A world of culture with International Festival 2025 and Light Night

International Festival 2025 and Light Night transformed the campus into a vibrant “world tour”. Authentic cultural booths and lively night-fair experiences, and stunning light night 3D-mapping showcase brought everyone together to celebrate culture and creativity as a truly immersive and joyful moment.

The International Club was founded to foster a sense of belonging, acting as a supportive home for RMIT students from all over the world. By championing cultural diversity, human interest, and inner wellness, the club encourages the entire community to experience, indulge in, and embrace global cultures. The club's award-winning annual International Festival is a dynamic, multicultural celebration that connects the world on campus.

This year, the International Festival 2025 drew its inspiration from a feeling we all share: the warmth of childhood nostalgia. The organising team looked to the power of bedtime stories, the tales that shaped our imagination when we were young and chose “Folktales” as the theme that would guide the entire experience.

The team designed each booth as a small story world. Every country was paired with a folktale, and students stepped into that narrative through hands-on activities and interactive challenges. Moving from booth to booth felt less like walking through an event and more like travelling through chapters of a giant storybook. This approach transformed global specialities into immersive moments of play and discovery. Students could explore cultures through their stories, their symbols, and their emotions, creating an experience that felt both magical and meaningful.

By grounding the festival in storytelling, the International Club helps RMIT students experience the world in a way that brings them closer, sparks curiosity, and celebrates the beauty of cultural connection.

The World Tour

The “World Tour” format reflects the core philosophy of the International Festival. By guiding participants on a journey from culture to culture, the format transforms learning into movement, exploration, and active engagement. This dynamic spirit has shaped the festival’s identity for more than ten years and continues to set it apart from traditional cultural showcases. Instead of standing in front of static cultural displays, attendees travel from booth to booth, with each booth representing a different country.

Bringing culture to life through every activity

Among the 21 interactive booths, one of the most memorable highlights was Vietnam’s booth with its cultural experience, “The Art of Têm Trầu” (the art of preparing betel quid). Beyond the familiar symbols such as Áo Dài or Bánh Mì, the booth introduced students to the tradition of betel preparation, offering a deeper and more intimate look into Vietnamese cultural heritage.

Though small in size, the betel nut and betel leaf carry centuries of meaning in Vietnamese culture. More than ceremonial offerings, they symbolise connection, loyalty, and the hope for harmony within families. Drawing from this symbolism, the International Club’s core team crafted an experience that felt genuinely intimate and emotionally grounded. The booth resembled a quiet corner of a rural village, woven mats, warm tones, and familiar textures that invited students to pause, breathe, and step into a tradition that has shaped generations.

For international students, it became an opportunity to discover a beautiful, lesser-known aspect of Vietnamese tradition. But when it comes to Vietnamese students, the activity gently reminded them of the customs woven into their heritage, practices that may fade into the background of daily life yet still define their heritage.

Run with genuine passion by Myanmar students, it invited participants to explore 12 traditional festivals celebrated throughout the year, try on Longyi - traditional customs, and apply Thanaka, the iconic cosmetic deeply rooted in Myanmar culture. Interactive, sensory, and rich in authenticity, the booth quickly became a crowd favourite, drawing students not just with its activities, but with the heartfelt pride and cultural spirit behind every detail.

The festival offered international students a sense of familiarity, allowing them to see their own cultures represented with respect and creativity. Among them was Lee Sihoo, a Management & Change major, who described the event in three words: exciting, impressive, interesting. He shared that the authenticity of the booths, together with the thoughtfully designed gifts, made the experience especially memorable for him and his friends.

What resonated with him most were the folktales. Each story, he said, “carried meaningful life lessons,” revealing the values and worldviews of many different cultures. It turned the World Tour into an experience that was not only enjoyable but also deeply reflective. In this way, the festival became a cultural homecoming for some, and a global learning journey for everyone who joined.

Special night falls in RMIT’s 25th anniversary

The International Festival’s energy carried into the evening. In celebration of RMIT’s 25th anniversary in Vietnam, the Students & Education Portfolio introduced Light Night, adding a magical new chapter to the event. The fair transformed after dark with EDM sets, interactive entertainment, games, karaoke, and live performances.

With over 1,300 participants joining in, the festival opened space for cultural learning, encouraged empathy, and sparked real connections across cultures within the RMIT community. It brought the RMIT community closer together by linking students from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

More than a refreshing pause amid deadlines, the International Festival celebrates diversity through understanding and unity, turning shared experiences into lasting memories that strengthen the fabric of student life.

Story: Pham Thanh Thao, Professional Communication student. This article does not reflect the views of RMIT Vietnam as an institution.

11 December 2025

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