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Nelson Branch Newsletter No. 5 – June 2016

83

monkey1_mod~ June meeting ~

 

~ 25th Anniversary ~

 

Friday 24 June, 5:30 p.m.

This is our birthday, and we intend to have a party!

This meeting will be different. There will be a look at branch history and an opportunity to hear anecdotes as well as a toast to the branch, its past, present, and future. It would be particularly interesting if members from the early years could tell us what it was like, ‘back then’.Emma-1024x1024

The meal will be a pot-luck dinner, provided by you, the members. We are asking members to bring food to share. If you have a particular dietary requirement, please bring suitable food. There will be a small amount provided by the Oriental Restaurant.

Christine Ward, who was the director for the successful Nelson-Huangshi Schools’ Art Exchange last year, will present the story of the project. This Art Exchange won the Air New Zealand award for ‘Best Youth Education or School Project’ at the recent Sister Cities conference in Nelson.

At this time we will also be bidding farewell to our MLA, Emma (Mengjie Zhang), who has been here teaching Mandarin in schools and at NMIT since July.

Although there will be no charge for this meeting we do ask that you register with Barbara Markland (ph: 544 4712) so that we know how many to plan for.

The meeting will be at Hearing House, 354 Trafalgar Square (next to Synagogue Lane). Visitors are welcome.

Beijing Youth Forum:

Beijing Youth Federation is inviting members of the NZCFS, particularly youth members, to the 2016 International Youth Organisation Forum & Beijing Sister City Youth Camp from October 24 to 30. 

The event is aimed at enhancing communication, co-operation and friendship among international youth organisations, expanding their influence in the world, and providing a platform for them to publicise and make contact with one another.

More information can be found in the original NZCFS article.

Fellowship for travel to China:

NZCFS has recently joined with the prestigious Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in awarding an annual Fellowship for Kiwis who wish to add and build value to their vocation, pastime, etc. — New Zealanders from all walks of life. This Fellowship is for travel to China to gain knowledge, understanding and experience of Chinese culture and values, and sharing of New Zealand culture and values in China.

The fellowship is offered to applicants who are actively involved in an occupation or sphere of activity which would benefit from time spent in China, or where building of knowledge and understanding would be of benefit through the deepening or extension of New Zealand-China relationships. Application must be made by July 31 for travel in 2017.

More information can be found in the original NZCFS article.

2017 Rewi Alley Commemoration:

Next year marks 120 years since Rewi Alley’s birth, 90 years since his arrival in China, and rewi_exhib_poster30 years since his death in Beijing. National Executive consider commemorating this to be a priority activity for NZCFS and branches in the coming 18 months and are proposing that the ‘Rewi Alley in China’ photographic exhibition tour the branches.

The exhibition consists of about 120 photographs with captions as well as a video. These were sourced mainly from historical records and collections of Shanghai Municipal Archives. Originally shown at the Canterbury Museum in 2013, the originals are now held by the Christchurch branch (having been kindly donated by Shanghai Municipal Archives) and they are available for any NZCFS branch to hold a similar exhibition in their locality.

To host this exhibition we will need to arrange a venue and probably schedule it in co-ordination with other branches. NZCFS Executive are planning the development of resources to accompany the exhibition and raise the awareness and profile of Rewi Alley in New Zealand.

Project Middle China:

NZCFS is providing an opportunity to work and live in Zhengzhou city, Henan Province, where Chinese civilization began. It is proposed that up to 500 NZ graduates, over three years, will have the chance to teach English language and western culture to students, while living and experiencing the rich culture of Henan for one year. Zhengzhou city, is a prefecture level city and includes the Shaolin Buddhist Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the supposed origin of Kung Fu.

More information can be found in the original NZCFS article.

Queen’s Birthday Honours:

Maurice Alley, who is president of the Manawatu branch of NZCFS, has been awarded the honour of Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to conservation and education. He has worked at Massey University for 47 years and his research has helped in the identification of causes of health issues and the recovery of endangered species, particularly for native birds such as kiwi and kakapo.

From Executive, June

  • Prominent Persons and leaders Tour: Ferry advised Rachel Boyack’s nomination has been accepted and also that of Jifang Black.
  • Appo Hocton Scholar: Yuan Meng, has been appointed. Representatives of the branch will meet her on arrival and give her our contribution to the scholarship.
  • Children’s Culture Camps: The Rewi Alley School in Christchurch has suggested the branch observe the holiday camp run there. Ferry is to liaise with George Elder of the school.
  • Discussion about interacting with local youth – suggestions were:

find a way to introduce information about Rewi Alley to schools in 2017;

contact the person responsible for international students in local high schools;

fund a field trip relating to Appo Hocton – talk, town sites, grave site;

fund a Spring Festival function and invite NMIT and high school students.

  • NZCFS Conference: Ferry informed the meeting of ideas from other branches to reach out to their communities. 


A full pdf version of this newsletter is available at
NZCFSNelsonJune2016.pdf