BU is a lot more diverse than I originally expected. When I went to the Fresher’s Fair during my first year, I stumbled across the Liberation Campaign in the Students’ Union at Bournemouth University (SUBU). There are six campaigns represented by SUBU; Women’s Campaign, Transgender and Non-Binary Students Campaign, Students’ with Disabilities Campaign, LGB+ Campaign, Black Students Campaign, and lastly the Asian, Arab and Ethnic Minority Students’ Campaign.

Through the AAEM Community, I feel a sense of belonging even when I’m in a foreign country. I met my first Malaysian friend through an introduction event organised by SUBU. Afterwards, I joined SUBU and became the officer for the AAEM Campaign.

The goal of this campaign is to support students who self-define within the community. In the past, the campaign has successfully lobbied for more Halal food options eateries. In recent years, the campaign also celebrated several cultural events such as Diwali, Lunar New Year, and Ramadan. If you think they should arrange more cultural events, do let them know here: Submit Your Ideas.

during Diwali at Old Fire Station

Lunar New Year 2021 Poster

Virtual Iftar during Ramadan 2021

By celebrating these cultural events, I can meet a lot of amazing people across my times in BU. The campaign also managed to collaborate with several clubs & societies such as the Nepalese Society, Islamic Society and Anime Society. Aside from cultural events, the campaign also arranged social event such as a meet & greet for new intakes around September and January, and also movie nights where in the past we had Anime movie night, Bollywood movie night and Korean movie night. It’s another fun way to make new friends! All students are also welcome to these social events as an opportunity for everyone to enjoy. These are some of the posters of previous social events:

Anime Movie Night

Bollywood Movie Night

The most recent collaboration was with the LGB+ Campaign, where we hosted a talk with Asifa Lahore on Being LGBT+ in Asian Communities. It is a good opportunity for students who identified themselves as part of the AAEM community and the LGB+ community.

Being LGBT+ in Asian Communities 2021

Overall, I can assure you that you won’t have to worry about not finding friends or feeling too homesick. From my experience, by being and joining the AAEM Community, I manage to overcome my worries. You can also join other societies that may represent your cultures such as the African & Caribbean Society, Ghanaian Society, Indonesian Society, Japanese (Nihongo) Society, Latinos Society, Portuguese Society, Scandinavian Society, Spanish Society and the Welsh Society.

Follow AAEM Campaign’ Instagram for more update: @aaemcampaign and if you have any further questions or would like to just chat with me, you can reach me at Unibuddy: Ayra Unibuddy

Hope you enjoyed this blog! Take care.

– Ayra H.