About 20 campus organizations gathered at Tate Plaza Wednesday for World Fest, an annual fall event designed to bring more awareness about the international community to the University.

The idea for World Fest, originally dubbed “Around the World in Tatey Days,” originated back in 2000, after a president-directive by former president Bill Clinton called for a nationwide international education week, said Leigh Poole, associate director for Intercultural Affairs and director of International Student Life.

World Fest was a way to celebrate with the nation by having a festival that would bring the world to UGA students, and this year the World Ambassadors was the “driving force behind the event,” Poole said.

World Ambassadors is a student organization on campus that aims to bridge the gap between the international student and the University, said Monique Marlowe, a senior from Auburn and co-president of World Ambassadors.

Before becoming involved with International Student Life, Marlowe said she was not aware of the University’s international student community, but after volunteering for the international student orientation and joining World Ambassadors, many of the people she associated with are international students or actively involved in the international community.

Darren Liddell, a senior from Acwortth and co-president of World Ambassadors, said a goal of World Fest event was to raise awareness of cultures that are available to students to learn about and as a part of the University’s International Education Month, World Fest was one of the many activities that gives students exposure to cultural diversity.

Tables manned by student organizations from International Student Life and Intercultural Affairs showcased various countries and were grouped together according to geographic location.

Aliya Naim, a sophomore from Atlanta and secretary of the Athens for Justice in Palestine, volunteered for her organization at World Fest.

Naim said that World Fest gives UGA students good information about organizations that are catered to the international community.

“It’s nice to see that diversity,” Naim said.