‘Mouth-watering’ food festival reunites UQ Gatton’s international student community

In celebration of World Harmony Day last week, The University of Queensland held its annual International Food Festival at the UQ Gatton campus.

Organised by The School of Veterinary Science’s Associate Professor Joerg Henning, the festival invited over 250 international students to cook, share and enjoy dishes and music from across the globe.

“The festival is an excellent chance to celebrate and learn about cultures you might not normally have a chance to interact or become familiar with,” Dr Henning said.

“The international students in our organising committee went above and beyond, cooking and catering for hundreds of their fellow international students.

“Holding an event like this, our aim is to really live out the values of the day, where we celebrate a respect for cultural and religious diversity and foster belonging for everyone.

“It also allows new international students, who only just commenced their studies in Australia, to meet their fellow international students from different years and from across the campus.

“And what better way to bring people together than through food, with a banquet of mouth-watering cuisines from different countries?”

Given the challenges faced by students over the past two years, Dr Henning said this year’s festival felt extra special.

“In the last two years, we all know how challenging it has been, with many disruptions and cancellations to important social events like this one,” Dr Henning said.

“Many of our international students were stuck overseas and couldn’t conduct their studies on the Gatton campus or attend any of our events over the past two years.

“Then you throw in the floods this year, which impacted some of our students physically and emotionally – it just made for a very special Harmony Day this year, as it enabled us to reunite the international student community.”

Dr Henning said he was pleased to receive so much positive feedback from students following the festival.

“A common thread among the comments we received from students was how much the food reminded them of home and reconnected them to their own country,” he said.

“Unsurprisingly, students can suffer from homesickness, which is why events like this are so important, as they not only provide a chance for students to gather and get to know each other but also give them a chance to connect and share a bit about themselves and their home, too.”

This year’s event was also unique as it was an UQ Gatton-wide event, which included international students from the School of Agricultural and Food Sciences and involved working closely with Gatton Student Services and the Gatton Chaplaincy.

The Harmony Day International Food Festival 2022 enhanced the UQ Gatton international students’ campus experience, aligning with Faculty of Science and UQ initiatives to foster a sense of belonging and wellbeing for students.

“While this event is always sponsored by the School of Veterinary Science, we were lucky to receive additional funding through the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, which made it possible to run such a large festival,” Dr Henning said.

“For me, having organised this event since 2017, seeing such a great turnout in 2022 was a wonderful experience.”