"When you go global, you also have students and participants of different countries, places, and they carry with them their local culture, local tradition, local history—and that has to be considered seriously in the globalization of the world," said University President Fr Mars P Tan, SJ, highlighting this year’s theme to foster global citizenship and cultural diversity at Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan.
Themed "Strengthening Global Connections and Exploring Newer Grounds," the Office of International Cooperation and Networking (OICN) held its fourth edition of the annual Beyond Borders: International Days at XU celebration from 28 April to 30 April in time for XU’s groundbreaking launch towards its vision.
The three-day event promoted the University’s expanding international reach and growing globally engaged community as it looks ahead to its centennial year in 2033. Its activities included a global village exhibit, faculty training, and a talk show with diverse participants, from XU students to international education officials.
“We provided greater visibility this year, more fun activities, and especially catering to young audiences and the faculty,” said Dr Shiella C Balbutin, OICN Director.
Strengthening global and local connections
In the opening hybrid forum entitled “Global Citizenship in Action: From Local Roots to Global Impact”, Fr Mars emphasized that engaging in a multicultural community carries two aims: “to enrich local culture, that's one, and the benefit of humanity as a whole,” he bannered.
Left photo: University President Fr Tan, SJ, welcomes guests and dignitaries during the opening forum; Right photo: XU students, faculty, OICN partners, and guest International Relations Officers (IROs) from higher education institutions across Region X
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) International Affairs Service Director Atty Lily Freida M Milla, CESO III, joined via Zoom, delivering a compelling keynote message on internationalization in higher education and challenging stakeholders to embrace their roles in promoting global citizenship.
“Strengthening and building relationships that we have, we’ve succeeded in doing that, " said Dr Shiella in gathering various actors and linkages while nudging their shared roles in internationalization.
Key international partners also provided discussions on institutional partnerships and ongoing projects through Francisco Javier Lopez Tapia, Director of Instituto Cervantes de Manila, and Frederic Grillet, First Secretary of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines.
AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines, a long-time partner of XU-OICN, also joined the event through an exhibit booth featuring their exchange programs and a training on the fundamentals of intercultural learning on the second day.
Left photo: DEVCOM 24 Mr Doria, Dr Balbutin, and Ms Yap (BSDC 2) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside the international students and DevCom program sophomores to open the Global Village exhibit; Right photo: Haruto Ehara (AB English 2) engages with interested XU students alongside DevCom students on Japan, its interesting facts, and its relationship with Filipinos
For the students, this year’s edition offered new interactive grounds on campus through a Global Village exhibit themed “Shaping Campus Life through Cultural Exchange” and facilitated by Sophomore Development Communication students in collaboration with current international students from different countries and international studies seniors.
XU’s current international students proactively co-presented their booths in the exhibit namely Haruto Ehara (AB English 2), Martinus Filipe Kastono Martins (AB Philosophy - Pre divinity), Aimee Ruotong Xu (BS Business Administration major in Marketing 2), Nausheen Khanam (BS Management Accounting 3), Amanjit Kaur (BS Business Administration major in Marketing 4) with roots from Japan, Timor Leste, China, and India respectively. Regional entities like ASEAN and the European Union were also displayed.
The exhibit featured booths with cultural facts, engaging games, and open conversations with the international students’ countries’ shared ties with the Philippines, complemented by creative open mic sessions hosted by the XU Sound Table.
“The exhibit was a bridge that allowed vastly different people within the University to cross paths and come together through rich cultural exchange. Through stories, pictures, games, and music, people flocked to the tent in curiosity to explore the wonderful similarities and differences that define us,” said Project head Noelle Anne J Yap (BSDC 2).
Left photo: Ms Khanam (BSMA 3) and Mr Roxas (BSDC 2), along with Mr Martins (ABP-Predivinity 2) and Mr Boborol (BSDC 2) present India and Timor Leste, respectively; Right photo: XU Faculty participants take part in the Training on the Foundations of Intercultural Learning facilitated by AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines
Later that day, the OICN hosted a regional meeting of International Relations Officers (IROs), co-organized with CHED Region 10, to tackle developments in the internationalization of higher education.
Left photo: International Relations Officers (IROs) of higher education institutions across Northern Mindanao attended Beyond Borders 2025 and interacted with exhibitors in its Global Village; Right photo: Attendees of the talk show composed of BS IS 4 students and interested students, with Dr Balbutin and DevCom faculty, Mr Chanjueco, Jr
On Day 2, the Global Village drew a larger crowd in the Science Center Grounds, while over 30 XU faculty and staff, and international relations staff from other universities participated in a Training on the Foundations of Intercultural Learning facilitated by AFS at the AVR 1. The session helped attendees reflect on their cultural identities and learn strategies for embracing diversity in today’s interconnected world.
Senior International Studies students also held their culminating project, a talk show titled “The Culture Connect: Conversations Without Borders.” Three speakers, Ruotong Xu (BSBA 2), John Lord Emmanuel Lubguban (BSEd 4), and AFS Philippines External Partnerships and Relations Manager Dana Louise Bautista, tackled diverse perspectives on the transformative hurdles and opportunities of studying abroad and academic mobility.
The celebration concluded with the launch of The Borderless Dialogues, OICN’s latest innovation—a video podcast spotlighting internationalization trends and experiences. Streamed live on Facebook, the pilot episode featured Dr Shiella with special guests and XU-DevCom alumni Andre’ Socorro F Doria and Hamilcar Chanjueco Jr, who shared insights from their journeys as exchange and international graduate students, respectively.
Greater awareness, appreciation, and empowerment
Conceived in 2021, Beyond Borders rooted back from the concept of inclusion. In an interview, Dr Shiella shared the need to nurture awareness and provide an enabling environment to empower the university community members’ proactive roles in internationalization.
“This year’s edition's major contribution is major awareness. We made it more visible, involving the international students, and it is indeed more fun collaborating with the students,” Dr Shiella remarked.
Now in its fourth year, Beyond Borders forms and supports various initiatives and programs that promote appreciation of internationalization, intercultural understanding, and collaboration within XU and across the region. “It became my goal, a mission—to push for greater appreciation of the international office, its contributions to Xavier University and Region 10. I like to believe that people really take inspiration from the event… as I know it has to go bigger,” said Dr Shiella.
OICN expressed deep appreciation to students, faculty, and partners who made this year’s Beyond Borders: International Days at XU a meaningful success.