The Green ASEAN Culture Festival as a Strategic Educational Instrument for Enhancing Intercultural Communicative Competence

This study investigates the implementation of cross-cultural communication through the Green ASEAN Culture Festival at Universitas Padjadjaran, positioning it as a strategic pedagogical tool for fostering intercultural competence in higher education. Employing a qualitative case study design, the research integrates data from 15 semi-structured interviews with student organizers and performers representing five academic programs, as well as faculty members. These were complemented by direct participant observation during all key phases of the festival and a comprehensive analysis of official festival documents to ensure methodological triangulation and data validity. The findings reveal that the festival transcends its role as a cultural showcase, functioning instead as a reflective and collaborative learning environment where intercultural skills are actively cultivated. Students develop three core components of intercultural communicative competence: empathy and openness, culturally contextual understanding, and the capacity for interpretation and collaboration. Moreover, the festival fosters bridging social capital, encourages the co-construction of inclusive collective identities, and strengthens university–community engagement. The study concludes that such cultural events offer a replicable and adaptable model for post-pandemic hybrid education by combining experiential learning with ecological and cultural objectives. This integration promotes not only intercultural understanding but also institutional strategies aligned with sustainability and inclusivity. The research underscores the potential of cultural festivals as transformative educational platforms and offers actionable recommendations for universities seeking to enhance global competence, civic engagement, and cultural responsiveness among students.