International Day for Tolerance

Did you know that Wednesday 16th November is the International Day for Tolerance? What does tolerance mean for you? Here’s what the UNESCO’s Declaration of Principles on Tolerance in 1995 states:

“Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human.”

UNESCO

Within our Queen’s community, we are all so fortunate to be a part of such a diverse campus, with students and staff members coming from over 80 countries and regions, representing a range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We would like to invite you to join us in appreciating the rich diversity of our multicultural campus, and to show our shared respect for inclusivity today and every day.

To learn more about the activities for the Day, visit UNESCO’s International Day for Tolerance.

Tolerance towards different foods … and cultures

One of the most direct ways of experiencing cultural differences is through tasting food. But to what extent can we have tolerance towards food from different cultures? Our QUB student, MA Xiaoxiang (马小翔), who obtained an MA degree in Arts Management (2019) and is completing his second MA degree in Film Study (expected 2022), with School of Arts, English and Languages, has his own thoughts on cultural diversity and tolerance through his recent documentary, as part of the BBC 100 – Make Film History Project.

‘Different foods, countless flavours, diverse cultures, unique connotations. I try to use the traditional Chinese dish called Phoenix Feet [essentially, finely cooked chicken feet] as a clue to explain the relationship between food and culture. I also hope to use food as a metaphor for culture and interpret cultural exchanges in my eyes from different perspectives.’

— MA Xiaoxiang

Xiaoxiang (right) facilitating the Chinese calligraphy stand during the CNY (Year of the Pig) at Queen’s

About the film ‘Taste of Culture’

The original proposal for making this ‘Taste of Culture’ documentary is to weave a line between Chinese and Western cultures with some interesting elements. This is the reason why I chose Chinese food as the trigger. In the depths of its delicious flavour, there are many aspects to underline the cooking method – history, culture, regional variations, and other factors to help decode such a culture of practice, all of which is like a variety of spices and ingredients used in cooking, making the process of cultural interpretation more flavourful and charming and being more conducive to intercultural exchange.

As an international student, I have studied and lived in Belfast for a few years, with great interest in discovering other cultures. At the same time, being away from my home country, my culture of origin, also has given me a great chance of observing the traditional Chinese culture that I have a great passion for. This way of distancing myself from my native culture has made me think of the verses of a famous poem written by SU Shi (苏轼), one of the greatest poets to have lived in the Song dynasty over a thousand years ago:

“不识庐山真面目,只缘身在此山中”
[Of Mountain Lu we cannot make out the true face, For we are lost in the heart of the very place. — Translated by XU Yuanchong (许渊冲)]

It seems that I also live in a mountain, but I can observe the mountain from different angles. Therefore, when embarking on making this film, I hoped to discuss cultural issues from a relatively objective and diversified perspective.

The making of the film

I felt excited when I saw the email forwarded by our Department of Film. I really felt excited because this was such a precious chance for new filmmakers. Without much hesitation I decided to go for it, and attended four workshops in total, including online and offline workshops, in order to get a better understanding of the project and to find inspiration through discussions with the organisers, my supervisors and peers. As an international student, I felt that I had more challenges in terms of language and cultural barriers, despite the fact that I have a master’s degree with Queen’s already. But I did gather my strength and eventually gain very valuable experience through attending these meetings. The organisers and other participants also gave me great encouragement and help. In fact, some of the anecdotes and questions that came out of the discussions were used in the documentary. This inside-out and outside-in methodology has become the guidance for making this film.

I was able to finish the scriptwriting and postediting of the documentary myself, thanks to my friend HU Chenrui (胡宸瑞), an undergraduate student also from our Film Department, who provided me with great assistance for my shooting. We enjoyed working together to get the shooting done. In the process of making this short film, I not only gained rich practical skills in documentary-making, but also achieved a deeper understanding of Chinese and British cultures through cooking chicken feet. Overall, the filming and creation process was a ‘delicious’ experience.

That’s one small step for delivering Chinese culture through my film, but it is one giant leap for myself as a novice filmmaker. Interestingly, this step was not made by my foot, but by the “chicken feet” in the documentary. In the future, I hope to continue to create more films about intercultural exchange and exploration, to convey the spicy flavour of cultures from a unique perspective.

Author: MA Xiaoxiang
Editors: WANG Liang and Poppy Boyd

Celebrating Day of the Dead

I see it coming – the excitement starts to build up not only in my body, but in my family, in my whole nation, among my people, whether they live or not, in Mexico... The Day of the Dead is expected with illusion everywhere and this festivity is a distinctive feature of our culture.

– Ingrid Briano (QUB alumna)

For many of us, the most special period (between the last day of October until the second of November) of the year, when the smells of mandarins and cempazuchitl flowers float in the air preparing the way to receive our ancestors, it is the time of festive peace, of joyful nostalgic that is hard to understand for many foreigners who are equally fascinated and confused when they are in the boiling atmosphere of the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead.

Death is perceived in a very particular way in my country since the pre-Hispanic times, and this is especially shocking for cultures for whom the concept of the death is fearful, dark, painful. For our ancestors like the Mayas and Aztecs, death was in synchrony with life.

Death was needed to sustain life, human blood and sacrifices were needed so their Gods could continue blessing humans with life, crops, prosperity… death was only a stage in the cycle of life.

This is a time for family bonding and gathering, we get together to celebrate the lives of our ancestors, to be grateful for their legacy and to honour their memories. At home, this is one of the few times of the year when all my family sits around the table, sometimes the door rings and suddenly we have uncles, aunties and cousins showing up to eat “un panecito”. This is also a time to discover things about our family, like the time I knew that my great grandparents had to get married in a cave because during that time the government closed the churches and prosecuted priests and Catholics.

If we keep talking about the essential components of this celebration, we cannot forget the “altar de Muertos”, present equally at home, in public buildings and plazas, or in schools, where since we were kids we made them to join in contests against other groups. The altar must contain some elements, like water, salt, the orange cempazuchilt flowers distinctive of this festivity, the portraits of our beloved ones who already departed, their favourite food, and candles to guide them, to show them the way home.

Altar de Muertos

The altar and the elements may vary depending on the region and group. Some indigenous communities put their favourite saints instead of the portraits of their relatives, and in many families we include an arch of flowers that some believe, symbolizes the division between the world of the death and the alive, a species of portal between the two worlds. Because for a couple of days they are among us, they come to taste the food we prepared for them, they come to comfort us for the pain of their loss. It is said that if you try the food later, you won’t find any taste because your hungry relatives already “ate” it.

Although it often takes a few days to design it – buying all the elements and preparing the food – it is a moment of unity not only with the family, but with the community. I always buy the flowers to a man who knows much of my deceased relatives, and I always pull a story out of him of one of my relatives, because “once he saw my abuelito when he was buying some cows bla bla bla….”.

Furthermore, millions of people dress up as the icon of this festivity: the “Catrina”, the fashioned – bony creation of Mexican lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posada, who used to portray skulls and skeletons in his illustrations to protest and criticize the Mexican society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These dancing and colourful skeletons invade the streets during the parades held in cities and towns along the country.

And also, you can find the minion version knocking at your door, screaming “el muertito, el muertito” and demanding treats in our Mexican version of trick or treat. This tradition has been changing and getting stronger during the last decades, taking some distance from the similar Halloween, to become a very proud and intrinsic Mexican tradition. You will see fewer and fewer witches, zombies, mummies, and pumpkins, and more and more catrinas and catrines, and characters of the Mexican popular culture like “el chavo del ocho”, Cantinflas or heroes of the Mexican revolution returned from the underworld with a beautiful childish face and some creepy scar and blood on the forehead. I especially wait for this moment, because the kids know that my mom is always prepared with bags and bags of sweets to receive them. When they knock, they are always welcome by an Ingrid – Catrina who gives them sweets, and well, she keeps some to herself, because that day she turns into a little girl herself.

And what about the cemeteries? You would be surprised… don’t expect a chorus of cries and rivers of tears… but to see people cleaning the graves, painting and decorating them, putting fresh flowers and even new toys for a child grave. Pay attention to the families having picnics and laughing around the graves, listen to the mariachis playing ranchera (a genre of traditional music of Mexico) and singing with all their heart… join the party, and above all, don’t be sad. Join our most beautiful tradition, join us to welcome our beloved ones because they never left; join us to celebrate their lives instead of feeling sorry for their passing because they only die when we forget them, and that will never happen, as they will always be alive in our hearts and memory, and they are always loved.

Feliz dia de Muertos!!

About the author

Ingrid Briano Jasso

Ingrid, from Mexico, obtained her MSc in Leadership for Sustainable Development at Queen’s in 2018.

View here to learn more about her QUB experience.

All photos curtesy of Ingrid Briano, all rights reserved.

Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali to all who celebrate it at Queen’s and elsewhere!

Diwali (Deepavali or Divali), also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu religious festival and one of the most important festivals within Hinduism. Falling on 24th October this year, it generally lasts five days, and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika.

“Hindus, Sikhs and Jains both in India and across the world usually take part by decorating houses and public spaces with thousands of lights, candles and colourful designs. As well as the bright colours and glittering lights, there’s music, dancing, delicious food and a cresting wave of community feeling.”

Nimmy john
Lecturer, School of Nursing & midwifery; co-chair of bame & International staff network

Thanks to the Graduate School’s organisation, on Monday 24th October Queen’s students and staff have joined in the celebration of Diwali at the 1st Floor Social Space of the grand ‘Ruskinesque’ Gothic building, with a taste of Indian tea and sweets.

‘Happy Diwali!’ is the most common festival greeting that people use to send their best wishes to each other.

TLE kicking a start

The first TLE session has kicked a start on Wed 19/10 at the Training Room 2 (TR2), McClay Library, despite the bad weather. From a diverse background of both language and disciplines, a dozen of enthusiastic language learners gathered to exchange their linguistic experiences and language demands and supplies. Some were even successfully paired up on site.

To support more participants to get started as soon as possible, we have decided to add two more sessions:

  • Friday 21/10, 11:00-12:30, online (Teams > Tandem Language Exchange at Queen’s)
  • Monday 24/10, 10:30-12:00, in person (Language Teaching Lab, McClay)

More sessions will be added to the TLE page and slots will be made visible on the TLE Canvas (free for teacher) calendar. Please save the dates to your calendar. The TLE platform is an ongoing support that you may join at any time you like.

Tandem Language Exchange ready to go

Happy Friday and we hope you all have enjoyed the first week of language classes.

The Tandem Language Exchange (TLE) programme is a platform to help you pair up with native speakers of the language you would like to develop in order to support you to further develop your language skills and cultural knowledge in a friendly, flexible and informal way. It complements the language classes and operates in its own – you don’t have to sign up for a class in order to join TLE.

The first group meeting will take place from 1-2:30 pm, on Wednesday 19th October, at TR2, The McClay Library. If you would like to join, sign up now via http://go.qub.ac.uk/TLEsignup or scan the QR code.

For upcoming sessions, please check the TLE page for updates.

Get your head in the frame

Happy 21st birthday, European Day of Languages (EDL)!

Thank you to everyone who came along and joined in our ‘European Day of Languages’ celebrations today, celebrating linguistic and cultural diversity, globally. It was amazing to hear how many languages were spoken by passing students and great to get a sense of the languages that people are keen to learn!

Since 2002, it has been the goal of the EDL (26th September) to promote and celebrate linguistic diversity in Europe and beyond. At QUB, we are so fortunate to study and work in such a multi-cultural campus, the EDL is a great opportunity for us to celebrate this!

If you have not come to our Language Centre stand yet, we are keen to meet you at our stands in the McClay Library and the One Elmwood for the Freshers’ Fair in the next couple of days. We would like to help you to learn about all of the opportunities available to you to support your language skills development with The Language Centre.

Please find your photos below in our social media.

Part 1 of EDL Celebrations 2022
Part 2 of EDL Celebrations 2022

International Day of Sign Languages

Did you know that there are approximately 72 million deaf people in the global population? These people collectively use over 300 different sign languages! Alongside all the national languages, there is a shared international sign language used by the deaf community to communicate socially, on trips abroad, and in international business settings.

This International Day of Sign Languages, celebrated on 23rd September each year, to coincide with the creation of the World Federation of the Deaf in 1951, sits within International Week of Deaf People (19th-25th September 2022). The theme for this year is Building Inclusive Communities for All. Learning basic communication in sign language, whether national or international, can really help to make the global community of deaf people feel more included in society. As actress Rose Ayling-Ellis so aptly puts it, “There’s nothing wrong with being deaf – it’s society that’s the problem”.

The Language Centre offers British Sign Language courses in Levels 1 and 2 and registration for these is open now, via our website: www.qub.ac.uk/lc

2022 LC Course Autumn Programme

Happy September!

With the approaching of the new semester we are pleased to announce that the Language Centre course enrolment starts at 00:30 on Thursday 1st September. We offer over 80 classes in 14 different languages that have both online and in person teaching. All classes will commence week beginning Monday 10 Oct 2022.

Online registration will be closed on Thursday 6 Oct and we welcome all to make an early registration as courses are extremely popular and fill up quickly. Class schedule and registration links are accessible via Language Centre website.

Cultural awareness workshop for QUB Accommodation RA training

Goodbye, August, and hello, September!

We are very pleased that today, Dr Liang WANG, from the Language Centre, provided a Chinese cultural awareness workshop for the Queen’s Residential Assistant Team who have kicked off their training to welcome international and home students to Queen’s.

While the session had its focus on an understanding of Chinese students, the largest international student body on campus, and the cultures they bring along, the principles of enhancing one’s intercultural awareness and developing intercultural communication skills are essentially applicable to the approach to interacting with all international students, as well as home students from the non-essentialist perspective – embracing cultural diversity, breaking down stereotypes, showing respect, and developing critical cultural awareness.

We hope that our Cultural Awareness training will be helpful to all students, home and abroad, to enhance their life experience while studying at Queen’s. We would like to send our best wishes to the upcoming international students for a successful year ahead.

We are also happy to be contacted for consultation and tailored workshops to suit particular needs relating to language learning and cultural awareness training. For any enquiries, please email us at language@qub.ac.uk.

A tour of the Irish Craft Heroes

Did you know that August is the Craft Month in Northern Ireland?

While we hope you are still enjoying the summer days, we would like to recommend the Irish Craft Heroes – 50 Makers X 50 Years outdoor exhibition, as part of the Belfast International Arts Festival, at the Ulster Museum just next to Queen’s. It is such a great opportunity not only to explore the local craft culture but also to taste the Irish language through the exhibition displays.

Outdoor exhibition of Irish Craft Heroes | Image@LiangWANG

What’s the exhibition about?

Irish Craft Heroes is a highly-visual, outdoor panel trail celebrating Ireland’s inspirational craftspeople and makers whose work has contributed to the rich tapestry of craft and design practice in Ireland.

The exhibition charts the evolution of the craft and design sector on the island of Ireland over the last 50 years, and pays homage to the many makers whose work has significant legacy.

Craft NI

Below is our selected photo collection of the exhibits for you to view online but with our great passion we encourage you to take a tour of the outdoor exhibition on a great day out with friends and families.