World Cultures Day, currently held in late January, was originally celebrated from 2012–14 as International Mother Language Day to coincide with UNESCO’s worldwide observance of the same name. Since 2015, rebranded as World Cultures Day, the event has grown to become a celebration not only to promote and support home languages, but also to celebrate cultural awareness and diversity. As such, it provides a great opportunity for students to put the IB learner profile into action by demonstrating how they are “open minded” and “communicators.” Additionally, in recognition of the importance our host nation, Japan, plays in the life of our school, World Cultures Day also incorporates activities to celebrate Japanese New Year.

Organized as a collaborative event between the KIST libraries staff, the CA library committee, parents, staff and students, World Cultures Day brings together the many cultures represented at our school through activities such as a national costume parade, storytelling and language sharing in various languages, displays of international crafts and student work, presentations from guest performers, student-led seminars, cultural food sales and more.