Once a year, a Western New York organization calls for all challengers and finds out who is the most culturally smart by way of trivia.

"It's a fun event, but we are mixing fun with education," May Shogan, education and international visitors director, Buffalo International Institute, who runs the yearly cultural trivia competition and fundraiser, said. "Literature, culture, languages. So a little bit of everything."

Three-plus decades at the institute and she’s found some of the best ways to raise awareness from diverse communities in Buffalo and beyond.

"Sometimes when you present people with information they don't want to hear as a lecture," said Shogan. "Nobody listens, but if you bring it in a fun way, it might make them interested in listening and participating and being engaged."

For countless hours for Shogan, staff and volunteers are spent putting together this trivia contest each year. 

"Events are usually a lot of work, but the end result is fun. So we forget it once we're here," she added.

The 2023 edition will return to an in-person competition for the first since before the pandemic.

"People are more engaged when they hear it present in person and in engaging with other teams," Shogan said.

Fifteen teams this year are competing and learning and, for the woman running the show for this event, a refugee from the country of Jordan.

"It means a lot to me because many, many years ago, 30-some years ago, when I came, diversity was not talked about as much and I had some challenges, even though I spoke English when I came here," she said.

So while this event happens once a year, Shogan and the Institute run a number of programs that help resettle refugees and aid international visitors.

"Don't wait for something to happen or an event to participate in. It is very important that we learn about each other locally and globally," Shogan added. "Unless we understand each other, then we won't know how to communicate with each other."

Educational events like this are some of their favorites to host. The next thing they’d like to bring back is a high school level of this event which would act less as a fundraiser and more of an educational setting.