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| A few board members and guest mingled at the event ‘Hot Latin Night’ on November 27 in the Bastille. Almost 200 guests were treated to a tropical drink ‘guarapitas’ and taught Latin dances at the kick-off party for the new Latin American Student Association. ‘The party started punctually at 10pm,’ said PR representative Joni Hoppen dos Santos. ‘We finished precisely at 3pm, yet people were screaming, “We want more,” but we couldn’t go against the house rules!’. Photo: Gijs van Ouwerkerk |
Late last summer, Sánchez was inspired to start the association after filling out the International Barometer survey, based on questions revolving around awareness of career promotions and interaction between international students on campus. `I spoke to Karin Paardenkooper (Head of the International Office) who was in California at the time. She said if you want to have a platform for these issues and offer a Latin American perspective then why not start a new association,' said Sánchez who immediately started sending emails out to gage the level of interest among her Latin American colleagues and friends. The reaction was positive from the start and a small group met in the Vrijhof Theater Café for drinks to brainstorm ideas, develop a website and define the mission statement.
Coen Slageter, 24, moved to the Netherlands from his birthplace in Argentina when he was eight years old. He joined in the initial planning and was elected as secretary for the association. `We are trying to represent 20 countries. Our aims are big, but we remain humble. The help we received from other international associations was crucial to start our own. They knew how to go step by step through the whole process. None of us had ever done this before, and we were going into unknown territory,' said Slageter whose Dutch language skills will serve as a valuable assest to draw Dutch students to join.
`Everyday I'm surrounded by a high level of human capital.' said Sánchez. `Living in the Netherlands creates awareness in all of us about our own culture and countries. Students learn at the university to develop themselves, but by formulating an international association, we have created a platform to engage people in topics relevant to Latin American and voice our opinions at PITS (Platform for International Twente Student Associations) meetings, where all the associations are represented.' One of her pet projects for 2010 will be a one day symposium on the topic of leadership in Latin American countries. She and other board members want to help close the technological gap in their countries by addressing social and political issues which impede progress in the developing countries. Eventually, they hope to share the knowledge they've learned while earning their degrees at the UT with partnering educational institutes.
A host of activities are being planned for the upcoming year such as movie nights, political debates, a photographic exhibition and a gastronomy night. `If someone wants to learn about our cuisine, we are planning cooking workshops, where people can learn how to make the `real' Latin American food. Nayeli Arias Lopez, our activities coordinator, is asking members how they can contribute their talents and cultural knowledge with the UT community,' said Sánchez.
Joni Hoppen dos Santos, public relations representative for the association, recently was asked to help the Dutch Civil Engineering study association called ConcepT to prepare for a future trip they are planning in ten months to his native country in Brazil. He has plans to meet with the association and has contacted Brazilian embassy representatives, trying to secure additional funding to support their trip. Social responsibility and giving back to society is a core value for Dos Santos: `I've already been back to Brazil, as a guest lecturer, to emphasize to the importance of learning the English language.'
The association's logo, cleverly designed with a single torso of a nameless person holding a megaphone in the direction of the word `voice', delivers one of the association's central messages of equality and fairness. In Spanish and Portuguese the word `voz' literally means `voice'. Sánchez believes in sharing the cultural diversity of Latin America saying, `We have principles, not one country is better than the other. Together we are all Latin Americas.'
Visit the newly launched L.A. Voz website www.wesp.snt.utwente.nl/~voz/.
