All things must come to an end, even good things. The 2019 Long Nights of Interculturality wound down – or rather, reached even greater heights – with the Closing Ceremony at the Wiener Börsensäle on September 6. In addition to speeches from our President Josipa Palac, opportunities for cultural networking, and delicious food brought by our partners, the highlight of the evening was ICDO’s “Costumes of the World” exhibition. It was an inspiring show of more than 160 national and traditional costumes, some handcrafted, from 60 different cultures. Ending the celebration on an exuberant note, violinist Moša Šišic and his band entertained the audience with their lively, colorful music.
Many prominent guests were in attendance: Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria, H.E. Lourdes G. A. Victoria – Kruse and Alternate Permanent Representative Ms. Ellen Josefina Martinez de Cooreman, Ambassador of the Kyrgyzstan Republic to Austria H. E. Bakyt Dzhusupov, Ambassador of Colombia to Austria H. E. Miguel Camilo Ruiz and spouse and Cultural Officer Mrs. Alina Cardenas Rey, Director of Azerbaijan Cultural Center Mrs. Leyla Gasimova and Mr. Hassan Asbarov, Mrs. Gulnare Xelilova, Mr. Ghousuddin Mir from Afghan Cultural Association (AKIS), Counselor Mr. Faho Sanibe from the Embassy of Burkina Faso, Dr. Amr Ibrahim Abdelrahman Elatraby and delegation from the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H. E. Djumala Darmansjah and spouse, Minister Counsellor Mrs. Palupi Sukiyantini Mustajab and Third Secretary Mr. Rahmat Kurniawan from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia.
“It is very important to safeguard diversity because it is a nature of mankind” one of the participants from Colombia said during her interview with the ICDO team.
ICDO was honored to collaborate with Vienna-based portrait photographer Dina Lee, who captured portraits of national and traditional costumes during the Closing Ceremony, and the talented Azerbaijani artist Gulnara Xelilova, whose Azerbaijani traditional costumes were showcased in our “ICDO’s Costumes of the World” exhibition. It was an excellent example of the work being done towards #safeguardingdiversity for an inclusive, colorful, strong society.
“ICDO brings people together to create a peaceful world” said one participant from Burkina Faso. We at ICDO are pleased that our objectives – to raise awareness of different cultural expressions and their values, and promote an open atmosphere of diversity and interculturality – have been achieved.
The 2019 ICDO Long Nights of Interculturality had been a wonderful journey through numerous expressions of diversity! “ICDO would like to express its gratitude to everyone who made this event possible – partners, participants, speakers, guests, and volunteers. ICDO aims to create many more exciting experiences in all of our future projects in 2020,” said Josipa Palac, ICDO President and CEO.