Accenture Builds Up Multilingual Community with Fusion Night 2016
I am a Polyglot. No, that is not a new Pokemon character or a weird religion. A polyglot is simply someone who has learned to speak multiple languages, more commonly called a multilingual. Few people actually know that aside from Filipino and English, I can also speak a third language, Mandarin. I took up Mandarin classes at the Confucius Institute of the Ateneo de Manila University a few years ago because I believed that it would be big advantage when I start going into business. Since China is one of the most powerful countries in the world and a big trading partner, having the skills to speak their language would be beneficial when I have transactions with Chinese-speaking people in the future. Accenture believes in the highly globalized world we live in, and they are taking steps to create a dynamic local community of multilinguals who share the same passion in learning new languages with Fusion Night 2016.
Multilinguals from all over the city got together and experienced a unique night of fun celebrating cultural diversity at Fusion Night 2016. The exclusive party was held at Hole in the Wall in Century City Mall last August 27, 2016 and The Hungry Kat was invited to be a part of this one-of-a-kind gathering. Accenture Philippines made an open invitation to all polyglots in the metro who wanted to meet their fellow multilinguals and party the night away at probably the best fusion food hall in the city, all absolutely free.
Hole in the Wall is a spacious and beautifully-designed food hall at the fourth level of Century City Mall in Makati. The locators are not your typical fast food outlets but are unique food concepts that will take you on a gastronomic journey across the globe.
There are several establishments all around the food hall where you can get your orders from burgers, fried chicken, sandwiches, shawarma, pizza, breads and many more. Interesting desserts and beverages are also available, those not normally found in food courts and malls. The dining areas at Hole in the Wall are very relaxing and comfortable, conducive to barkada or family gatherings.
I sat down with a few of my friends and we were quite curious as to what Accenture had in store for us. Those who were interested in joining Fusion Night 2016 simply had to register at Accenture’s website. Fusion Night is a celebration of diversity, a gathering of professionals from different backgrounds who speak different languages. It is a culinary experience that will give multilinguals a slice of Accenture’s unique global culture. Registration was totally free but slots were limited since only a portion of Hole in the Wall was reserved for this event.
We arrived at Hole in the Wall pretty early, and since the event would be starting at 6pm, we had time to play some of the games and activities provided at the tables. Ice breakers, crossword puzzles, and a few interesting trivia were on hand for early comers.
We eventually played a few more games from our smartphones before the party officially started. A plateful of nachos were also served so we had much to do and eat while waiting for the other guests to arrive. I think we finished off around two or three servings of these nachos.
By 6:00pm, the event area started to fill up and you can see the different cultures and nationalities of the guests. Fusion Night 2016 aims to develop this local community of multilinguals and this is just the first of many other events and activities that Accenture is lining up.
The evening’s hosts came up on stage at around 6:30pm to officially start the program. Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. With more than 358,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture provides the best career opportunities for multilinguals or for those seeking new networks and communities.
The opening remarks were made by Ms. Emerald Grace Chua, Talent Acquisition Director for Accenture in the Philippines. Cultural diversity encompasses the whole range of the Accenture experience, with people from all corners of the globe representing various cultures, ethnicities. beliefs and languages. This rich diversity gives the company unique skills, talents and strengths which help better serve the needs of clients. Fusion Night is not a recruitment event per se, but it offers its guests a way to interact with each other and be more familiar with Accenture’s activities and programs.
To let the guests get acquainted with each other, the hosts started with a little language game called Match my Language. Each table had a set of plastic bubbles with certain words and letters printed. Some of the letters did not mean anything, but when combined with a matching bubble, the letters will form a new corresponding word. The first five pairs who are able to combine their bubbles correctly will get prizes from Accenture.
Everybody started looking for their matching pair and the fast ones went up on stage to get their prizes. Hana and Justin were the first pair to successfully combine their bubbles and win the Match my Language game. That’s one way of breaking the ice.
With everyone now pumped up from the game, Accenture featured a couple of video clips showing testimonials from some of Accenture’s multilingual staff. Polyglots have a passion for learning new languages and will strive to add to their skills even with limited resources. Accenture wants to help these multilinguals improve their craft by offering language classes for FREE. This is their way of helping the community and building up the Polyglot Nation.
The highlight of the evening would be the smashing performance from SPIT Manila (Silly People Improv Theater). I had never watched an improv show before, where the comedians deliver their lines without using any fixed script. I did not expect it to be this funny but they were hilarious!
They also had the audience participating in various spiels and we just couldn’t stop laughing. The witty and lively show had us smiling all night, and they did not even have to tease or insult anyone from the crowd, something I don’t enjoy at those other comedy clubs. The finale had us asking questions for this three-headed alien oracle like “Why is traffic always so bad in EDSA?” and other very important global matters.
Accenture also gave away three Fujifilm Instax units which were raffled off throughout the night and all Fusion Night 2016 guests were included in the raffle. The three lucky winners went home happily with their prizes.
After the program, it was now time to eat! Each of the guests were given a stub which entitles them to one main dish, one drink and one dessert of their choice from any of the restaurants and stalls inside Hole in the Wall.
I had a difficult time choosing which item I was going to order because everything looked so good! Should I go for a classic American burger? Maybe a Shawarma from the Middle East would be nice. How about some Italian pizza? The fusion of flavors and cuisines at Hole in the Wall can get overwhelming, but I decided to line up at Bad Bird for their Umami Fried Chicken.
Foodies have been raving about Bad Bird’s Umami Fried Chicken and I can finally try it for myself. This set comes with Kimchi coleslaw and dirty rice which is fried rice with bacon, chicken liver, tamago and bonito flakes. This Japanese-Korean-American fusion gives the chicken a very unique taste with its very flavorful umami spices. I also had the refreshing Golden Hour fruit juice from Garde Manger with a fusion of mango, calamansi, honey and tarragon.
Everyone had their own favorites at Hole in the Wall, a testament to the different cultures and diversity that attended Fusion Night 2016. Journey through Eastern Europe with the Brown Butter Bacon Pierogis from Mister Delicious with its Polish potato and cheese dumplings topped with bacon, house sauerkraut and scallions.
The burgers at The Beef also drew long lines and the most requested would be the classic Cheeseburger with Fries. This simple burger packs a lot of punch with its very beefy and smoky flavors.
For desserts, there were also several options like the Craft Cookies from Scout’s Honor. But I wanted something soft and light so I went with the Japanese cheesecakes in Original and Chocolate variants from Green Cheese. These soft and fluffy cheesecakes are just a delight.
Those who joined Fusion Night 2016 will automatically become members of Accenture’s Language Talent Community where they can practice their skills and talents through weekly language workshops and classes held at their Pioneer office. Some of these languages include Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, French, German and Mandarin. They can also meet and interact with like-minded individuals and industry leaders who share the same passion, get access to Accenture networking events, and map out their career as a multilingual in the country.
All of these services are provided by Accenture for FREE and you don’t even have to be a staff or employee. Check out Accenture's website and Facebook pages for updates if you are interested in joining some of their future activities. Fusion Night 2016 was definitely an eye-opening experience for me and it just gives me more inspiration to improve my multilingual skills. I have always wanted to learn Spanish, since I do have some Spanish blood in me. With Accenture and the Polyglot Nation by my side, I’m sure I can accomplish this task as well. For inquiries, please email [email protected].
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