As part of STCP’s cultural exchange and refugee integration initiatives in France, STCP launched a partnership with the American Church of Paris to organize community dinners where refugees can cook traditional food from their countries, play national music, and teach traditional dances to participants.
On Saturday, May 2nd, STCP and ACP held the first community dinner in the ACP hall. Shakeil Khan, Jumagol Ahmadzai, Din Mohammad, and Samiullah cooked Kabuli Pilaf, rice, potatoes, salads, and yogurt sauce for the participants.
At the beginning of the event, I thanked ACP for hosting and funding the dinner, and then introduced the cooking team and the dishes prepared for the evening.
After dinner, Jumagol taught participants how to dance the Attan, the national dance of Afghanistan. Later, Afghan, Egyptian, and Hindi-Punjabi songs were played, and participants danced and enjoyed the evening together.
We believe that creating opportunities for refugees to share their talents, traditions, and culture through food, music, and dance promotes social inclusion, strengthens intercultural understanding, celebrates diversity, and supports refugees’ integration into French society.
The event created a welcoming space where people from different cultural backgrounds could meet, learn from one another, and build community connections.
STCP will celebrate World Refugee Day at ACP on Saturday, June 20th, in collaboration with ACP. STCP’s Sudanese volunteers will prepare Sudanese vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, perform traditional Sudanese dances, and play Sudanese music alongside other cultural activities.
Anyone interested in collaborating on such events is welcome to contact STCP. If you would like to attend the event, please check the ServeNow app and sign up there.