Brisbane will host more than 3,000 international and domestic students for its annual Welcome event for International Students in King George Square on Saturday 5 March (11am to 4pm).
Study Brisbane program and supported by Brisbane City Council (BCC), the BWIS is now in its fourth year and is recognised as the city’s official welcome event for new international students.
Lord Mayor Campbell Newman, who will launch the BWIS, said the event showed that Brisbane was back in business and ready to start the new study year.
“We want to give Brisbane’s new international students a warm welcome and let them know that all of our education institutions are open and ready to commence the new semester,” Cr Newman said.
“For many of these students, it will be their first time in Brisbane, so we also want to provide them with all the information and support they need so they can experience this city to its fullest.
“I encourage all international and local students to come along to King George Square this Saturday (5 March) between 11am and 4pm to experience a true taste of Australia’s new world city.”
Ben Southall, the Queensland Tourism Ambassador and Michael Kasprowicz, former Australian cricketer and UQ’s Goodwill Ambassador to India will be involved in the event again, sharing their experiences about living in Brisbane.
To further mark this festive event, the Lord Mayor will announce the 2011 Brisbane International Student Ambassadors, a program managed by Brisbane Marketing’s Study Brisbane program.
“With 24 countries represented in the program, 29 new Ambassadors will play an important role in promoting Brisbane as a new world city offering world-class opportunities to their home countries,” Brisbane Marketing’s CEO John Aitken said.
“The Ambassador program is all about acknowledging international students as global advocates for Brisbane. When our Ambassadors return to their home cities in the future, they may become captains in industry and government. The Ambassador program creates strong long term global connections for Brisbane.
“The Ambassadors will begin their honorary role by supporting Brisbane’s largest student welcome event, greeting and meeting international students and helping to make international students feel welcome in Brisbane.”
“I look forward to meeting all Ambassadors at the Brisbane Welcomes International Students event.”
The event will showcase approximately 50 exhibitors, including education institutions, transport providers, banks, public transport services, community engagement groups, sporting groups and student accommodation providers. Through this community approach Study Brisbane hopes to provide essential orientation information for students.
What else is happening at BWIS?
Entertainment:
Six bands will be performing live throughout the day, including:
Spacifix is a Brisbane band that combines funk, fusion and reggae genres in their music.
Chukale is one of Australia’s finest Afro Cuban Salsa Bands.
The Cheap Fakes is a Brisbane-based six piece band, creating a fusion of funk, pop, reggae and dance.
http://www.myspace.com/musicemmalouiseEmma Louise, a Brisbane-based acoustic singer.
DJ – COOLHANDLUKE, a unique style mixing hip hop, funk, soul and disco into sets.
The Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dancers, decedents of the local Nunukul Yuggera Yugimbir, the dancers showcase traditional aboriginal culture through song, dance and other various forms of cultural expression.
Koalas from Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Australian wildlife from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary will be on show for students to cuddle and touch.
George, the animated character from the national Think Before safety campaign targeting international students, will be joining the event and interacting with students, The Brisbane Roar, The Lions, Queensland Police Service and Lifesavers.
www.thinkbefore.com
Food:
Great cheap meal deals provided by Groove Train.
Prizes and Give-aways:
– $500 Commonwealth Bank Travel Money Card
– Brisbane Lions 10 seat VIP box for the North Melbourne game on Saturday 21st May 2011
– JR Duty Free gift box including products from Hugo Boss, Givenchy, L’Occitane and more.
– Optus pre-paid My Tab
About BWIS
The Brisbane Welcomes International Students event is a joint initiative between Brisbane Marketing and BCC. Commencing in 2007, the event was created based on a recommendation from the International Education Impact Study (a report commissioned by the Economic Development unit of Brisbane City Council). The event is now a permanent fixture on Brisbane’s education calendar.
International education is Brisbane’s largest export industry, earning over $2.27 billion (course fees) in 2010 calendar year plus $4.11 billion in downstream spending. In the same year over 80,000 international students studied in Brisbane. The presence of these students is responsible for 13,900 jobs in the Brisbane economy.
More information about the event can be found at www.studybrisbane.com
About Study Brisbane
Study Brisbane forms part of Brisbane Marketing and is dedicated to advancing the development of Brisbane’s international education sector, the largest export contributor to the Brisbane economy.
Media contact:
Elisabeth Topham | Media and Communications Advisor
T +61 7 3006 6263 | F +61 7 3006 6250 | E mailto:[email protected]
brisbanemarketing.com.au
studybrisbane.com.au
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