Submitted by Jessica A. Sheetz-Nguyen

As EWCA Executive Vice President for Chapter Development, I am pleased to present the following reports.  Twenty-one chapter reports were received for this quarter’s report.

Asia Pacific Leadership Program

The board has been back in action planning and executing meaningful and fun-filled events around the world. Our third quarterly newsletter will be released at the end of the week reporting the continuation of the re-branded Global Pau Hana’s (formerly global happy hour) across the world including many new cities participating. The second edition of our biannual APLP Global Pau Hana was held on March 8. Alumni gathered to reconnect in more than 10 cities around to the world including the first time addition of Manila and Yangon. Other locations included Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Washington DC, Bangkok, Tokyo, Boston, and Honolulu. We also had an attendance of over 17 strong at the much awaited EWC alumni conference in Manila, Philippines. While the alumni have been busy participating in both these events, our very own G-15 is coming to a close on their field work and will soon be official APLP alumni. One of the first opportunities for this class to participate in as APLP Alumni is our latest initiative, the APLP Global Day of Service which will be unveiled at our APLP Alumni Reunion to be held in Bali, Indonesia at the end of April and coinciding with the conclusion of the 15th generation of APLP’s field study. We would also like to highlight  the use of our hashtag (#APLP) for all social media postings. As a group, we are great at posting our event photos and meetups on social media, but we haven’t yet been able to create a unified presence across multiple social media platforms.  We are encouraging all alumni to use #APLP on all photos and posts that show an activity or meet up with someone related to APLP on Instagram, Facebook, or your preferred social media platform!

Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP)

Jessica Sheetz-Nguyen, President of the ASDP AC, reports that the Asian Studies Development Program celebrated its 25^th or Silver Anniversary at the Embassy Row Hotel, Washington, D.C. on 16-19 March 2016 at its annual conference.

The Alumni Chapter held its Board of Directors meeting where it discussed its bylaws, dues collections, and conference planning. Conference attendees participated in a guided tour of the Arthur M. Sackler Museum led by Dr. Stanley Murashige. The conference, “Celebrating 25 Years of Learning about Asia,” hosted 110 participants with 90 professional papers being presented. The keynotes included Dr. Sheila Smith and Ambassador J. Roy Stapleton. Ambassador Roy, a distinguished Scholar and Founding Director Emeritus of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, presented a paper titled “Changing Geopolitics of East Asia.” Smith, an expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, is a senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), is the author of Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China and Japan’s New Politics and the U.S.-Japan Alliance. Her talk “Japan’s Strategy in a Changing Asia” addressed the complexities of the island nation’s proximity to China and the Korean peninsula.

Bali

Agung Muninjaya from the Bali Chapter reports that Claire Langham from the Southern California EWCA Chapter attended the chapter meeting on 29 March 2016.

In the picture is Claire Langham, Claire’s friends (Mike and Benny Suteja with his wife) in the back is Nyoman Suwijana (Bali Chapter member)

During the meeting in Bali, Claire and Chapter members discussed the technical aspects of setting up a “sister city project.” A second potential project includes English training classes for young boys from the village of Bali. We identified the third program as an “Inspiring Class” for a primary school student in the village of Bali supported by volunteers from the surrounding provinces of Bali.

Chapter leader Agung Muninjaya very much appreciates the potential of these kinds of meetings, especially because they were initiated during the chapter leader workshop in Manila. It is our challenge to implement the sister city project in the near future.

Beijing

Yue Cui “Sherie” from the Beijing Chapter reports there were no activities during the first quarter.

Brisbane and Virtual Australia

President Iraphne Childs submitted the first quarter report for the Brisbane and Virtual Australia Chapters. The mission of the Brisbane EWCA is to organize two or more events/activities per year, the first addresses climate change; the second is a community service project. It regularly participates in the Alumni Climate Change Network (Jeremy Webb), and it sends regular press and other reports on climate change developments to a geographically diverse group of alumni.

In July 2015, Iraphne and Ralph Childs visited Indonesia in July 2015, catching up with friends and former grantees Dr. Maggy Thenawidjaja in Bogor and Dr. Chito Pramudita Anggraita in Jogjakarta.

In January 2016, the Brisbane contingency attended the EWCA Conference in Manila. Participants included Bhishna and Edilyn Bajracharya, Karen Nunan and John Beruldsen.  Edilyn represented the Brisbane chapter at the EWCA chapter leaders’ workshop and delivered a report on the sister relationship between EWCA Brisbane (including affiliate members from other Australian states) and EWCA Nepal. Karen participated as a member of the EWCA Board in the chapter leaders’ workshop, in various Board meetings during the conference, and she also chaired one of the parallel conference sessions. Bhishna and Edilyn presented a paper on a collaborative approach to post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal.

The EWCA Brisbane and Virtual Australia EWCA Chapters support Nepalese students: Our Chapter continues to support two Nepali students through their tertiary studies. Lasha Manandhar is continuing her nursing studies in Mangalore, India. At the end of 2016, Sunu Rai will complete her fashion design and manufacture course in Nepal which is internationally recognized. She will then need to be supported for the first half of 2017 while she does her placement. We channel our support through NAFA as they can offer tax deductible receipts.

EWCA Brisbane and Virtual Australia Chapter member, Tim McInerny, has been volunteering with International Red Cross for the past 3 years and has been involved in cyclone relief in Vanuatu and has been with the Danish Red Cross in Tbilisi, Georgia for the last 2 years.

In February 2016, Iraphne and Ralph Childs visited Melbourne where they met with interstate Chapter member and former grantee, Dr. Akbar Hessami. Akbar had recently volunteered with Engineers Without Borders in Cambodia for 3 months.

Future plans include efforts to build support for the Center with with financial contributions, which Chapter members can make individually. Most Affiliate members live in other cities in Australia and so dues are optional. They are asked to let us know when they are in town so we can try to offer some hospitality, and are kept informed of our activities so they can join in if they wish.

Chennai

Dr. S. Rajamani sent an extensive report on his EWCA Chennai Chapter activities for January – March 2016. The Chennai Chapter organized many programmes in co-operation with many organizations such as the US Consulate – Chennai, British Scholars Associations, Universities, EWCA Chapters, Mumbai & Others, the Rotary Club, the United Nations and Asian Environmental Commission.

Congratulations are due the Chennai chapter because it received the “Best Chapter Award” at the Manila Conference – January 2016. To wit, the EWCA Chennai Chapter is closely involved in the activities of EWCA supported forum on Pacific Basin Consortium (PBC); and it actively participated with EWCA support in the Pacific Basin Consortium on the Environment and Health International Conference in Indonesia in 2015. They are planning to attend the India Conference in 2017.

In terms Environment and Health, Dr. S. Rajamani participated and presented a technical paper at the 16th International Conference of Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment & Health held during August 2015, Depok, Indonesia and planned to organize programs in India during 2017. Chennai organized and participated in an educational awareness program in cooperation with EWCA, the United States Consulate, and Rotary Alumni Members.

In addition, Chennai Chapter member Lakshman Rao published a press release addressing a study titled “Skill Development for Empowerment & Employment.” Rao argues that research shows that lack of communication or soft skills such as interpersonal communications and analytical skills have together blocked empowerment and employment scope among MBA and Engineering graduates. The majority of graduates seeking jobs do not have skills required for employment in corporate settings. Placement consultants and recruiting human resource executives also share this view. In the current competitive, data centric digitally challenging environment, besides technical skills, job seekers and performers must have excellent communication/presentation skills, data management capabilities, command of statistical methods and strong computer usage capabilities.

This issue highlights lost opportunities because job candidates lack these professional skills. In response to this dismal situation, for the benefit of better placements of management graduates and engineers, a one-week certificate program has been developed by professionals and consultants with IIT& IIM background and culture. This learner friendly and highly participative program is designed for a batch of 30 during summer 2016 for a few selected colleges.

Hawaii

The Hawaii Chapter of the EWCA is planning its annual Dinner and Fundraiser, which will take place at the Pacific Club on April 17, 2016. At this annual meeting, the Outstanding Service Award will be presented to Mr. William “Bill” Feltz for his ongoing contributions to the EWC. In addition, special recognition will be given to Dr. Charles E. Morrison, who will be retiring after serving as President for 16 years at the Center. With about 140 guests, this annual dinner, is always much anticipated and has an art bazaar, and a live auction with the purpose of raising funds to support student summer travel scholarships. Hawaii Chapter President Carl Hefner(’79-’83) will also welcome two new board members, and reinstall officers for the upcoming terms.

Islamabad

The Islamabad Chapter reports on completion of three important activities this quarter: sending a representative to the EWC/EWCA Manila Conference, collecting funds for the House of Light School, and planting fruit trees both on the grounds of the school and homes of the students.

First, the Islamabad Chapter President sent Ms. Feriyal Aslam to the Manila Conference to represent the Chapter. He did this purposely to encourage and mobilize younger members for active participation. Feriyal is on the left hand side of the following photo and served to bring many individuals together.  She also dazzled everyone with her creative dancing!

Second, the House of Light School is located in Begwal village 25 kms away from main Islamabad city. The school provides FREE quality education to children with family income less than Rs. 12,000 (US $ 120). It also provides free uniforms, textbooks, stationary, meals and medical examinations. Each year 25 new students are admitted in Preparatory Class and currently the senior most class is giving Ninth grade exams.

EWCA-IC has been supporting the school in various ways. In this quarter, the Chapter raised Rs 91,000 and donated it to the school for supporting operational expenses.

The EWCA-IC planted 150 fruit trees at House of Light School, and it plans to turn Begwal village into an orchard garden. The EWCA-IC received funding from the Mohammad Ali Saeed Foundation (MASF Pakistan) to accomplish this task in late March 2016.

The trees planted were of citrus fruits, guava, and pomegranate. Each tree has been named after the name of the student who planted it. S/he will be responsible for taking care of the tree under the guidance of Ms. Shahla Rafi, an outstanding landscape painter, horticulturist and one of the Trustees of Horizon International Trust that manages the School.

Second, besides planting the trees at the School, several students were provided fruit trees to plant them at their homes and those who were not, have demanded these. Also, requests were received from 6 councilors of the area to provide each one of them with 100 fruit trees. MASF has committed to provide these during the coming monsoon season. According to a member of MASF, one lemon tree can produce up to 90 kilos of lemon in a year. Five lemon trees in each home of this low income community people will help them in income generation.
MASF Pakistan has been formed recently by Umer Saeed, in loving memory of his younger brother who passed away two years back. The Foundation has started fruit tree plantation drive from Islamabad in February 2016 with the slogan of “Islamabad – The City of Fruit Trees.” The goal of MASF is to plant 1 million trees across Pakistan.

Karachi

Ghazala Fasih, Secretary for the EWCAA Karachi Chapter, reports that this quarter was full of activities. The members list has been updated. The Chapter held a reunion of alumni 30 January 2016. President Kamal Siddiqi,General Secretary Ghazala Fasih, and Business Manager Aziz Hussain. Abid Syed convened the meeting; the executive board was joined by members Shaheen Salahuddin Amir lateef ,Farzand Ali, M.Akif  Rehana Vahidy ,Ahsan Vahidy, Dr. Sabiha Essa, Munira Abbas, Arifa Fareed, Nadeem Akram. All were enthusiastic to take chapter’s activities forward.

The next meeting was held 5 March 2016. Kamal Siddiqi, Aziz Husain, Arifa Farid, Aamir Latif, Farzand Ali, Sabiha Essa, Shaheen Salahuddin & Dr. Tahir attended the meeting and planned future activities.

In connection with these meetings, on 26 March 2016, the Karachi Chapter members provided important free medical services that included BMD (bone mineral density tests) in collaboration with Essa Laboratories.

This test was provided to members, their families as well as civil society. This effort aimed to motivate persons, especially women to enhance their wellbeing through checkups that are usually neglected. Participants of the test activity got their scanned result reports at the same time, as well as recommended medications. Attendees very much appreciated the assistance. Ghazala Fasih and the Karachi Chapter wish to thank EWCA for their continuous support.

Laos

No report.

Lahore

Arfa Sayeda Zehra from the EWCA Lahore Chapter in Pakistan received the EWCA Distinguished Alumni Award at the Manila EWC/EWCA International Conference in January 2016.

Malaysia

Dr. Gan Siowck Lee, Secretary of the Malaysia Chapter reports that a meeting with sixteen members in attendance on Sunday, 13 March 2016.

Manila

The Manila Chapter’s report is embedded in the East West Center Association International Conference at the Manila Hotel, 15-17 January 2016. Their Chapter achievements in making us feel welcome and very much at home set yet one more high bar for their successors. All of us owe a debt of gratitude to Ramon Clarete for his thoughtful planning and the execution of the project for the greater good of everyone. Thank you.

Mumbai

Sarosh Bana, Secretary for the EWC Mumbai Chapter, reported on their 14 March 2016 meeting. At that time, EWCA members heard an interesting talk by Professor Sanjeev Dhurandhar of Pune’s Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). He spoke on the epochal detection of ripples in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves originating from a cataclysmic fusion of two black holes some 1.3 billion light years away in a distant part of our Universe.

These waves were detected on 14 September 2015 by both the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and were conceived, built, and operated by Caltech and MIT.

This observed signal agreed with Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity propounded a century ago. Prof. Dhurandhar is among the 61 Indian scientists in the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC), a group of 1,004 scientists from universities around the United States and 14 other countries. This Indian participation was under the umbrella of the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-Wave Observations (IndIGO) involving these 61 scientists from nine Indian institutions. Prof. Dhurandhar was also among the 35 Indian scientists who were among the authors of the discovery paper accepted for publication in the journal, Physical Review Letters.

The IUCAA group led by Prof Dhurandhar initiated and did foundational work on developing data-analysis techniques to detect these weak signals buried in the detector noise by looking for the best match between the calculated waveforms and the detector signal and led the solo Indian group in the LSC in the initial era of LIGO for a decade. Theoretical work that combined black holes and gravitational waves was published as far back as in 1970 by Indian scientist C.V. Vishveshwara. These contributions are prominently cited in the discovery paper.
Over the last decade, the Indian gravitational wave community has spread to a number of educational and research institutions in India. As members of the LSC, they have made major contributions to the development of novel techniques to identify the weak gravitational wave signals, enabling gravitational wave astrophysics. Other Indian researchers in the LSC have expertise in precision metrology, laser and optics development, ultra-high vacuum techniques and control systems.

A prototype detector is being built for training and research at TIFR in Mumbai, and an additional LIGO station is planned to be established in India jointly by India and the United States. This is to facilitate observing our universe in gravitational waves if their source can be located with additional detectors placed far from the LIGO detectors, forming one or more large triangles. Such a network of detectors will enable the new scientific field of “Gravitational Wave Astronomy”.

Three decades before this path-breaking detection of gravitational waves, Dhurandhar, who was then a young scientist, was already talking about the idea. His ideas were then greeted with incredulity but, on 14 September, he was the toast of the scientific community who had gathered at the IUCAA in Pune.

Myanmar

Thein Lwin, Secretary for the EWCA Myanmar Chapter, recounts Chapter participation in the EWC/EWCA International Conference. This quarter, EWC Alumni from the Myanmar Chapter attended the EWC/EWCA International Conference held in Manila, the Philippines from 15-17 January 2016.

The Myanmar delegation was led by U Than Oo, U Maung Maung, Advisor and former Chapter President, Daw Cho Cho Yee, Secretary. The Chapter donated some cash and materials to the EWC fundraising program. U Thein Lwin, President of the Chapter, and Daw Ah Win, EWC alumni and retired Librarian of IAEA, also donated some amount of cash to the same fund.

Nepal

Nirendra Maske reports the following for the Nepal chapter.

Nirendra Maske attended a U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholars reception for the 2015-16 hosted by Dr. Laurie Vasily, Executive Director of the Educational Foundation in Nepal (USEF – Nepal the Fulbright Commission, Nepal) on Thursday, 28 January 2016 at the USEF Auditorium, Gyaneshwor, Kathmandu.

In April, Nirendra attended a Fulbright Forum talk entitled “Impacts of the 25 April, 2015Nepal Earthquake on four Potentially Dangerous Glacier lakes in Nepal.” Dr. Alton C. Byers, Fulbright Senior Specialist of Environmental Science, presented his lecture on Wednesday, 30 March 2016 at 3:00 p.m. in the USEF Auditorium, Gyaneshwsor.

The Nepal Katmandu EWCA held an executive chapter meeting at the New Nanglo Restaurant, on Tuesday, 29 March 2016, at 5:15 p.m. They discussed the changing scenarios facing the EWC; the search for the new president with the retirement of Dr. Charles Morrison on 31 July 2016 after almost 18 years of dynamic unparalleled work. He was the very soul of the EWC. He will be a legend. The Nepal Chapter wants Dr. Morrison to know that they are all so very proud of him.

The Nepal Chapter received a donation from the Okinawa Chapter of $500 towards the Nepal Earthquake relief fund in late March. This amount was equivalent to Nepalese Rupees 53,713. The Nepal Chapter wishes to thank Keiko Yamazoto and the EWCA, Okinawa Chapter members for their generous help to the earthquake devastated people of Nepal. The Nepal Chapter also wishes to extend sincere gratitude to Noreen Tanouye and the EWC. Nirendra pledged that the entire fund would go towards the earthquake relief. Formal acknowledgment of the receipt for the 25 April 2015 Nepal Earthquake relief fund will be made at the East- West Center DAY, 2016, which will be celebrated in the. middle of May. The monies from the Okinawa Chapter Relief fund will be utilized to build two toilets for school children in earthquake devastated area. The Nepal Chapter will also shoulder some additional relief funding on the occasion.

The Nepal Chapter Board plans for the election of a new Executive Board, which they hope will encourage a new generation of positive changes. They hope to rejuvenate chapter activities, enhance membership, welcome returning alumni and to encourage, connect, and network with Chapter members and explore community service that the Chapter could focus on, especially climate change and hazard mitigation.

The members were notified that a credit of Nepali Rupees 53,713 equivalent to 500 USD was received in the Chapters Bank Account on 24 March 2016. In light of this, the Board recommends an audit, a project which has been pending for over a decade, of chapter expenses as soon as possible.

New York

Bill Armbruster reports that The New York chapter is planning a lunch on 13 May 2016. The advantage of lunch is that it’s cheaper and may be more convenient for retired people, but obviously it’s far less convenient for people who are working. Bill jokingly remarked, “This is the first time I’ve ever attempted a lunch, and will probably be the last.”

Northern California

Barbara Bornet Stumph reports that the Northern California Chapter did not hold a face to face meeting, but the community has been in touch with Dr. John Lum, Vinod Varma, and others in the Bay Area.

She continues her ambassadorial work for EWCA in many ways. Ms. Bornet Stumph enrolled in the China Art Academy International College (CAAIC) for intensive Chinese ink painting in Hangzhou, China October 15 to November 17. She also participated in the international students’ ink show in the Hang Zhou Chinese Art Academy CAAIC gallery and attended events with professors of the Art Academy to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of this program.

Barbara Bornet Stumpf held a discussion on the goals of the East-West Center/ EWCA with the Dean of the Hangzhou International College and other professors. Professionals in attendance were curious about American attitudes towards Chinese studies, as well as where and how she developed Chinese language and ink studies. During this conversation, one Chinese art professor was in tears, as he recalled how difficult it has been over the years (of political turmoil) to continue this American and Chinese program to train artists in the fine art of traditional Chinese ink painting.

Barbara Bornet Stumpf published an article in the UC Berkeley Digital Magazine for Teacher Consultants with a tag line on EWCA hiking to the renowned Huang Shan Mountain and her painting titled “Discovering a Chinese Pavilion in the Mist” was entered in the Concord Art Association exhibit. She also presented at the Art Association Meeting on Chinese culture and values through the art of Chinese Calligraphy in March 2016.

Okinawa

Keiko Yamazoto provides us with the following report from Okinawa.

Old Business: Okinawa Chapter Members were invited to attend a ceremony hosted by the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Sister-State Relations between the State of Hawaii and Okinawa Prefecture of Japan in October 2015. Okinawa Governor Onaga invited Hawaii State Governor Ige to Okinawa for this event. The U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy attended the ceremony and gave a few words of congratulations as well.

New Business: Election of a New Chapter Leader: The chapter elected its new leader, Mr. Kiyoshi Nakachi. The leader’s business was transferred to him from Keiko Yamazato on April 3, 2016. Mr. Nakachi is working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Taiwan (PRC) government as a MOFA Fellowship and at National Taiwan University as a visiting scholar now. Taiwan is very close to Okinawa, so it is not difficult for him to go there and back. The Internet will help him communicate with other new executive members of the chapter. He is expected to get good contact with Taiwan Chapter members so as to lead his chapter members to work globally.

Fund Raising: Mr. Choko Takayama wrote two beautiful poems about Hawaii and Ms. Kumiko Naka composed music and sang the two. The CDs are being sold whenever an event is held by the Okinawa Chapter and the Okinawa-Hawaii Association. $200.00 was already donated to the EWCA Okinawa Chapter Endowment Awards.

Okinawa Chapter is Studying to Establish Asia Pacific Center: The Okinawa Study Group has 11 members including 4 people (Takayama, Nakachi, Shibuya, and Yamazato) in Okinawa. Others are on the mainland of Japan and Hawaii. They have kept studying it continuously since they presented their project at the 2014 EWC/EWCA International conference in Okinawa. They also made a presentation of it at Manila conference. The four people had a meeting to do their further study on April 3, 2016. Mr. Kiyoshi Nakachi, who is the new leader of the Okinawa chapter, leads the four. He came from Taiwan to join this meeting. Ms. Shibuya is also going to Taiwan and back to do her research work. She was back and joined the meeting. I feel the Okinawa chapter has begun to have global air more than ever.

The Okinawa Chapter donates to the Nepal earthquake relief fund: The Okinawa Chapter donated $500 to the Nepal earthquake relief fund wishing them to recover their ordinary life as soon as possible.

Singapore

Alice Seng Seok Hoon provides the following EWCA Chapter report from Singapore for the first quarter of 2016.

On 25 January 2016, the Singapore Chapter hosted a congratulatory dinner to welcome back Glenn van Zutphen for receiving the first EWCA 21^st century Outstanding Service award at the Manila conference.

Dr. Michael Anderson, an alumnus from EWC, was in town and joined in the celebration dinner. Vijay Munusamy gave a preview and summary of the Manila conference which was very successful and well attended. Siva, our current APLP grantee, was also at the dinner. He shared with the chapter the experiences he had gained from the APLP program.

Two other small fellowship gatherings were also held on 30 January to welcome back Pushpa, who gave a paper at the Manila conference and on 18 February, we wished Siva well as he embarked on his doctoral program in Wellington University, New Zealand.

South Korea

Discussions about hosting the 2018 EWC/EWCA international conference, first raised at the year-end party of 2014, have been gaining momentum with the inauguration of the new chapter leader, Prof. Won Nyon Kim.

Professor Kim has organized a special committee to host the conference. As will be mentioned in the conference proposal, there are approximately 800 EWC/EWCA alumni in Korea. Information about the alumni has been updated thoroughly. Most of them are now in contact and are very much willing to cooperate whatever help is needed in hosting the conference.

Mr. Thomas Park, the chairman of the board of directors of Duksung Educational Institute, UH alumnus, has gratefully agreed to sponsor and co-host the conference. At New Year’s greeting party held on the 18th of March Thomas Park has confirmed his willingness to sponsor a significant amount of the cost necessary for the conference in 2018 and to provide manpower to take care of the management required for successful conference in Seoul. His commitment and the many suggestions and advice from the alumni at the party have cheered up the new committee for the 2018 conference a lot.

Southern California

Claire Langham reports that our EWCA Southern California Chapter had a successful December gathering at the home of Sushma and Vijay Trehan in Mission Viejo with about 20 attending this Indian dishes prepared by our hostess plus potluck food brought by everyone.

At the EWC – EWCA international conference in Manila in January 2016, we initiated a partnership with the Bali chapter & by the end of February, Claire met with the Bali chapter. We discussed a proposal for a project related to a school teaching English to children in Bali. This proposal will be presented to everyone at our next chapter gathering for approval.

Our next EWCA So CA chapter gathering will be Sat. 9 July 2016 at the home of Inge Kendall Maranto. An announcement has been emailed to all those who have attended chapter gatherings in the past. In mid-May, Noreen will be sending emails to announce this event to all on her email list that is in our So CA area. We have already received enough RSVP “Yes” to anticipate a good event.

Tokyo

The EWCA-Tokyo Chapter organized its Annual General Meeting for 2016 (AGM 2016) on 5 March 2016, with 26 participants. Dr. Shigeo Tonoike, the former Chapter Leader, opened AGM 2016 and proceeded with discussions together with the newly elected Leader, Dr. Kazu Takemoto. Dr. Takemoto took over from Dr. Yutaka Harada, who was appointed as a Policy Board Member of the Bank of Japan last April. AGM 2016 welcomed the report on its activities, including participation in the EWCA annual meeting in Manila, and approved its financial report. The Chapter Leader introduced the direction of the Chapter’s future activities and its Executive Committee members as well as its Auditor, who were all welcomed by the AGM.

AGM 2016 invited Prof. Motohiro Tsuchiya (Keio University) as a guest lecturer. He worked at EWC for a year as a Visiting Scholar and returned home last summer.  He delivered a lecture on “Cyber Security and International Politics,” which was of great interest to the participants and was well received, with his attractive presentation and active interaction with the participants. AGM 2016 was followed by a reception, in which all of the participants enjoyed conversations and singing Hawaiian songs. AGM 2016 was successfully concluded, with everyone looking forward to meeting again in a year’s time.