Two INMC cities, Norman (OK-USA) and Clermont-Ferrand (France), organized an event in 2022 to promote and highlight the various cultures present in their respective territories.
The first ever Norman International Festival was held on October 23, 2022 in Reaves Park and was a success. The public attended and enjoyed exhibitions, artists and food from the different cultures composing the city’s community.
Norman’s sister cities are: Seika in Japan, Arezzo in Italy, Colima in Mexico and Clermont-Ferrand in France. They were represented by videos specifically made for this event. Millie Audas was spotlighted by Mayor Larry Heikkila for her extensive contributions to international educational exchange at OU and celebrating international cultural contributions in Norman.
On November 27, 2022, the International Network of Michelin Cities was represented in Clermont-Ferrand for the very first edition of the “World Culture Day”. This new festive event, characterized by interculturality and international openness, seeks to promote the culture of countries in all its dimensions.
Every year, the event aims to involve and integrate the foreign communities of Clermont-Ferrand through their active participation in the day. This first edition took place in the heart of an architectural treasure of Clermont: the Comédie de Clermont – Scène Nationale. A cultural center built by the Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura on the site of a former bus station. This site, classified as a historical monument, was also the subject of archaeological excavations which revealed the presence of the foot of an imposing Roman bronze statue. This discovery bore witness to the remains of the ancient city founded in the 1st century BCE.
On Sunday, La Comédie was full with five pavilions, each representing a continent, and a sixth pavilion named “Clermont-Ferrand- World City”. These six pavilions were decorated with magnificent drawings by the French notebook artist Damien Chavanat, a regular at another of Clermont-Ferrand’s major events: “the International Travel Notebook Festival”.
The participation of the Clermont Puy-de-Dôme Europe Direct Center alongside the Worldtop ESN association in this sixth pavilion was also an opportunity to demonstrate the European openness of the region.
Many activities were organized by the various foreign associations and organizations present in Clermont-Ferrand during this day. The Comédie welcomed more than 1250 people who learned about Mayan, Japanese and Armenian calligraphy, created Chinese masks and discovered various international games. The diversity of the territory was also highlighted through a photography exhibition and an exhibition of textiles from all corners of the world.
Following the success of this first edition, a second World Cultures Day in Clermont-Ferrand is planned for 2023.
