One World Week criticised

One World Week (OWW), a student-run international event, was celebrated on campus last week while also leading to a degree of controversy.

Criticism has focused on alleged disorganisation, including one former student was left severely out of pocket.

After receiving two cake orders, equating to 300 cupcakes, Warwick graduate and founder of Mississippi Cupcakes Indra Balaratnam was informed just three days before the event that they had found cheaper quotes elsewhere, with the other cancelling due to budget cuts. This came after invoices were sent out and the order was processed.

Ms Balaratnam has estimated she has lost around £100 so far, but is also unhappy with the unprofessional nature of her contact with some members of OWW.

She said: “I didn’t ask them for a deposit because I thought I could trust them. After they cancelled, they said it wasn’t their problem, and that I had to cover myself.”

President of World at Warwick Sophie Potter also criticised the organisation of the event. She told the Boar: “The recruitment process for coordinators is fundamentally flawed. [Those] I have had experience with seem to have zero understanding of the basics of event organisation, SU processes, or appropriate communication with other members of the University community.”

Ms Potter added: “The event seems to receive a great deal of funding from various sources, but this money would be much better directed to cultural societies who provide a year-round, reliable programme of events which truly reflect the input of their members.

“I have seen some really good things at OWW this year, but is a collection of stalls in the atrium accompanied by a couple of parties in the Copper Rooms really worthy of being called ‘the biggest student-run festival?’”

Christopher Rossi, president of the Italian Society, also criticised OWW for deeming the society’s bid for the fashion show as not up to standard and “unrealistic”.

He felt that the omission of a country so famous for its contribution to fashion would be a major loss to the event. He said: “We are…baffled by why our proposals were so unrealistic – we were not planning to have fireworks.”

Responding to such criticism, the co-ordinator of OWW, Anders Engsås, said: “Things do go wrong and it is my responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen next year.

“There have been a couple of incidents which I am dealing with, including the cupcakes, but it needs to be understood OWW is the biggest event on campus.

“I have been involved since my first year, and I believe this year has been the best, with both the fashion show and the after party selling out.

“It is hard to keep track of everything that goes on during OWW as it is such a huge event, but I really don’t think that two or three incidents are a true reflection of what OWW is about.

“If anyone was offended or upset by something, that was not our intention.”

However many were impressed with the week-long celebration.

Kattie Liu, third-year Engineering student, praised OWW for educating people about different cultures.

She said: “It is great to see the huge efforts each society puts in, especially in the fashion show, from advertising and then having the models on the show stage.

Different cultural and regional societies in the University set up stalls and cultural displays in the Students’ Union (SU).

The cultural days featured a range of activities including a salsa workshop, a hot-dog-eating competition and language workshops.

Sean Sia of the Singaporean Society commented: “The OWW stalls allowed people to catch a glimpse into the different societies and cultures around Warwick, from the food, to the games, to the lifestyles.”