The DEN Conference – to outsiders and onlookers, it was just another event where students
came to share ideas and have snacks but to me and my colleagues, it was a culmination of
months of hardwork and dedication. To me, I hoped that everything went to plan and most
importantly, everyone felt it was a good environment to share ideas and overcome any
challenges all the while having fun with friends.
A highlight of the event for me was the college students attending and sharing their experiences
of how the partnership between DEN and their college has impacted their lives. It was
interesting to see how the sixth form students were able to organise a trip to Seoul, South Korea
through their effective planning and lobbying, reminding me of how the year one students at
DEN were able to execute a similar trip through the university. To me this showed resilience and
perseverance.
I particularly enjoyed the Split at the roots presentation by the Uzkek students because it related
so much to my current situation. The presentation emphasised on how different cultures make
up the type of person you are and that you don’t feel at home in your native culture but also
can’t fully embrace the new one. I found this so true because as an immigrant, I feel out of touch
with my homeland but I’m definitely not well adjusted to my new country.
The conference really allowed me to step out of my comfort zone as I was working alongside a
few others to handle all things media including the continuous update of DEN’s social media
channels and the shooting of all guests in order to ensure everyone was included and
welcomed. I was also one of the organiser for the day so to ensure smooth operation, I acted as
a gofer during question and answer sessions to ensure the chairperson could effectively direct
conversations. Aside from this, I also chaired panel discussions and led the games portion of
the night alongside some of my colleagues.
For me, the event was nothing short of amazing and it was nice to see everything go according
to plan even past the small hitches faced during the day such as some speakers arriving late or
not attending.
In the future, I believe more merchandise should be readily available as we ran out quite quickly
and people were asking for more. Besides this, everything went well and I enjoyed the day
despite me walking around for most of it.
Charlene Okai