CultureFest a chance to celebrate rich diversity on campus

The hugely popular Selwyn District Council marquee event, held at Lincoln Domain, brings together the many different cultures making up the community and offers an opportunity to celebrate a range of traditions, food and recreation activities.

Lincoln University, which provided sponsorship for the annual festival, hosted a stand that included a special activity in keeping with this year’s theme of educating residents about the variety of cultures in Selwyn.

Wheako Tauira Student Experience Safter Communities Programme Advisor Alex Michel-Smith said the activity was used to engage in conversations and lean into the visitors’ tūrangawaewae – the place where they feel they belong.

“We asked people to fill in a luggage tag, writing where they’re from and where home is to them, then invited them to post it on a map of the world. It was great to connect with the community and over 200 people enjoyed visually representing themselves on the map.

“We are currently on a journey celebrating our ethnic and diverse communities on campus and this was a chance for us to acknowledge the rich diversity we have in our spaces.”

Lincoln students who attended CultureFest had a fantastic time at the event.

“It was great to see all the people coming from so many places all over the world, and to see the map full up,” said Lincoln University International and Cultural Society President, Jenny.

Student Experience Facilitator, Lun, said he was excited by the turnout at CultureFest.

“There were a lot of people and many foods from around the world. Great to see many people from different backgrounds happy to share where they are from.”

Representatives from more than 30 different cultures participate in the annual festival, which has been running since 2005, and kicks off a two-week series that includes more events across the district. Learn more here. 
Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki team members at the Lincoln University CultureFest site. From left are Master of Science in Food Innovation student, Sahiti Peddisetti; Associate Professor (Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce) Nazmun Ratna; Wheako Tauira Student Experience Safer Communities Programme Advisor Alex Michel-Smith; and Wheako Tauira Student Experience First Year Student Advisor Jayne Smith.