it’s best to experience the university’s atmosphere too. Since Penang has much integrated all the races in Malaysia, then USM, to my mind, is considered the best location to reflect the multiracial and multicultural setting and the harmony that exists in this country.
Arriving at 8.30 a.m that morning, my friend and I were among the earliest to register for the IMPACT 2016 competition, so we decided to check out the USM’s Berita Kampus collection at the event’s booth. My first encounter to learn about the event was with a Malaysian Chinese student. Well dressed and looking genial, Tong Yih Huey, a final year Journalism student explained to us about the campus newspapers and we communicated in both Bahasa Melayu and English interchangeably to get a quick brief on the history of the campus newspaper, its progress, and its role in USM in relations to igniting connectivity.
Then we moved to the magazines section, where we had a lively conversation with another two USM final year students, Muhammad Khairi Noor Azli and Khairul Annuar Adzhar. It was an easy guess to know where Khairul Annuar came from. True Malaysians know how distinct the Kedah slang is.
IMPACT 2016 held in USM included participants from different universities in Malaysia and neighbouring countries, and thereby with different cultural backgrounds. There were Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indonesians and Africans, all flocking together to manifest the “Igniting Connectivity” theme.
“I see this event as a step to strengthen the interracial bonds,” Khairul Annuar said. “We can use today’s event as a platform to exchange opinions and ideas, and in turn ignite our connectivity.”
All in all, as I met students from different cultural backgrounds gathering for IMPACT 2016, we could agree that the course in Communication is somewhat a melting pot to bring people together. We talked about our universities, our newspapers and news portals, and we listened to each other’s perspective on communication field.
As I observed the journalism works showcased by USM students, I realised that as Communication undergraduates, we basically understand how the media work, and therefore, it is not an understatement to say that we have the ability to connect people, regardless of our superficiality, using avenues provided by the universities and the media industry. That revelation somehow made the event even more special to my eyes.
That ability to connect people crystallised when I saw the four magazines produced by final year Journalism students. Most of the topics revolved around Malaysia, like Malaysia’s famous herbs, foods, budget travels and alternative lifestyles. Those topics appealed to human interest angle, also to your appetite. The magazine that featured Malaysian foods looked absolutely tantalising with well-written articles, and deliciously stunning photos of local dishes.
“The main objective of IMPACT 2016 is to showcase our works, and at the same time to bond with students from other universities,” said Tong Yih Huey, as I looked at the magazines.
There was one article in Bare Bones magazine about Nisha Ayub, an LGBT advocate in Malaysia. Being one strong representative of the minority group, she clarified her views in the article. It reminded me of an article written by my fellow classmate entitled “Dude, is that a boy or a girl?” where he interviewed a person just like Nisha, but the only difference is that she doesn’t want her identity to be revealed. Basically, the interviews in both articles are pretty much about the same thing – to get to know a person, to understand what’s in the mind of people in a marginalised group.
Going through the articles in that magazine, I assumed that it is easier to connect people than to separate them. We just need to spend more time knowing their cultures and themselves. As reflected in the famous book “To Kill A Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, in which she wrote:
“You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
But we have to be realistic when it comes to this issue. As the world goes in a fast pace, we have little time to invest in the quest for more humanistic values. Thus, I think, the role of media is more important than ever. Coming to my reflection, we should be focusing more on educating, to reveal what is often unsaid about different people and their cultures, in a way that readers and audiences can draw upon themselves common ground. Although it is not an easy thing to fulfil, it does not, however, mean that there is no common ground.
When we talk about connectivity, inevitably multiculturalism comes to mind. As globalisation takes place in a continuous process, undoubtedly technology advances, and distance is no longer considered a problem. People migrate, and it is caused by different reasons such as business ventures, people seeking knowledge or even in a situation of conflict or to escape from war zones. Countries are more interdependent than ever. You can’t escape multiculturalism. It will come to you.
And since we have heard a lot of failures of multiculturalism, why can’t we agree that multiculturalism should also be the solution? Communication students should think about it. We play a role in advocating connectivity. We don’t really have to be so critical in everything, as little things are sufficient to build bridges of understanding among us. There’s no need for deeply-thought, bombastic usage of languages as love is a universal language after all.
IMPACT 2016 event, in my eyes, have connected Communication students from various institutions in multiple different ways. More than exchanging ideas, we should together reflect on looking into people’s souls instead of judging by the colour of their skin.
Perhaps it starts with us. Maybe we should first initiate a bond with people who are different than us, until that idea becomes natural. And when it becomes a part of us, naturally it will translate in every project that we invest our time and effort in, and in turn, would contribute into making the world a better, and a more colourful place for all.***
Photo credited to IMPACT2016