Omani student event a big success (Issue 8, 2012)
On 24 March, the Omani Students Society of Victoria (OSSV) held the annual new student welcome at La Trobe University’s Melbourne campus. The event was honoured by the attendance of Dr Hamed Al Alawi, the new Consul-General and Mr Musallam Al Amri, the Vice-Consul.
More than 60 Omani students from different regions of Victoria attended the event. The OSSV is a not-for-profit organisation that was founded in 2002 by the first Omani student group that arrived to Melbourne. The organisation began with a simple yet important goal – to create a welcoming atmosphere that embraced all Omanis and provided them with a home away from home.
The organisation has succeeded in giving Omani students a retreat from the stress of study and University routines.
‘The success and extent of popularity and respect that OSSV has gained over a short period of time is very impressive,’ says Basma Mohammed Al-khadouri, a La Trobe student and Vice President of OSSV.
‘The OSSV fast became a unique representation of the collective Omani presence in Australia. As a result of such success, the Society was officially recognised in 2003 by His Excellency Dr Yahya bin Mahfoodh Al-Manthari, the Minister of Higher Education in Oman at the time.
The annual welcome event for new students is the first step in getting them to feel comfortable in Australia and also a great opportunity for new and old students to meet and share stories and experiences.
This year’s event began with a silent comedic play, followed by welcome speeches from Mr Khalid Al-Ghutraifi, the OSSV President, and Dr Hamed Al Alawi. This was then followed by a group of Omani students performing a traditional welcome song called Alazi. Finally another comedic play was performed, which reflected the challenges new students may encounter and how to overcome them. The event concluded with a summary of recent OSSV innovations and memorising Surat “Al kahf competitions.
‘Feedback from the audience showed that the activities included were creative, organised and engaging for the audience’ says Basma.
For more information on the OSSV, visit ossv.org.
