Each month Global Meeting Point offers an opportunity for members of TU Delft%s multinational community to meet and eat and discuss a variety of pertinent social and cultural issues.
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As the name implies, Global Meeting Point (GMP) is all about meeting people from different parts of the world. The meetings are informal gatherings that bring together people of different nationalities and backgrounds in order to foster social and cultural understanding. This process of sharing and exchanging information helps makes participants aware of their roles as members of the global village, while also helping them to grow into more complete human beings through an increased realization that we%re all members of the same human family. The international atmosphere of TU Delft, within the Netherlands’ multicultural society, provides an ideal meeting place to engage in real intercultural dialogue.
GMP participants are invited to contribute their opinions on a variety of social and cultural issues, ranging from the war in Iraq, relationships with one’s grandparents, AIDS and ‘Fortress Europe’, to human rights and Dutch culture. For instance, the topic ‘The role of grandparents’ may seem rather simple, but, given the powerful influences of our ever-increasing materialistic society and the continuing breakdown of the traditional family unit, this was deemed an important contemporary issue for discussion.
GMP discussions are rich, varied and above all polite. Nobody tries to convince the others of the absolute rightness of his or her own ideas; instead, the aim is to try to look at a given situation or issue from many different points of view, and by doing so, to learn from each other. What makes GMP gatherings so special is the personal experiences that the participants bring % from all corners of the globe % and share with the group.
Bridges
The GMP program starts at 18:30 with a simple dinner. What is served for dinner varies from one meeting to next, however. It could be Indonesian, Italian, Latin American, Sri Lankan…depending on who is in charge of cooking dinner for that particular meeting. Often, GMP participants prepare the meal together, which further adds to the spirit of camaraderie and intercultural exchange. The ‘real’ discussion then starts at 19:30, lasting until 21:00, and often a discussion opens with an introduction from an invited guest who is particularly knowledgeable about the subject under discussion.
GMP discussions always proceed in a friendly atmosphere. Often, at the end of a discussion, there is no single unanimous conclusion. Rather, people usually tend to have their own ideas based on their own past experiences. Yet, the GMP organizers feel that the most important point to be gained from a meeting is the understanding among the participants that indeed people deal with particular issues and situations in all different ways. This starts with the different ways in which people cook and eat their meals and extends to how they respond to particular social or cultural issues. By gaining an understanding of this, and refusing to allow these differences to become barriers, the differences of opinion that emerge around the GMP table are converted into bridges of understanding that encourage friendship and solidarity among people of different nationalities and backgrounds. Hence, the GMP’s slogan: Where the East meets the West, and where the South meets the North. For in reality, east and west, north and south, do not exist. Rather, we are all of one single earth, manifested in different colors and textures.
The next GMP meeting is Wednesday, November 5th, at Voorstraat 60. A special Kurdish dinner will be followed by the discussion, ‘Close Encounter with the Dutch Culture, Meeting Aliens’. For more information about attending this meeting, contact Anna Dall’Acqua at a.dallacqua@ewi.tudelft.nl or Dedy H.B. Wicaksono at dedyhbw@yahoo.com
.aut ANNA DALL’ACQUA & DEDY H.B. WICAKSONO
Each month Global Meeting Point offers an opportunity for members of TU Delft%s multinational community to meet and eat and discuss a variety of pertinent social and cultural issues.
As the name implies, Global Meeting Point (GMP) is all about meeting people from different parts of the world. The meetings are informal gatherings that bring together people of different nationalities and backgrounds in order to foster social and cultural understanding. This process of sharing and exchanging information helps makes participants aware of their roles as members of the global village, while also helping them to grow into more complete human beings through an increased realization that we%re all members of the same human family. The international atmosphere of TU Delft, within the Netherlands’ multicultural society, provides an ideal meeting place to engage in real intercultural dialogue.
GMP participants are invited to contribute their opinions on a variety of social and cultural issues, ranging from the war in Iraq, relationships with one’s grandparents, AIDS and ‘Fortress Europe’, to human rights and Dutch culture. For instance, the topic ‘The role of grandparents’ may seem rather simple, but, given the powerful influences of our ever-increasing materialistic society and the continuing breakdown of the traditional family unit, this was deemed an important contemporary issue for discussion.
GMP discussions are rich, varied and above all polite. Nobody tries to convince the others of the absolute rightness of his or her own ideas; instead, the aim is to try to look at a given situation or issue from many different points of view, and by doing so, to learn from each other. What makes GMP gatherings so special is the personal experiences that the participants bring % from all corners of the globe % and share with the group.
Bridges
The GMP program starts at 18:30 with a simple dinner. What is served for dinner varies from one meeting to next, however. It could be Indonesian, Italian, Latin American, Sri Lankan…depending on who is in charge of cooking dinner for that particular meeting. Often, GMP participants prepare the meal together, which further adds to the spirit of camaraderie and intercultural exchange. The ‘real’ discussion then starts at 19:30, lasting until 21:00, and often a discussion opens with an introduction from an invited guest who is particularly knowledgeable about the subject under discussion.
GMP discussions always proceed in a friendly atmosphere. Often, at the end of a discussion, there is no single unanimous conclusion. Rather, people usually tend to have their own ideas based on their own past experiences. Yet, the GMP organizers feel that the most important point to be gained from a meeting is the understanding among the participants that indeed people deal with particular issues and situations in all different ways. This starts with the different ways in which people cook and eat their meals and extends to how they respond to particular social or cultural issues. By gaining an understanding of this, and refusing to allow these differences to become barriers, the differences of opinion that emerge around the GMP table are converted into bridges of understanding that encourage friendship and solidarity among people of different nationalities and backgrounds. Hence, the GMP’s slogan: Where the East meets the West, and where the South meets the North. For in reality, east and west, north and south, do not exist. Rather, we are all of one single earth, manifested in different colors and textures.
The next GMP meeting is Wednesday, November 5th, at Voorstraat 60. A special Kurdish dinner will be followed by the discussion, ‘Close Encounter with the Dutch Culture, Meeting Aliens’. For more information about attending this meeting, contact Anna Dall’Acqua at a.dallacqua@ewi.tudelft.nl or Dedy H.B. Wicaksono at dedyhbw@yahoo.com
.aut ANNA DALL’ACQUA & DEDY H.B. WICAKSONO
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