It was a movement, a festival, and a celebration. From April 14th to 18th, Asia Week 2025 at UWC Changshu China, with the theme "Toward an Empowered Generation of (YOU)ths," brought the community together to celebrate Asia’s rich diversity, heritage, and the unstoppable power of youth. 

This event, 100% student-led, marked the perfect conclusion to the 2024-2025 academic year’s final Culture Week. 

On April 14th, the week kicked off with a spotlight on the recent catastrophe in Myanmar: the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that caused significant physical destruction alongside ongoing political instability. Paing Khin (DP2) and Shwe Linn (DP1), CSC students from Myanmar, led the Global Issues Forum (GIF) on the first day of Asia Week, highlighting the situation in their home country and providing a historical overview of the challenges Myanmar faces.

Paing stated, "As someone from Myanmar with the privilege of having access to an international platform like UWC, sharing my experience in GIF about the plight of my country’s people makes me feel that I am taking steps toward fulfilling the responsibilities I have toward my people. As for the community’s reaction, the support they’ve shown—both monetarily to the people of Myanmar and emotionally to Linn and me—is something that gives me a lot of hope and strength to continue our cause."

After the GIF, seven workshops took place, exploring Asian dance, cuisine, martial arts, and history. Richard Yiu (DP2), who led the I Ching workshop, is passionate about ancient Chinese divination and history. "After elementary school, I attended a Sishu, a traditional Chinese school where we memorized classic texts. In three years, I memorized about 20,000 characters, including the I Ching," Richard remarked.

Richard found Asia Week to be the perfect opportunity to share his knowledge of the I Ching. "This workshop is an introductory class to the I Ching, a 3,000-year-old philosophy from China. From my experience, I feel this is something I truly feel proud of. I’ve always wanted to share it but was afraid I wasn’t good enough. Asia Week gave me the opportunity, and I finally mustered up the courage to speak about it without any burden of thought. It was a deeply rewarding experience."

The Fun Fair brought the campus alive with flavors, music, and laughter. From Thai tea to Mauritian curry and Vietnamese pho, every dish told a story. Unlike typical food markets, Asia Week’s creativity was unique. They integrated food with music. The experience was one-of-a-kind: guests could enjoy Asian food at the Glasshouse, the gathering venue at CSC, while sitting outside, watching the warm sunset and listening to soothing songs.

In this regard, Faiz Muhammad (DP1), the leader of the Fun Fair, shared more about the uniqueness of the event, "Well, since food markets have been one of the most anticipated events in cultural weeks, we figured, why not make it something more than just food? And we did exactly that for Asia Week. We let community members explore our foods, busk and sing in different languages, experience different cultural activities, and most importantly, enjoy their time at Asia Week." 

One of the highlights of the Fun Fair was seeing Indian faculty members share diverse cuisines from India. The families of Justin Sebastian (Economics teacher) and Pranjal Rai (Design Technology teacher) served their delicious food while dressed in their unique Indian attire. 

What a night! Impressed, entertained, and laughing—these are the memories Asia Night left with the audience. Over 15 performances from all across Asia, featuring both students and faculty members from all over the world, left the audience with an open mouth. Dance, singing, mashups, a Fashion Show, and much more. Throughout Asia Night, the audience eagerly awaited the host to break up the performances. 

Faiz Muhammad, DP1 from Indonesia, contributed beyond leading the Fun Fair—he was the star of Asia Night. His unexpected jokes kept the audience laughing without pause. When Asia Week 2025 wrapped up, Marscella Ling, DP2 from Malaysia, Co-leader of Asia Week, shifted the focus from dance to powerful words. She conveyed her gratitude to UWC Changshu China for providing a platform where Asians could celebrate their culture and highlight the power of youth.

"I believe in the power of food and music to bring people together. ‘Toward an Empowered Generation of (YOU)ths’ is the theme that depicts how the current generation in Asia integrates their family values, cultures, and traditions into their personal values, adapting, navigating, and growing in our ever-changing society," she concluded. 

Asia Week 2025 was a celebration with a purpose. It was about empowering every student to lead, think globally, act locally, and start conversations that matter. As the leaders say, "We bring Asia to YOU!" But the real gift is the spark of inspiration that students will carry forward, shaping a more just, vibrant, and united world. 

The celebration of cultural differences is what makes UWC Changshu China unique. We believe we are different because CSC is not only about academics but also about experiences and learning. We build a community that is aware of other cultures. Therefore, CSC has been very supportive in helping students take a step forward, not only to share their culture but also to lead. By fostering the values of leadership and responsibility, we prepare students to become the force that unites people, nations, and cultures, bridging gaps.

Africa Week, America’s Week, Europe Week, and Asia Week were all enjoyable experiences that made the entire community engage and take pride in who we are.  

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