As mentioned in the school website, “Cal State San Bernardino is one of the most

diverse universities among the 23 California State University campuses, with a student

enrollment so diverse that there is no majority ethnic group on campus”. Because our

class is a mix of origins, our group came up with an idea in order to showcase these rich

cultures in one big event called the “International Fair”. The project will discuss the

importance of this annual event to the university, the allocated budget, the advantages,

and the disadvantages. The purpose of our project is to persuade the boards of the

Associated Students Inc. to approve our request and provide the budget.

I) The International Fair:

The annual event is called the international fair. All the international students in the

university represent their countries of origin. The purpose of this fair is to gather all

foreign students to help them build bridges of friendship and global understanding

between them and Americans. Since each country has its own tradition and culture, it will

be very interesting to give the international students the opportunity to demonstrate all

these cultural differences.

During this fair, each participating country will have its own stand. They student will

decorate these stands, they will prepare samples of food for visitors to taste, they will

post pictures, they will play music and videos, and they will organize a traditional fashion

show. All students, professors, staff, and people from outside the campus are welcome to

attend the event. During this fair, all visitors will have the opportunity to learn about

different countries and their cultures, to taste different cuisines, and to have fun. By the

end, elected judges will choose the best cuisine, best fashion show, and the best decorated
stand. The following table shows the different countries who will participate in the

international fair.

COUNTRY FLAG
China
France
India
Indonesia
Japan
Lebanon
Mexico
Morocco
Nigeria
Puerto Rico
United States
United Arab Emirate
Vietnam

It is very important to consider advertising while preparing for the international fair.

Since there are different means to advertise for such events, it is beneficial to use them

all. Some students will volunteer to design brochures to be distributed. In addition, we

will post ads on the school newspaper as well as the city’s newspapers. We will also use

the school radio; all these advertisings will attract more visitors to the fair.

II) The budget

In order to prepare for the international fair, we have allocated the budget that will we

need. We should complete a detailed budget to explain to our audience what we will do

exactly with the assigned amount of money.

 The following information is regarding the breakdown of the budget funding for this

special event.

1. Registration total: $100.00

We would like our guests to register for this event to help us keep track of how many

guests will be attending, but they are not required to register.

• Conference Fees

We will have five conference meetings to make sure everything will be ready.

2. Event Planner total: $2,000.00

We will contract an event planner for one month to help us with the last preparations of

the event and the last details.

3. Advertising total: $2,000.00

The event will be advertised in many different ways to attract as many people as possible.

Concerning the advertising on “the Chronicle and Coyote Radio”, we will not be charged

any fee. The “San Bernardino Sun” and “San Bernardino Radio” have given us a

reasonable discount. Some students will help in designing and printing the flyers and

posters. We will need to prepare six invitations for the juries who will attend the fair.

• The Chronicle

• San Bernardino Sun

• Coyote Radio

• San Bernardino Radio

• Flyers/Posters

• Invitations
4. Clothing total: $3000.00

For the fashion show, we will rent the clothes from different stores throughout the states.

We already contacted all these stores and they are able to send all the necessary clothes

and accessories.

5. Speaker Fees total: $0.00

Since the international center will be assisting us while preparing the event, the director is

more than happy to be the guest speaker of the international fair.

6. Personal Services total: $360.00

We will be hiring security staff for this event to make sure everything is under control.

Additionally, the University Police volunteered to help us with the event. Some

international students volunteer to clean at the end of the fair.

7. Rentals total: $ 4,000.00

We will not need to rent any building, since the event will take place in the school arena,

but the following equipment will be rented:

• Tables: Each country will use three tables for its stands.

• Film and Video: We will hire a cameraman to take picture and record the whole

event for further usage. We will post the pictures on the school website as well as the

newspaper.

• D.J. and Lights: The D.J. will be playing music from different countries

throughout the event and will assist in the fashion show as well.

8. Food total: $5,000.00

We will be providing each stand with their specific appetizers and refreshments that

come from the country they are representing.

 • Food Utensils: forks, spoons, knives, napkins, cups, tablecloths, and plastic

bags.

9. Awards total: $200.00

By the end of the fair, three awards will be given to the best cuisine, best clothing, and

best decorated stand. So this amount includes the purchase of the trophies as well as the

engravings.

In order to prepare for this international fair, we will need a budget of $ 25,860.00. We

attached a detailed budget.

III) The international fair’s benefits:

The international fair will be a very profitable investment for both the school and the

students. Not only does it require a very low budget (we mention our budget) in

comparison with other extracurricular activities organized in the school (we give 2

examples), but It offers many advantages that will benefit both students and the

university:

• Enrichment of cultural diversity:

The organization of this international fair will enable students, faculty and staff to learn

about different cultures, varied traditions and different lifestyles, especially because of

the diversity and the multiculturalism of the university community which will certainly

contribute to consolidate conviviality between students from different religious and racial

background and encourage cross-cultural understanding. It is also an occasion for

students to widen their general knowledge about foreign languages, geography and

history.
 • It is a quasi-free publicity for the school:

This event can be an advertising campaign to promote the university and put it in the

picture, it will foreground the high quality education the school provides, and inform

potential students about the multiple opportunities our university offers to encourage

them join our campuses and contribute to the intellectual, social, and economic growth of

our community.

• The international fair will facilitate international students’ integration:

International students represent a high percentage of our school population; every year

new students from countries all over the world join our campus in order to profit of the

wide range of academic programs our school provides. The international fair will be an

opportunity to welcome international students, facilitate their integration and allow them

to participate in the extracurricular activities to make their learning experience at our

university valuable and unforgettable.

• Students are encouraging this initiative and ready to b part of this learning

experience:

- According to a feasibility survey we made on campus, we found that 80 % of the 500

students who were questioned, approve the international fair idea, and are willing to

attend the event and contribute to its success.

- We have also investigated other American schools who already organize similar events,

and we found out that these events have had an enormous success and have been so

beneficial for both students and visitors.

 • A unique experience that reunite all international students :

The orientation organized by international center organized on the beginning of each

quarter to welcome new international students and help them with the registration process

is the sole academic event for international students to meet. This international fair will

be the first activity that reunites international students along with domestic students

outside of the academic context.

IV) Disadvantages of the international fair:

- The school already supports many different international Clubs that have the same

missions and goals.

While all activities organized by international clubs are related to one particular

background or culture, for instance the Chinese association activities focus only on the

aspects and characteristics of the Chinese culture, our event will be the first international

activity that contrasts all the cultures and backgrounds represented in the university

including the American civilization. As a result, it will favor the exchange between both

international students and domestic students.

As a conclusion, the international fair is an annual event held by all

nationalities in our campus to showcase their cultures and traditions. It will also provide

opportunities to build bridges of friendship and global understanding between Americans

and international students. Last but not least, this fair will be a good advertising source

for the school. We believe be that our idea should be accepted because of different

reasons:

a) We will need a low budget in comparison to the size of event.

b) We will unite all the international students in one major event.

c) We will invite all school staff, students, and people from outside the campus.

d) We will advertise for the school.

e) We will help international students and other interact with other students as well as

school staff.

f) We will create a welcoming environment for international students.