Festival to celebrate diversity

SOUTHERN Cross University will celebrate the cultural diversity of its students and the wider community on Thursday at a Fusion Festival held on individual campuses.

With a festival theme of “UNIty in DiVERSITY: the coming together of cultures and communities”, the Fusion committee hopes to increase the understanding of different cultures and improve unity within campus life.

Julie Porter, equity and diversity officer of SCU, said the Fusion Festival will be free of charge and open to all members of the public.

“We have a wonderful range of activities planned across our campuses to celebrate the diversity of our staff and students, and in our communities,” she said. “We are encouraging members of the community to come and join in the activities.”

The Gold Coast/Tweed campus will hold a celebration for the festival on Thursday, September 9, beginning with the opening of the English Language Centre. Entertainment is planned to include a Japanese geisha dance, various students in traditional dress and the Fusion Food Festival.

Stephen Garvey, project officer of the Equity and Diversity Office on the Gold Coast, said there will be a wide range of foods to be eaten on the day, which staff and students will provide as a reflection of their own cultures.

“Some English students are bringing dishes like bang- ers and mash, and we’ll have a range of food from Holland, Papua New Guinea, China, Greece, France and other countries,” Mr Garvey said.

A second part of the Fusion Festival will be a photography competition which follows a slightly different theme of UNIty in DiVERSITY “embracing generations”.

Mr Garvey said the Lismore Campus will announce the winner of the competition today for the opening of their own festival.

“But because the Gold Coast campus festival doesn’t start until Thursday, we will just appreciate the photos with some food and wine and reannounce the winner of the competition on Thursday,” he said.

The English Language Centre opening and Fusion Food Festival will be held on Thursday from 1.30 pm at SCU Riverside campus, Brett Street, Tweed Heads.