By Tiffany Boggs, Student Media
What began as an international night in the 1970s turned into a weeklong celebration in 1981.
For 44 years, international students from around the world have come together to celebrate their cultural background with music, dance, food, and sports. It’s a week of recognition, learning, and appreciation for diversity at George Mason University.
A variety of events took place from March 28 through April 6. The iWeek Committee hosted three events: the traditional Parade and Festival, a tour around the world, and the international dance competition.
The parade and festival had three hundred students participating, walking across the Mason campus representing their home country. The event was followed by a ceremony and a table fair, in which thirty organizations signed up for students to connect with multicultural groups hosted by Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) and other departments at Mason, according to the Assistant Director for International Engagement, Office of International Programs (OPS), Jonathan Carmona.
Tour around the world, the food tasting event where students visited tables representing a country, learned about the cultural foods from different continents and regions. Finally, the international dance competition. Eight teams competed, incorporating unique dance styles from diverse cultures. The winners of the 2025 iWeek dance competition was Mason Ke Rang, the South Asian dance group.
A few international students shared their experiences participating in Iweek and the pride they take in their country.
“I feel very proud. As an international student, I’m very proud to represent Uzbekistan, plus in the U.S. and at George Mason, not a lot of people are familiar with this country,” said Gulbanhor Nortojieva, who participated in the parade and festival. Nortojieva shared she came to the United States three years ago, and everything was a culture shock from the food and language. Nortojieva feels iWeek gives international students the opportunity to know one another, how diverse Mason is, and to reunite.
Chengeng Yin and Xiyas Huang celebrated iWeek in the parade and dance competition, representing their home China.
“As for me, I think it’s such an opportunity for us to spread our culture because during this competition we used the Chinese song and the traditional clothes, and the traditional dance positions. So, we want many friends to see how Chinese dances are and how we would perform so that they can better understand our culture,” said Yin.
For non-international students, iWeek is a meaningful time for them too. Awareness of students who come from all over the world and acknowledging global issues.
Tara Zamani, born in the United States, but her family is from Iran. She would visit Iran “a couple of times every year” before Covid-19, but due to the conflict in the Middle East, it’s unsafe for Zamani to visit. Despite the global issues, she looks at iWeek as a time of “unity.”
“Every country has some sort of issue, whether that be political or economic. In general, there’s always going to be an issue, however, we are being united by how proud we are of our culture and roots. So, I think it’s very important we take time to celebrate that and take time to celebrate the beauty in each of our cultures instead of the hardships,” Zamani said.
Carmona ended with appreciation for the fact that international students feel connected to iWeek, and the hard work is paying off.
“It makes me see the purpose of the work I do and makes me feel that I’m doing my job correctly. Even though how busy it is and how much time, work, and hours it takes, I’m always very grateful for that. I’m always very grateful that students feel celebrated and represented in any way we can in that week, and I think that’s just priceless,” he said.