Since arriving to Cambridge, JCR President Reiss Akhtar has had multiple roles within College and in various cultural societies. “As the Vice-President of the University Pakistan Society, I have noticed that cultural societies are often detached from College life and instil within students the feeling that their identities can only be expressed in a space outside of their College,” said Reiss.

The upcoming Diversity Day at Caius, which will take place on Saturday 2 February, aims to change that perception. The event has proved popular. It sold out in 6 hours. Reiss’s vision is that the Caius Diversity Day will create a platform where students, regardless of their College or society connections, can discuss and celebrate their identity and culture. Art, literature, food and dress from all around the world will be on display and attendees will be able to take part in workshops led by Acting Now that address how identity and culture is explored.  

Opening the event is Caius Fellow Dr Sujit Sivasundaram. Last year, Sujit was appointed Director of Cambridge’s vibrant Centre of South Asian Studies. The world-renowned Centre, which is located just beyond our Stephen Hawking Building, focuses on South and Southeast Asia and serves all the faculties and departments in the University whose teaching and research touches on these regions.

Also speaking at the event is Somalian-born campaigner against female genital mutilation, Hibo Wardere. She will talk about her experience of raising children in the UK, explaining how cultural norms affect one’s identity and expectations. 

Around 11 cultural societies will attend the event. Among them, the BME campaign, the Pakistan Society, the Bangla Society, CU Nigeria Society and the University’s Central Asian Society - each contributing something unique. Attendees will also be able to join FUSE, FLY and The BME campaign for a discussion group, or listen to some incredible pieces of spoken word by the founder of LitC, Saaddaden Monajed.

“It has been wonderful to see the event receive so much support, but I think it is an important testament to the need for Colleges to create these spaces. A University can make efforts to improve accessibility, but if it does not embrace the very difference it aims to make in a practical and mutually informative way, then only further disjointedness will ensue. I hope the event works to showcase, with pride, the culture of the student body and allows us to examine what diversity, in practise, really means,” said Reiss.  

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with two charities, both of which were founded by Cambridge students. The first is SolidariTee, a Cambridge-based charity founded by Tiara Ataii. SolidariTee has become a huge charity in Cambridge and now Jordan, and fundraises for legal aid for refugees in Greece and Turkey,” said Reiss. At the event, attendees will be able to make donations to the charity either through monetary contributions or through purchasing one of the charity’s popular t-shirts. “Also present is Language in the Community (LitC), a London-based charity founded by Saadaddeen Monajed, which works with under-privileged communities to increase social cohesion and raise educational aspirations. Alongside its panel discussions and collaborations with organisations around the country, the charity curates live art events, some of which Diversity Day will experience in the form of spoken word poets,” said Reiss.  

“Celebrating diversity and creating a culture of inclusiveness and welcome to every member of Gonville & Caius College is central to our mission in research and learning. I much admire Reiss’s efforts in bringing about this first Diversity Day, on top of his academic work and other commitments. I’m very much looking forward to participating in it,” said Dr Pippa Rogerson, Master of Gonville & Caius.