On 10 April 2014, Ms. Boosara Kanchanalai, Deputy Consul-General, and officials from the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Guangzhou attended the third International Cultural Festival at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS), co-organized by the Faculty of Asian Languages and Cultures and Capgemini Corporation. In the Festival, there were exhibition and food-tasting booths, as well as cultural performances by the students from the Departments of Thai, Myanmar, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic Language.

     With regard to the cultural performance from Thailand, the Department of Thai Language arranged a short play demonstrating the Thais’ tradition, custom and ways of life during Songkran Festival, including ritual of making merit and food offering to a Buddhist Monk, Thai traditional games, Buddha Bathing Rite, and Water Pouring to the Respected Persons Ceremony. After the performance, the Department of Thai Language faculty members, executives from GDUFS, the Deputy Consul-General, and executives from Capgemini Corporation were invited to participate in the Water Pouring to the Respected Persons Ceremony.

     Furthermore, the Department of Thai Language also arranged arts and crafts selling booths, Thai food and dessert selling booth, as well as exhibition booths about tourism hot spots in Thailand, which all drew significant interest from the festival participants.  

     In conclusion, the Third International Cultural Festival at GDUFS successfully raised further awareness and promoted cultures from the countries of participating Departments, including Thailand, to the university faculty members and students, as well as the general public.