By Befekadu Mulatu LIKASA(2011 MPP, Ethiopia)

The 2^nd Global Fundraising party was held at KAIST Supex Building on Thursday, April 11^th. Inspired by the charity work of the international community that followed a catastrophic tsunami in Japan, the event has been launched last year by the students’ passion to join hands and give back to the society. The aim of this year’s fundraising was to raise public awareness about the discrimination against multicultural families in Korea and also to provide support for the International Unity Network,  a non-profit  organization  working  to empower  multicultural  families  through  job  training  for  adults and  alternative  education  for children.

Jae Hyeon Lim (2012 MDP, Korea) was the brain behind the event. With the help of many other volunteers who shared her cause, she arranged the vibrant party jointly with the KAIST Business School. The cooperation between the two schools helped create a platform for students to mingle and share experiences together. The student-level collaboration was further endorsed by the presence of Prof. Kwon Jung, Associate Dean of the KDI School, and Prof. Youngbae Kim, Associate Dean of the KAIST Business School.

The event started with a wonderfully colorful cultural fashion show, where international students from the KDI School showcased their vivid traditional outfits on a catwalk. The show received roaring cheers from the crowd in the Supex Hall. Then followed a charity auction. Professors of both KAIST and KDI School as well as ambassadors from Dominican Republic and Angola donated various items to be auctioned off. In between charity events, a series of guest performances by dancers and rappers brought the crowd to their feet.

Nearly 400 people attended the event, and raised more than 6 million KRW through ticket sales, donations, auction and beverage sales. This is a meaningful improvement on the last year’s initial event when 300 participants raised about 5 million KRW. It was a proof that the bond of friendship is growing on this campus, creating a valuable tradition and community spirit. The raised fund has been directly donated to International Unity Network.