On Wednesday, July 15, the Culture Café, aimed at promoting active exchanges between international students studying at Kochi University and Japanese students in multiple languages, was held. The gathering has been held five times since its establishment, and a total of 33 people, including twelve international students, twelve Japanese students, two from outside the university, and seven faculty members gathered.

The theme this time was “Swedish Summer,” and the Swedish students from the partner universities in Sweden prepared drinks and sweets (pies) and offered them to the participants to allow them to get a taste of Swedish summer. For the Japanese students, it was the first time to taste unfamiliar ingredients and eat something that looked like a very big cookie, and most participants were interested in the food items and listened attentively to explanations given by the students.

The Culture Café was rich in international flavor, and the participants represented a diverse range of countries. Many Japanese students have experience of studying overseas, which facilitated lively exchanges among them, and the event concluded successfully. We hope to hold this kind of event for cross cultural exchanges, where participants will be introduced to various cultures from various countries, again in the future.