The BASE Festival wants to give internationals an extra helping hand

Delta spoke with Lydia Vian de Fuentes from IAESTE (International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience), one of the organisers of the BASE Festival.

When is the Festival and what can I do there?
“It is on Thursday 26 August on a square near the Professor Schermerhornstraat. There are two stages and you can do all kinds of activities. Every international student association has a stall. Activities include a silent disco booth, a rodeo bull, cooking workshops and much more. Internationals can get to know TU Delft student associations at the stalls and find out if there is anything of interest for them.”

A festival in corona time, is that completely safe?
“Yes, otherwise we would not have received permission from the municipality of Delft. Our terrain is 4,600 square metres, so it’s large enough for everyone to maintain a safe distance from each other. The municipality of Delft has granted permission for the event and has set a maximum number of visitors, which we will adhere to. We also follow the corona regulations and ask for negative corona tests or proof of vaccination before admittance.”

Who are you organising it with and why?
“There are 15 of us and everyone is from a different international association: AEGEE-Delft, Best Delft, DISS, Latitud and ESN-Delft for example. We all share an office in the DUWO building at the Professor Schermerhornstraat and we had been talking about organising something big together for a while. This year, it turned out that DUWO wanted to fund an event aimed at internationals so we came up with this plan. The combination of stages, activities and attention to international associations is important. We hope it helps international students get to know TU Delft better, but we also invite Dutch students to join the Festival.”

 

Internationals sometimes struggle to connect with student life in the Netherlands. In what other ways does the BASE festival help them?
“Most of the organisers are Dutch so we noticed that there is a gap between Dutch and international students. It’s about that extra push.”

How do you plan on giving them that extra push? 
“Internationals can meet a lot of new people at this festival, both Dutch students from associations and other international students. Hopefully, it will create a good atmosphere for exchanging cultures and learning from fellow students from other countries. If at the end of this festival one international student has exchanged a phone number with a Dutch person, we will be overjoyed.”

You ended up here yourself a few years ago as an international student. Do you have any tips for students who are new here?
“I came to TU Delft two years ago for the first time as an exchange student and also felt a distance to Dutch students. However, I was very motivated to integrate. I made Dutch friends during lectures and joined a Dutch sports club. I even tried to learn the language. So I would say take that extra step. If you put in a little effort, you will see that many Dutch people are very open to you.”

• Base Festival, is held thursday august 26 at a square next to the Professor Schermerhornstraat. You can find more info on the Instagram page of the festival.  
• A ticket for the festival costs 13,50 euro. Order your ticket here.
• The festival is organised by S4S, Best, Iaeste, Aegee, Diss, ISA, ESN, Subest Delft, TUD Debating club, Aiesec, ABC Compass, Moeder Delftsche and Latitud.