A RETROSPECT ON THE INTERNATIONAL WEEK'S FOODMARKET

On Thursday November 26, LOKO international organised the annual foodmarket. This year the event was a part of the international “eat me, drink me” week. Verdict: A tasty success, worth repeating.

At the LOKO International foodmarket students from more than ten countries prepared typical local food for people to taste, LOKO International providing the participating countries with money and they are free to make whatever they want. Lots of people came to taste and vote for the best group. At this years event more people were interested than there was food available, and by 3 PM all the food was eaten, raising the issue of whether or not next years the event should be bigger.

THE WINNER

The sponsor this year was an alternative source, cinema zed. The winning team received free tickets for cultural movies. This year 66 votes went to China B for their delicious dumplings and 27 votes to Poland’s potato pancakes with mushroom sauce. A honourable mention goes to Spain as well for their unlimited persistence. When all other stands where cleaned up, they were still making more sangria!

Giving food away for free is the concept behind the foodmarket, something that is always a success. Nevertheless a reflection is in order, as it could be still bigger and better. Today the foodmarket is a rather small affair, but it has potential to become larger if more people rally around this ingenious concept.

This year it became clear that many Flemish students are increasingly curious about the foodmarket, perhaps because it is capable of bringing international students together with Flemish students. Such initiatives are a great example of activities with a high degree of interaction, as some international students pointed out: “such activities bring us in contact with local students more than a party where everybody stands in their groups”. As it stands today, the foodmarket is a concept that can grow to a multinational project. Hopefully it will continually stimulate integration and consequently encourage students to be open to more international experiences. |