By Nur Haninah
GOMBAK, 25 September 2017: A diverse cultural night was held on Friday  (22 September) to showcase Malaysian culture to the delegation from University of South Australia (UniSA).
Held at IIUM Mini Auditorium, the event was coordinated as one of the activities for the New Colombo Plan Student Mobility Programme participants. It was attended by the Dean of IRKHS, Prof. Dr. Mohammad Abdul Quayum and the Deputy Director of CiTRA, Dr. Nora Nasir.
œThis is their first encounter with Islam and Muslims, so far the experience has been inspiring and its humbling for both sides, we are learning about humility just by interacting with each other, said Programme Manager, Prof. Dr. Faridah Abdul Manaf
The night was complimented by various performances by both UniSA and IIUM students such as poetry recital, musical performances, video presentation and dancing to the Magunatip dance which also known tarian buluh. The night ended with a sing along to Kau Ilhamku, Standing in the eyes of the World, and Rasa Sayang.
A special opening performance was given by Australian students who performed using the Gamelan. Sharing his experience with the students, Lachlan Doherty from UniSA, told IIUMToday, œIts very good. It reminded me of my father who played bagpipes because he is an Irish. There is sort of a similarity because bagpipes have limits in the notes. So we have to be more creative in tunes or melody.
There are 12 undergraduate students majoring in English and Creative Writing who travelled to Malaysia for a three-week programme along with two accompanying lecturers, Assoc. Prof. Tangikina Moimoi Steen and Dr. Ioana Petrescu.
Among the activities of the programmes were attending lecture classes, a class with Gamelan Club, cultural visits to heritage places, performing a cultural show and they were also required to do an internship with a local cultural agency. They had visited an exhibition at Carcosa Seri Negara, Central Market and KLCC.
New Colombo Plan Mobility Programme is funded by the Australian government aimed at enhancing  Australian students knowledge of the Indo-Pacific region and to create and strengthen networks in the region.***
Photo credit to ELITS IIUM