Culture, community, and connection shine at International Education Week
The IEC’s International Education Week brought together students to learn, connect and celebrate diversity and culture through seminars, workshops and events.
From November 17 to November 21, the International Education Centre (IEC)’s biggest annual event, International Education Week (IEW), returned to the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). With a vibrant lineup of cultural, academic, and community-building events, the weeklong series created spaces for meaningful dialogue among students and faculty. The initiative aimed to spotlight the importance of intercultural learning on a modern university campus.
The event encompassed various smaller events, pop-ups, showcases, workshops, and fairs. According to the IEC’s website, some of the biggest events were: Global Cuisine Tour, Tastes of Culture with Hart House, Taste of Canada, Learn to Play Lacrosse, International Sports Trivia Night, the IEW Fair, Global Dance Fusion, Runway Without Borders: Threads of Home, and Behind The Masquerade, among many others.
These copious events, and others during the week, were especially notable because of their involvement of various student clubs and organizations on campus, such as the Health and Counselling Centre (HCC), Caribbean Connections, the Centre for Student Engagement (CSE), the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre (RAWC), Hart House, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII), UTM’s Department of Management, the Indonesian Student Association (ISA), and UTM Synix.
The high level of collaboration throughout the week was epitomized through the IEW Fair, which itself hosted the South Indian Student Association (SISA), the Lebanese Student Association, the Filipino Student Association, Caribbean Connections, the University of Toronto Erindale Hong Kong Students’ Association (UTEHKSA), the ISA, the Taiwanese Student Association (ROCSAUT), the Canadian Asian Student Society (CASS), and the Egyptian Student Association.
The fair also featured various UTM departments, including the Library, Sustainability Office, CSE, OII, HCC, Department of Language Studies, RGASC Gaming Cafe, and Accessibility Services, along with key IEC branches, such as the Global Learning and Programming and Events teams. Students exploring the fair could also enjoy a Henna artist, jewelry making, quilting with UTM’s Studio X, and caricatures.
For many international students, IEW served as a reminder that their stories, identities, and transitions are valued at UTM. Domestic students, too, engaged with global experiences through food, art, and conversations. The atmosphere across campus felt lively, inclusive, and intentionally global.
Lavinia Lau, events and program facilitator intern at the IEC, discussed how heading Runway Without Borders was an overall enriching experience and how the event created meaning and impact on the UTM community. “This was the first time we held an event like this. The main idea was to organize a culturally rich fashion show to celebrate diverse identities, traditions and stories within the UTM student community.”
Runway Without Borders brought together different student groups from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, visual performers, and faculty to showcase traditional regalia and attire from around the world, with standout musical and dance performances. The event featured contributors from Caribbean Connections, the ISA, UTM Synix, and even the IEC, with a special performance spotlighting the Japanese martial art, Nippon Budo, by the Centre’s Supervisor of Intercultural Fluency and International Student Development, Kay Kim.
Lau added, “The event specifically fits in with the goals of the IEW and broadly with the IEC as the event is student-led, and the target group is the UTM student community. While it is culturally diverse at its core, the event is organized by students, for students cradle to grave, which makes it stand out as the IEW’s flagship event.”
When asked why fashion specifically is an important medium to communicate cultural diversity, she replied, “A lot of the clothes available today in mainstream trends are modernized, making it monotonous. More often than not, cultural pieces are overshadowed by these modern [clothes]. For example, I got to see Indonesian couture, which wouldn’t have been the centre in pop culture media otherwise.”
In response to the idea of cultural diversity being obvious and present at UTM, she said, “While I was pursuing my undergraduate degree, I did not participate extensively in student life and culture around campus, but now since I directly helped execute the event, I’d say I have more information about the diversity and sense of community that different students bring from different cultures. There [are] so many cultural and ethnic student groups on campus.”
She added, “Canada is one of the most diverse countries in the world, and I think that sense of belonging and unity, despite being from various backgrounds and ethnicities, is apparent in UTM students. This event helped make that sense broader and stronger in a way.”
Beyond the scheduled events and packed calendars, IEW also captured something quieter and more personal. Students wandered into events between classes, some staying only for a few minutes, and others lingering far longer than they expected. Whether it was trying a dish from a country they had never visited, watching a dance that reminded them of home, or simply striking up a conversation with someone new, these moments felt meaningful in small but lasting ways.
For a campus as fast-paced and commuter-heavy as UTM, IEW aimed to create rare pauses where students could slow down and connect, irrespective of their backgrounds and identities.
