An excited crowd marched down Saint Louis University’s campus on April 11, waving colorful flags as a symbol of cultural pride. Those gathered to watch along West Pine Mall snapped pictures of the Parade of Nations, a beloved tradition that marks the end of Atlas Week. 

Launched in 2001, the Atlas Program, housed in SLU’s Center for Global Citizenship (CGC), aims to “increase awareness of the global issues that confront us today in an effort not only to promote discussion but to inspire and inform action,” according to the program’s webpage. During the annual program, SLU community members and organizations sign up to host events in line with the week’s theme. Major parts of the planning are done by Atlas interns, who take a semester-long course to organize Atlas Week. 

However, the program might be dissolved next year due to limited funding. Luella Loseille, who has run the program for about seven years, said she was informed in the fall of 2023 that Sam and Marilyn Fox decided to end donations to the Atlas fund after supporting the program for over 20 years. Loseille declined to comment on whether the potential cut of the program is related to federal policies targeting diversity programming on college campuses. 

“…Atlas Week always tries to rise to the moment of [the] current global climate to serve the needs of the community. How we go about doing that in [the] future is still under discussion,” Loseille said. “But I believe initiatives such as Atlas Week are more important than ever before as it encourages all on how we should we approach global problems of injustice and inequity, from the local level to the global. How to become better global citizens that ‘set the world on fire.’”

The 2025 theme, “From Inequality to Justice: Transforming Global Health through Social Change,” explored the intersection of global health, culture and justice. From events showcasing various cultures to educational presentations and workshops, including a Signature Symposium with guest speaker Daniel E. Dawes, the 25th annual Atlas Week brought SLU and St. Louis community members together for over 60 events. A selection of events is featured below.

Parade of Nations and Billiken World Festival

As two concluding events of Atlas Week, the Parade of Nations signaled the start of the Billiken World Festival on April 11. 

Organized by the International Student Federation, the festival featured student performances and local vendors selling products like jewelry or offering henna. There was also cultural food from many St. Louis businesses.

Amal Rizvi, a 2025 Atlas Program Publicity intern, said that hosting and attending events like the Billiken World Festival allowed her to see firsthand how powerful such spaces are, as they allow people to come together, celebrate their cultures and share their stories. 

“SLU, while just a micro-community, reflects the diversity of the world around us, and Atlas Week made that global perspective feel present on campus,” Rizvi said. “These spaces are vital, and not just during Atlas Week, but throughout the year. I believe it’s our responsibility to continue creating and supporting opportunities like this that inspire connection, understanding, and cultural appreciation.”

Healing in Exile: Stories of Struggle and Strength in Palestine

Around a dozen gathered in the Chaifetz School of Business and listened to SLU seniors and 2025 Atlas Program Publicity interns Ansam Ayesh and Hoda Elbeshbeshy present on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Palestine. Ayesh and Elbeshbeshy highlighted the lack of necessities like shelter, hygiene, education and food that people living under siege in Gaza face on April 9. 

Attendees also heard from Linda Badran and Maisoon Batghouti, volunteers from the St. Louis chapter of Heal Palestine, a non-political non-profit organization that helps Palestinian children rebuild their lives through health, education, aid and leadership. To a small but attentive crowd, Badran and Batghouti moved the audience by describing their work with Palestinian children who have come to St. Louis from Gaza for medical treatment.

Badran and Batghouti both said that their efforts make a small impact when thousands of children need treatment, just like those they have worked with, such as 12-year-old Hadi Zaqout and 7-year-old Tala. Still, they said they are grateful for the impact they can make through Heal.

“For me, it’s an opportunity; I think that most people in this room can identify that they feel frustration at our inability to do anything. It’s a small way we can make a difference, we know that we’re impacting these families every day, it’s rewarding, it’s a limited reward, but it keeps us going,” Badran said. “There’s a purpose and a cause, and for Palestinians, just expressing their resilience, coming together, building a community, is everything in exile. It’s a lifeline, not just to these children but to future generations here as well.”

Palestinian Tatreez Art Workshop

Led by Amera Khalil, local small business owner of Stitched by Amera, the Palestinian Tatreez Workshop in the CGC on April 11 invited attendees to try the traditional Palestinian art form. A dozen attendees learned about the history and significance of the art before practicing stitching themselves.

According to informational cards provided by Khalil in the supply kits given to attendees, tatreez is an intricate form of Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery that tells stories of Palestinian perseverance, love, struggle and life. While patterns may vary from village to village, motifs of important events or nature are common across traditionally stitched dresses known as thobes. With a needle, colorful threads and an aida fabric, attendees learned to stitch coffee bean motifs, which Khalil said represent Palestinian hospitality. 

For sophomore SLU student Sofia Ibrahim Prendiville, tatreez is more than just a craft. She said it represents a connecting experience for Palestinians in the diaspora, especially during difficult times.

“I started doing tatreez in a time when it felt like to be Palestinian was to experience heartbreak after heartbreak with so little of the joy that our culture can bring,”  Prendiville said. “I needed to feel a connection to a homeland that felt so far away, so I picked up Wafa Ghanaim’s book Tatreez and Tea and learned the basics.”

First Nationalism Then Identity: The Case of Bosnian Muslims

Mirsad Kriještorac, Associate Professor of Political Science at Broward College, led a lecture for attendees in Davis-Shaughnessy Hall on April 11 to explore how historical roots, experiencing genocide and resistance led to the development of the distinct Bosniak identity for Bosnian Muslims.

Kriještorac’s book, First Nationalism, Then Identity: On Bosnian Muslims and Their Bosniak Identity, served as the basis of the lecture. The book focuses on Bosnian Muslims’ rare and years-long process of emerging as a nation and asserting their identity, especially under the consistent aggression they faced in the former Yugoslavia and during the Bosnian War. 

“Facing the threat of genocide and under a UN-imposed arms embargo, Bosniaks nevertheless defended the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a state and place for people of all backgrounds, honoring the multiethnic heritage of Bosnia and its traditions of interdependence and mutual respect,” said Patrick McCarthy, Associate Dean of University Libraries and Medical Center Library Director.

McCarthy, who organized this Atlas event, believes that Kriještorac’s presentation is especially relevant as SLU will become the new home for the Center for Bosnian Studies, which is relocating from Fontbonne University this summer. 

The University News’ Ulaa Kuziez contributed to this report.