Atheer- Eman Al Hosni
Omani culture is characterised by its originality in customs, traditions and way of life and thanks to the efforts of students abroad, it is becoming more widely known. Atheer spoke to Mohammed Ali Al Ma’amari, President of the Omani Students Association at the University of Nebraska in the United States, to talk about an annual event hosted by the association, which aims to teach others about Omani culture.
Al Ma’amari explained that the Omani Students Association hosts an Omani night, which aims to “spread Omani culture and arts, with the aim of educating other students at the university about the Sultanate.”
The association holds Omani night annually, with this year’s event seeing over sixty Omani students take part. This year it specifically touched upon traditional marriage and Omani fashion, as well as the topic of peaceful coexistence.
As for the challenges they faced, Al Ma’amari said “one of the most significant challenges this year was financial support. In previous years, the Omani Cultural Attaché was the official sponsor of the event, but following the economic crisis in Oman this year it was unable to support us. The students did not give up however, deciding to go ahead by providing their own financial support.”
Al Ma’amari added that the fact that this event is hosted on an annual basis means that the association is required to develop continuously and provide different activities each year, going on to say that they are already working on developing the Omani night for next year.
