Attending the 9th DEN International Student Conference in London was an amazing experience. The overall atmosphere was incredibly friendly and welcoming. Before the official sessions started, we were just university students from different parts of the world, chatting, laughing, and having a lot of fun together. However, as soon as it was time for the presentations, the whole room fell silent. Everyone gave their full attention to the speakers. It was wonderful to see how much respect we all had for each other. You could easily see that every student was very well-prepared to present their topics to the audience. What I loved most about this conference was the room’s openness. People shared many different opinions, and everyone listened with an open heart. No one looked down on or devalued anyone else’s ideas. Every single thought and opinion was treated as truly valuable. It created a very safe and supportive space for us to exchange our views. The presentations also helped open my mind to many new perspectives. We listened to a wide variety of topics. For example, the session discussing migration policies and immigrants in Europe, like the presentation about Ukrainian migrants in Poland, really made me think deeply. Learning about these complex global situations directly from other students made the topics much easier to understand and helped me see them from many different angles. Beyond the academic learning, the cultural exchange was unforgettable. One of the most beautiful moments was when our friends from Uzbekistan brought their incredibly detailed traditional clothes to give to Professor Farhang. To represent our Thai identity, my friends and I decided to wear our famous “elephant shirts” right before presenting our topic! Foreigners love wearing these shirts when they visit our country, so as soon as people saw our outfits, they smiled and immediately knew we were from Thailand. It was a fun and simple way to share our culture. Overall, the DEN conference was much more than just a typical academic event. It was a special place where we could learn from each other, respect different views, and build friendships across borders. This conference showed me that the best lessons don’t just come from books, but from the amazing people we meet along the way.
Kantipa Jarotrum (Dew)
ThaiExplorer
That sounds fantastic! It’s wonderful to hear about such a welcoming conference – building connections like that is really important.