Because of limitations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Culture Fair on the East Liverpool Campus will be quite different: no student research on display; no ethnic foods; no ethnic artifacts; no guest speakers. But, there will still be a great opportunity to learn about another culture.
This year’s event will incorporate Islamic Day in Ohio and its online presentations on Oct. 10, beginning at 11:30 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.
“Each fall semester, the faculty at East Liverpool typically coordinates the Culture Fair: An Undergraduate Research Conference to bring cultural awareness to our campus and enhance knowledge and understanding of different cultural groups. Due to the current pandemic, we will not have a traditional culture fair on site at our campus,” explained Dr. Lydia Rose, associate professor of sociology at Kent State East Liverpool. “However, the Culture Fair planning committee discovered an online opportunity for the campus community to expand its knowledge of different cultural groups outside of the classroom.”
Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the 33rd annual “Islamic Day in Ohio” by going online to https://isak.org/ido.
Each October, the Islamic Council of Ohio promotes and celebrates Islamic Day in Ohio. The Islamic Society of Akron and Kent (ISAK) and the Akron Masjid are hosting IDO this year’s event as a free online webinar. The theme is “Racial Justice: A Moral Obligation.”
Speakers include Azhar Azeez , the past president of the Islamic Society of North America which is one of the largest and oldest Islamic Societies in the USA and Canada; Councilman Basheer Jones, the first Muslim council representative of Cleveland; Toqa Hassan, a young Muslim woman from Akron and a Ph.D. student in communication at Kent State University; and Dr. Khalid Madhi, current chair of Faith Islamic Academy’s Board of Education and a member of ISAK’s Intra-Faith Group Addressing Racism.
In 1987, then-Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste declared an official Islamic Day in Ohio as part of the council’s efforts to promote Islam to elected public officials. The tradition continued and, each year since then, an Islamic Center from within the state is selected by ICO to host the event.
The IDO’s goal is to promote and educate others about Islam, including its ideals, teachings and practices throughout Ohio, while providing an opportunity for open, interactive and interfaith dialogues between the host Muslim community and the non-Muslim communities in the vicinity.
For more information about this event visit https://www.ic-ohio.org/idoday.html.
Rose chairs the Culture Fair planning committee and its members include Robin Mermer, nursing faculty; Dr. Brian Wright, associate professor of math; and Brenda McIntosh, counseling specialist.