The beginning of March marks the commencement of the University of Wisconsin’s third annual celebration of Middle Eastern North African Heritage Month.
This year’s theme, “Roots and Routes: Tracing Homelands and Histories,” is meant to promote connection to identity and background, according to MENA chair and programming intern Lina Raouf.
“MENA is an identity that doesn’t really have a spotlight on it,” Raouf said. “So MENA Heritage Month finally feels like a time where our voices are heard and our identities are really seen.”
The MENA Heritage Month Collective and the Multicultural Student Center are leading the celebration, according to the MENA website. The celebration’s events are meant to embody the spirit of evolving cultures and celebrate forward momentum that shapes collective identity.
The festivities include a kickoff, breakfast, a perfume worksop, a community service event and an event featuring Saturday Night Live cast member Emil Wakim.
Raouf and Assistant Director at the Multicultural Student Center and MENA Heritage Month Planning Collective Advisor Noreen Siddiqui said they are especially excited for the community service event “Little Hands, Big Hearts.” The event is in collaboration with Jewish Social Services of Madison and is centered around creating care packages for refugee families in the Madison area, Siddiqui said. The MCC raised over $3,000 for this initiative.
“Because of the fundraising, we’re able to give these packages to over 40 families, and 100 children are going to be receiving these gift baskets,” Siddiqui said. “The impact of this is just amazing.”
All events are open to the entire UW community, and Raouf and Siddiqui encouraged students to check the MENA website for additional information.
The 2025 celebration is the third annual UW MENA Heritage Month, according to Siddiqui. The first was celebrated in 2018, but the celebration fell to the wayside for a few years, and was reinstated through the work of dedicated and hardworking students, Siddiqui said.
“These students really have fought for recognition,” Siddiqui said. “That’s not just on this campus; recognizing this group as a racial and ethnic identity is something that you haven’t seen this country do until very recently.”
MENA’s representation and support has a long way to go, Raouf said. MENA was added to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Census on March 28, 2024, according to the United States Census Bureau. The Wisconsin School of Business Multicultural Center does not have a MENA affinity group.
Raouf said she hopes the recognition and celebration of MENA-identifying people promotes growth and support beyond just the month’s celebrations.
“If by coming to our events, talking to someone who went to an event, or even looking at our Instagram, people are able to learn something more — that would really be my hope,” Raouf said. “That will show the university that we are really here and there’s a lot of people that are not only within this community, but also want to support this community.”
The kickoff celebration Feb. 28 invited attendees to explore ancient MENA cities through themed booths. Participants received passports to collect stamps as they visited different booths, each featuring informational displays about a city along with foods and activities. Henna application, button creation and jewelry making were some of the activities offered. Attendees were encouraged to participate in a community art project by writing love letters to their homelands to be displayed in the MSC.
“For our students to proudly celebrate their identity, share their identity with other people, share their culture, their traditions, and their values — it’s incredibly meaningful, and this is why I do the work that I do,” Siddiqui said.
