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Thousands of people gathered at Kawauchi campus on May 12 for the 34th Tohoku University International Festival (TUIF), an event that continues to be a perennial favourite on the city's social calendar. This year's theme was "Harmony through Diversity."

"This festival is always such an opportunity for international and Japanese students to show off their culture not only to each other, but to the local residents of Miyagi," said Yumiko Watanabe of the Global Learning Center. "It's a wonderful reflection of the university's cultural diversity."

Some 20 food stalls offered popular delicacies from around the world, prepared, cooked and served by Tohoku University students and alumni.

"I made sure to try the food that my students cooked. So I ate from the Vietnamese, Thai and Filipino stalls," said Watanabe. "It was all really good. I'm so proud of them."

Hazem Abbas, an alumnus who graduated in March, set up a stall serving Egyptian food. "I introduced a very popular dish called Koshari, which is a mix of rice, pasta, lentils, chickpeas, fried onions and tomato sauce. Food is a major part of every country's culture, so I thought feeding people would be the best way for them to experience mine."

The festival's main stage provided all-day entertainment, including folk songs, dances and the always popular fashion runway of national costumes.

To encourage festival goers to try new things and to learn about the different cultures of the people who live here, there were 15 booths with interactive activities.

"We were a little worried that Ramadan and the Sendai City Half Marathon would deter some people from coming, but the turnout was great," said Hamza Abdelli, president of the Tohoku University Foreign Students Association (TUFSA) and the head of the festival's organising committee. "There were a lot of families this time, and I think they especially enjoyed the games and interactive corners."

Tohoku University President Hideo Ohno arrived in the early afternoon and spent several hours mingling with the crowd. He chatted with students, posed for pictures and sampled food from the stalls.

"Having the president at the festival was a big honor, and he was so supportive and encouraging to everyone he spoke to," said Abdelli.

"For the members of the organizing committee, and the more than 100 volunteers who worked so hard to make this festival happen, it meant a lot to see everyone, including the president, having a great time."