East-West Center Association
Chapter Development Committee, Quarterly Reports
2016 Third Quarter Chapter Reports
Compiled by Dr. Jessica A. Sheetz-Nguyen
Vice President for Chapter Development
Thank you to the 22 Chapters who submitted Quarterly Reports. Your submissions as well as your ongoing commitment to EWC and EWCA outreach are sincerely appreciated. The following Chapters and representatives responded to the call for reports: 1) APLP (Miloni Gandhi) 2) ASDP (Dona M. Cady) 3) Bali (Agung Muninjaya) 4) Bangladesh (Abu M. Ekramul Ahsan) 5. Brisbane (Iraphne Child) 6. Chandigarh (Rajesh Aggarwal) 7. Chennai (S. Rajamani) 8) Faisalabad (Muhammad Ibrahim) 9) Hawaii (Carl Hefner) 10) Islamabad (Arjumand Faisel) 11) Jakarta (Irid Agoes) 12) Kansai (Yumiko Okamoto) 13) Karachi (Ghazala Fasih) 14) Lao (Chanthavong Saignasith) 15) Mumbai (Sarosh Bana) 16) Nepal (Nirendra Dhoj Maske) 17) New York (William Armbruster) 18) Okinawa (Kiyoshi Nakachi) 19) Singapore (Alice Seng Seok Hoon) 20) Southern California (Claire Langham) 21) Seoul (Won Nyon Kim) 22) Tokyo (Kazuhiko Takemoto)
ASIA PACIFIC LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
On September 27, over 80 alumni and friends joined the APLP Global Pau Hana gatherings in Europe, Asia and Latin America with strong attendance in Silicon Valley (Bay area San Fransisco), New York City, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, London, Honolulu, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Chennai, and Tokyo.
ASIAN STUDIES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The ASDP Alumni Chapter is gearing up for the 23rd annual ASDP National Conference Asia Connections: Confluences and Contradictions on March 2-4, 2017 in Portland, Oregon hosted by the Association of Regional Centers of Asian Studies (ARCAS) and Regional Center Portland Community College. Keynote Dr. Edward Slingerland, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences Stanford University, will speak on Trying Not to Try: Cooperation, Trust and the Paradox of Spontaneity. Prior to the conference, there is an optional field trip to Portland’s famous Lan Su Chinese Garden.
Conference paper proposals are due November 1, 2016 and the CFP and registration information is available at http://www.eastwestcenter.org/education/asian-studies-development-program/national-conference/2017-asdp-national-conference
The Asian Studies Development Program hopes to see many participants at the conference.
BALI CHAPTER
The Bali Chapter completed and sent a joint sister chapter project proposal to EWCA member Claire Langham soon after she visited Bali last March. The sister chapter project was prepared by the Bali Chapter and reviewed by the Southern California Chapter (Claire Langham). Claire and her team reviewed the proposal and provided feedback and revisions. The Bali Chapter resubmitted the proposal. The project will promote English-language training programs for youth living in the Bali village of Denpasar City.
The Bali Chapter hopes that the joint project will help revitalize the chapter, as it has faced difficulties in moving forward because of declining membership.
BANGLADESH CHAPTER
The Bangladesh Chapter conducted meetings that included recently returned alumni from the East-West Center, upon completion of their programs.
During the reporting period, the Bangladesh Chapter continued with small scale community support projects by helping the poor and needy people of the society through financial support, to improve their respective livelihood status and sustainable income generating activities. This included:
- Financial support to the poor students in the rural communities, for their education.
- Improvement of health and hygiene conditions through disseminating lessons learned from Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) interventions
The Chapter has taken up some new and innovative activities in keeping with the spirit of the Center in general and of the Alumni goals and objectives in particular. The proposed activities, among others, include the following:
- Creation of a Chapter fund with member contributions.
- Chapter to sponsor poor underprivileged children to help them improve their nutritional status (through supply of nutritious food).
- Undertake awareness campaign by conducting workshops on critical social and economic issues.
- Organize periodic alumni get-togethers. The specific proposal is to organize an alumni get-together with the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, as the guest of honor, to speak on contemporary issues.
- Publication of monthly Chapter e-newsletter.
Contact the Bangladesh Chapter
BRISBANE CHAPTER
The Brisbane Chapter would like to offer:
A warm welcome to Dr. Richard R. Vuylsteke, the next president of the East-West Center. It is great to have an East-West Center alumnus with extensive experience throughout the Asia-Pacific region as President.
Condolences to their sister chapter in Nepal on the passing of their distinguished alumnus Dr. Prabha Basnet, the first woman in Nepal to be awarded a Ph.D.
Queensland:
Queensland will be holding their Chapter AGM meeting in late October.
Alumnus member Tim McInerny has finished his assignment in Nigeria as Humanitarian Affairs Officer for UN-OCHA, and has returned to Australia.
International:
EWCA Board: Karen Nunan has been participating in deliberations of the East-West Center Alumni Board.
Visits to Indonesia: in August, Bhishna Bajracharya visited Surabaya, Indonesia to present a paper at the “Workshop (July 21-23) on Urban Governance for Sustainable Development in Asia: Access to Services for Social Equity,” organized by the East-West Center. After the workshop, Bhishna also participated in the HABITAT III Preparatory meeting that was working on the new urban agenda for the next 20 years.
Jakarta Population Conference: Terry Hull, a demographer and an affiliate member of our Chapter in Canberra, attended a population conference in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Disaster risk management joint activity: The Chapter has had initial contacts with their Nepal sister Chapter and with the Philippines Chapter about a possible joint activity relating to knowledge exchange on disaster risk management.
Support for Nepalese students: The Brisbane Chapter continues to support their two Nepalese students through their tertiary studies. Lasha Manandhar is in her third year of nursing studies in Mangalore, India and Sunu Rai will be completing her fashion design and manufacture course in Nepal in June 2017. Friends from the Nepal Australia Friendship Association who are currently in Nepal are assisting us with purchasing a sewing machine for Sunu as a graduation present.
Chapter members are encouraged to make contributions to the Center individually with financial contributions
Chapter members are encouraged to contact the EWC Alumni Office to update contact information.
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.
CHANDIGARH CHAPTER
Dr. Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal attended the special session hosted for East West Center Alumni followed by a grand reception at India Habitat Centre (IHC), New Delhi on 11 September 2016. The special session was organized during the South Asia Media Conference held during September 8-11. Among other distinguished Alumni, it was a pleasure to meet EWC President Charles E. Morrison, Director of External Affairs, Karen Knudsen, Alumni Coordinator Noreen Tanouye, and Mary Hammond, Dean of Education Program.
We look forward to include new Alumni in our chapter when possible.
Contact the Chandigarh Chapter
CHENNAI CHAPTER
June through September, 2016 was a very active period for the Chennai Chapter, who organized many programs in co-operation with other organizations.
APLP Awardees held an interactive meeting with EWCA Chennai Chapter and Rotary Club of Ambattur on 9th August 2016 in Chennai.
Dr.Vasanthi Ranganathan, Open Grants Grantee, 87-91, Alumna EWCA Chennai Chapter and active Rotary member introduced the current APLP awardee Mr.Phanikumar, 2015 awardee Ms.Devi Jessie Mary, and Dr.S.Rajamani, Secretary EWCA Chennai Chapter, to the participants of the interactive meeting organized jointly by the Chennai Chapter and the Rotary Club of Ambattur.
Dr.Vasanthi Ranganathan explained the recent activities of EWCA Chennai Chapter including the hosting of four APLP awardees of 2015 who had visited Chennai. They organized social entrepreneurship programs for teachers, college students, and school students and watched cultural dances as performed by the Dandiya of the Ambattur Rotary Club. This year Mr.Phanikumar from Chennai, an excellent social activist who has made important contributions to social action, received the APLP award in Hawaii on 26th August 2016.
Ms.Gita Menon, President, Rotary Club of Ambattur, welcomed a gathering and felicitated Mr.Phanikumar, a Rotarian, along with Dr.S.Rajamani, Secretary, EWCA Chennai Chapter. She was very happy to mention that Mr.Phanikumar has been associated with the Rotary Club of Ambattur for the past ten years.
Dr.S.Rajamani gave a brief lecture on the background of EWCA, Hawaii, its Alumni Chapters all over the world, and the recent activities of EWCA Chennai Chapter in association with US Consulate General, Chennai and other organizations. Dr.S.Rajamani shared his thoughts on EWC and congratulated Mr.Phanikumar.
Ms.Devi Jessie Mary, last year’s APLP awardee, shared her experience as a participant and offered good wishes to Mr.Phanikumar for a successful program in Hawaii.
Group Photo: Members of EWCA Chennai Chapter and Rotary Club of Ambattur
2016 East-West Center Media Conference – South Asia in Delhi, 8-11 September 2016 – EWCA Chennai Chapter members P.M.Belliappa (President), S.Rajamani (Secretary), Vasanthi Ranganathan, and Syed Ali Mujtaba participated in the 2016 East-West Center Media Conference.
EWC Chennai Chapter Members during South Asia Conference in New Delhi
Dr.Vasanthi Ranganathan Consultant Learning and Development, Managing Trustee, T Ranganathan Educational Foundation (TREF), Chennai, India made a presentation on “Women Empowerment and Printed Media Influences.”
Dr. Syed Ali Mujtaba, Senior Journalist, Founder/Moderator: South Asia Contact Group, Chennai, India, served as a Moderator for the session titled “Media in the Age of Visual Communication.” The EWCA Chennai Chapter members had an interactive session with other EWCA participants during the conference.
FAISALABAD CHAPTER
Since returning from the 2016 Philippines Conference, members are insisting that the Chapter Leader plan a trip to the East-West Center in Hawaii. Chapter Leader Muhammad Ibrahim has been spending most of his spare time collecting information from members and on submitting visa applications. Now the job is complete, and the visa interview was set for 29 September 2016. If they receive visas, the chapter will visit Hawaii during January 2017.
Contact the Faisalabad Chapter
HAWAII CHAPTER
On Saturday, Aug 20, 2016, the Hawaii Chapter hosted over 150 incoming East-West Center students and alumni at their annual CBI picnic in Kapiolani Park. Alumni prepared BBQ picnic style food for the students, along with members of the CBI committee & EWCPA. The Chapter also provided a talk on the history of Kapiolani Park, Diamond Head and the island of Oahu for the students. Each year this proves to be an excellent way to network with students who will be future alumni of the East-West Center. The Hawaii Chapter of EWCA executive board, EWC Alumni, Research Associates, EWC Staff along with Hawaii Chapter President Carl Hefner, and EWC President Charles E. Morrison greeted the students and look forward each year to meeting and socializing with the students just before the start of their academic semester at UHM. Once again, a big success, this is one of the Hawaii Chapters Annual big events.
EWCA Hawaii Chapter board members held a sale of kitchen items for EWC incoming students during the month of August. This sale helps students adjust to dorm life, and gives them an opportunity to acquire kitchen items for preparing food in the dorms. The sale was coordinated by EWC Alumna Itsuko Suzuki.
The Hawaii Chapter is continuing the Professional Linkage Program (ProLink), providing EWC participants an opportunity to “shadow” relevant Center alumni to get the first-hand experience of the everyday work environment and work culture.
The Chapter also continues to hold regular monthly meetings in the President’s Conference Room in Burn’s Hall.
ISLAMABAD CHAPTER
Climate Change and Art – A Practitioners’ Retreat in Swat
Ministry of Climate Change, Gallery 6 Islamabad and East-West Center Association-Islamabad Chapter joined hands to offer a unique art retreat titled “Climate Change and Art – A Practitioners’ Retreat in Swat” in the last week of August. It included 12 participants with ages from 22 to 40 years: six painters, three photographers, one sculptor, one filmmaker and one writer. The budget for this activity, including exhibition, was Rs. one million (about $ 10,000).
The purpose of this retreat was to enable and facilitate the development of products (such as paintings, photographs, documentary, visual short stories) which would attract media and individuals for spreading/creating awareness about factors leading to climate change and its resultant negative impacts.
Selected participants had origins from various areas of Pakistan: three from Lahore (Abid Khan, Ahsan Jawaid, Ali Ijaz), two from Chakwal (Raja Najmul Hasan and Zainul Abedin) and one each from Rawalpindi (Saram Maqbool), Gilgit-Baltistan (Ayub Wali), Hangu (Shaheer), Shahdadpur (Irfan Gul Dahri), Quetta (S.M. Khayyam), Malakand (Junaid Baber) and Karachi (Ayesha Tahir). They were led by Dr. Arjumand Faisel, Chapter Leader in Islamabad, who actively provided technical guidance throughout the retreat. The participants were lodged at a hotel managed by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, and they practiced under ideal weather conditions with temperatures ranging from 28°C during the day to 13°C at night.
The artists and photographers captured beautiful landscapes depicting biodiversity, natural environmental serenity, vulnerability to disasters (such as riverside settlements being washed away by floods), degradation of land, birds that are moving away, deforestation, disasters caused by flash floods and many other subjects related to climate change. A few short visual stories on factors affecting climate change and effect/damages to the environment because of climate change were also produced by interviewing local people. Locals narrated stories of massive deforestation, changing patterns of snowfall, effects on growing of fruits (especially apples), increasing floods and their devastating effects on housing areas and agricultural lands, etc. A documentary on the entire retreat was also produced. Syed Abu Akif, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change, also visited the participants for two days over the weekend to see the progress of the work, while two Ministry staff members remained with the participants for managerial support.
These “products” will be exhibited at Gallery 6 in early October 2016. Participants have committed to actively use social media to spread messages about the Climate Change among their community, families, and individuals. They plan to engage media (press, radio and TV channels) during the exhibition days. East-West Center Association – Islamabad Chapter will play its due role to inform the international audience about this unique event to reflect Pakistan’s awareness and interest in the issues of Climate Change.
At the time of departure from the retreat, Irfan Gul Dahri, the senior most participant, summarized the gathering in this way:
“Thank you, organizers, for being such wonderful hosts. This trip was great in many ways: be it making new friends or getting insights of the ones that I already knew. I am taking back much positive energy and intend to play my role as far as I can (in raising awareness of issues related to climate change). Thank you all for this inspiration”. Ayub Wali, the sculptor in the group, wrote on his Facebook page “Thank you Gallery 6, East – West Center Association, and Ministry of Climate Change for the amazing experience to explore our own land and point out the root cause of climate change through our own experience!”
The Islamabad Chapter would like to express their appreciation to the American Embassy in advance of an international conference that will convene in Islamabad in November. On behalf of EWCA-IC, Arjumand requested them to show the film at the Conference, which is a 5-minute clip that will show the outcome of the art retreat.
Please watch this exciting clip! Climate Change in Islamabad
Raising of Funds for House of Light School
EWCA-IC has been focusing its activities for the students of House of Light School (HOLS) and the underprivileged community people of that area, living 25 km. away from Islamabad in rural areas. The Chapter raised about Rs. 250,000 (US $2,500) so far and is expected to raise Rs. 100,000 more by the end of this quarter.
JAKARTA CHAPTER
As an effort to energize those who are connected to EWCA, the Jakarta Chapter created a team committee consisting of members of KALEA (EWC alumni in Indonesia), The Asia Pacific Foundation, UH alumni and family, Hawaii Community and all past EWC Program and Conference participants to hold a celebration of the end of Ramadhan and to welcome Eid on Sunday, July 17th, 2016. The response was amazing. The celebration was held at The Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Almost one hundred invitees came bringing food and donation. There was music and a serious discussion on what this community can contribute to Indonesia as well as Hawaii. It started at 10:00 am and finished around 3:00 pm. Small interest groups emerged and up to now, there have been many interest group meetings. One example is the willingness of alumni to assist with Educational Fairs to help people understand more about EWC and UH. The discussion groups based on academic fields created WA groups for easy outreach. A book has been planned to be written by alumni.
KANSAI CHAPTER
EWCA-Japan (Kansai) Chapter (hereinafter called Kansai Chapter) was engaged in the following four activities after the 2016 general meeting was held at Doshisha University, Kyoto on June 4, 2016. In the first order of business, the Kansai Chapter elected Yumiko Okamoto to serve as President and Chapter Leader.
New board members for the period from June 2016 to May 2018 were decided as follows:
President: Yumiko Okamoto
Vice-President: Takashi Mita
Administrative Officers: Yumiko Okamoto, Nobukazu Tanii, Fred Anderson
Information Manager: Takashi Mita
Public Relations: Hideaki Sakata, Hiromi Monobe
Okayama Liaison Officer: Fumiteru Nitta
Board Members: Megumi Hara
New board members invited two former chapter leaders (Mr. Ashida and Professor Furuhashi) to serve as advisors to Kansai Chapter during the same period. Both of them readily agreed to it.
New board members have been preparing between August and September for the seminar to be held on October 8, 2016, in Okayama city. This seminar is the first Kansai Chapter seminar to be held outside of Osaka or Kyoto. Professor Nitta and Professor Monobe are mainly in charge. The following is a flyer of the event. It was advertised widely on Facebook.
The meetings of the board of directors will be held at least twice between June 2016 and May 2017. The 1st meeting will be held on October 8, 2016, in Okayama city. Board members will get together after the seminar and reflect on it. The second meeting will be held at Doshisha University on October 24, 2016. Board members will start to discuss and plan the general meeting of 2017.
KARACHI CHAPTER
The Karachi Chapter enthusiastically participated in the International Media Conference held at New Delhi. All members were duly informed of the event.
The Chapter met twice in the quarter. The first meeting was held for governing body members on August 27 in which the members discussed the possible visit for the Media Conference in Delhi. President Kamal Siddiqi informed about the members who were going to India to attend the conference. Secretary Ghazala Fasih informed of the visa problems that most of the applicants were facing. The members were told the efforts being made by the EWC colleagues, particularly Ms. Susan Kreifels, in helping with the visa process.
Logistics were discussed and members were informed that representatives from other chapters were also going to Delhi. These participants were in touch with their Karachi colleagues and with the Indian High Commission.
Karachi Attends Media Conference New Delhi 2016 – Five members from Karachi Chapter attended the conference. These were President Kamal Siddiqi, Secretary Ghazala Fasih, members Sabeha Essa, Yasir Qazi and Maleeha Siddiqui. This was the highest representation from any chapter in Karachi.
Kamal Siddiqi, Ghazala Fasih and Maleeha Siddiqui were part of panels and gave their presentations.
The highlight of the conference for the Pakistani delegation was the separate meeting with keynote speaker and Nobel laureate Kailash Sathyarty. Mr. Sathyarty spent a separate half hour with the Pakistani participants and exchanged ideas and information about child labour issues in Pakistan.
President Kamal Siddiqi also attended the alumni session held at the same venue on the third day of the conference.
At the conclusion of the conference, a South Asia journalist dialogue was held. Kamal Siddiqi and Maleeha Siddiqui were invited to attend the session in which proposals for cooperation between journalists in South Asia were discussed.
Kamal Siddiqi offered Karachi chapter’s cooperation for mutual study tours/visits. Sri Lankan journalists have shown interest in attending courses at Karachi’s Center for Excellence in Journalism in Karachi. The EWCAA Karachi Chapter has offered accommodation to these participants as part of its initiative to contribute to society. The meeting ended with vote of thanks for EWCA’s countless support.
The second meeting was held after the Media Conference in a general body meeting on September 24. Members reported the proceedings of the conference and the activities of the members there. Satisfaction was expressed over the arrangements made for members and by the EWC in Delhi. Mention again was made of Susan Kreifels for her help in facilitating members in their travel and arrangements. The president and secretary informed of the experience of the participants at the conference in Delhi. Satisfaction was expressed over the activities at the conference.
LAOS CHAPTER
With the success of planting Hawaii Rainbow-Shower Trees at Chao Anou Park in Vientiane Capital that was reported earlier, now the Lao Chapter is glad to inform all that Lao EWC Alumni is working on the project of Vientiane Beautification. The project will include planting more Hawaii Rainbow-Shower Trees along the bank of Mekong river in front the city of Vientiane Capital in cooperation with the Agricultural Department of the Hatdokkeo Research Division. The plantings will be layered with the existing Hawaii Rainbow- Shower trees at Chao Anou Park. By using the layering techniques, we expect to be able to get about 1,000 young Hawaii Rainbow-Shower trees.
The Chapter has set the budget for this project at about US$ 3,500.00 for layering, nursery, transplanting, monitoring and caring for the new plants. Lao EWC Alumni pledged to make a contribution to the project. The Chapter is confident that they will get the money as planned and the project will be started soon.
MUMBAI CHAPTER
The Mumbai Chapter meeting could not be held independently. Instead, the leader Sarosh Bana clubbed or joined it with the meeting of an affiliated group.
A former senior bureaucrat, Venkat Chary, gave a talk on the Iyengars of Tamil Nadu, as part of a series of talks on the different community groups making up India’s varied society.The function went off very well.
NEPAL CHAPTER
Fulbright Welcome Reception Invitation: EWCA President Nirendra Dhoj Maske attended a reception hosted by Mr. Tristram Perry, Chairperson of the U.S. Educational Foundation(USEF-Nepal) the Fulbright Commission, Nepal, welcoming the 2016-2017 U.S. Fulbright Student Researcher on Friday, August 5, 2016, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fulbright Commission Auditorium in Gyaneshwor.
The EWCA Nepal Chapter mourned the passing in June 2016 of Dr. Prabha Basnet and sent condolences on 7 August 2016. Dr. Basnet held prestigious positions in the Nepal Government and made a great contribution to education, most particularly to Nepalese women.
The Nepal Chapter accepted and appreciated with gratitude the condolence message sent from the EWCA Brisbane Chapter members through the EWCA Brisbane Chapter President Dr. Iraphne Childs, via email from Dr. Rajendra B. Shrestha.
The Nepal Chapter members enthusiastically welcomed Dr. Richard Vuylsteke to be the next President of the Center.
Nirendra Dhoj Maske attended the opening reception at the 2016 East-West Center International Media Conference hosted by Richard R. Verma, Ambassador of the United States of America, who also hosted a reception on Thursday, 8 September 2016 at the U.S. Embassy. Also, present at the reception was the U. S. Ambassador to Nepal, and Nirendra was happy to meet her and interact. There were about eight journalists and media persons from Nepal participating in the conference.
Nirendra Maske participated in the 2016 Media Conference, on the theme “South Asia –Looking East,” held at the India Habitat Center in New Delhi, India. The Conference was also in conjunction with the Alumni gathering followed by a reception on Sunday in Tamarind Hall at the Habitat World at India Habitat Center.
The Conference was a great success. There were 350 registered participants from at least 41 nations- the most diverse network. I found the Conference professionally and personally rewarding.
The Fulbright and the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS), Kathmandu, organized a Talk Program: “Tibetan Music in Nepal” presented by Mr. Mason Brown at the Fulbright Commission Auditorium, Gyaneshwor. On 19 September 2016, Nirendra Maske attended this Fulbright talk and interacted with those involved.
Nirendra wishes to thank his friend and colleague Mr. Kiran Raj Joshi Ji, the Chapter’s General Secretary, who has been instrumental in the preparation of this report. His cooperation and partnership have always made a difference!
NEW YORK CHAPTER
The New York has not had any events this summer, but are planning an event for Friday, Oct. 21. Ramy Inocencio, an APLP alum, has graciously agreed to host people at his apartment in Manhattan for drinks, starting at 6 pm. After that, they will have dinner at a local restaurant. Ramy, an anchor for Bloomberg Television, attended the EWC Media Conference in New Delhi last week and will report on that.
OKINAWA CHAPTER
Obuchi Program Orientations – The NPO Okinawa Language Center held the Obuchi Program Orientations in three Universities of Okinawa in June and July. More than seventy students participated in the Obuchi Program. orientations. This year two former EWC students were invited. They were Mr.Toshimitsu Matayoshi, a journalist from the Okinawa local newspaper and Mr. Kazufumi Taira, a current doctoral candidate in Education at the University of Hawaii were two participants. They talked about their experiences and introduced study opportunities for Okinawan students at the East-West Center. Ms. Rika Inamine, this year’s Obuchi Scholar as a guest speaker, joined the event and greeted the participants from the University of the Ryukyus.
Orientation with Dean Hammond from EWC – The orientation and informal talk session for the general audience were held in Naha on 3 September 2016. This was the biggest event for supporting the Obuchi program applicants this year. Dean Mary Hammond, the Department of Education of the EWC explained the roles and programs of EWC. Professor Keiko Yamazato, the former president of the EWCA Okinawa Chapter, Ms. Maiko Namihira, the 9th generation of APLP, and Ms. Wakaha Ishihara, the UH and the EWC graduate of 2014, added their comments by talking about their experiences in their programs; and they encouraged all participants to get involved. The NPO Okinawa Language Center in Naha, Okinawa sponsored the program.
Okinawa members (Takayama, Yamazato, Tatsumi, Shibuya and Nakachi) still continue to study the possibilities of opening an organization in Okinawa like the EWC in Hawaii. They will have an additional meeting on the APC at Tokyo in November with members from Tokyo.
Mr. Nakachi, president of the EWCA Okinawa Chapter, sent an inquiry to the EWCA Taiwan chapter to see whether members of the Taiwan chapter would be interested in offering joint programs between Taiwan and Okinawa. However, there have been not yet any responses from Taiwan Chapter.
Contact the Okinawa Chapter
SEOUL CHAPTER
The Seoul EWCA Chapter held two official meetings for the 2018 EWC/EWCA International Conference in Seoul since the previous quarterly report. One was a working-level meeting on the 28th of July. Even though it was scorching hot and high season for get-away, more than ten members spared no efforts to share ideas. All of them were enthusiastic about the 2018 conference and every one of them stated opinions, made comments, and offered suggestions to make the big event of 2018 a success!
The talks of the day converged on the necessity of organizing committee members, though tentatively, and deciding on which of the ideas are fit for discussion at the Skype meeting in August.
Moreover, there was Skype meeting on the 24th of August between EWC committee members and Korean members. Some participated from their work, and some, in the case of Dr. Lee, from Mongolia.
There were discussions on previously raised agenda—intercultural encounters, multiculturalism connecting the world, sustainable peace, learning from each other on the issue of economic and social development, and re-creating an intercultural Asia-Pacific Community—and reviews of those ideas. Moreover, there were also talks about estimated conference expenses and logistic problems such as providing tours and finding affordable hotels for the conference participants.
There was an after-Skype meeting on that day with those who surprised us with unannounced visitors. Dr. Jeong Taik Lee, current president of APEC Study Association of Korea, was one of them. His many experiences in organizing international conferences are expected to be of great value.
SINGAPORE CHAPTER
During this period the Singapore chapter managed to contact key person from the Malaysian chapter based in Kuala Lumpur, Dr. Gan Siowck Lee, to discuss some possible sister projects between Singapore and Malaysia. There will be a future visit to be arranged later between the chapter members either in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. There is one potential sister project of which the details are being worked out. The Singapore chapter has an ongoing cross-cultural service learning program with youths from the Metro YMCA. The youths need some leadership and cross-cultural training which the two senior chapter alumni can provide. During the next quarter, the two chapters hope to meet to spell out the aims and specific objectives of the joint project.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
On Saturday, July 9, 2016, the Southern California Chapter enjoyed a large gathering of 24 active and new EWCA Southern California Chapter participants at the lovely home of Dr. Inge Kendall Maranto. On the spacious patio in her beautiful garden, chapter members renewed friendships and shared interests.
Following a catered lunch we celebrated the life of Vijay Trehan, one of our active EWCA SoCal chapter members who had served as chapter treasurer for many years and who, along with his wife Sushma, hosted annual chapter holiday parties at their home in Mission Viejo.
A framed photo collage “In Memory of Vijay Trehan” in celebration of his life and his outstanding participation in our chapter was given to his widow Sushma Trehan. Members shared our memories of Vijay and read the more formal tribute message delivered at his memorial service in Santa Ana, CA on May 21, 2016.
Then we discussed a proposed EWCA SoCal and EWCA Bali “sister” chapters’ project, initiated by the EWCA chapter leaders meeting in January 2016 in Manila. This project was conceptualized when Chapter Leader Claire Langham met with fellow Chapter Leader Mr. Muninjaya in Bali and another EWC Bali alumni Mr. Nyoman Suwidjana on Feb. 29th.
The week before their July 9th EWCA SoCal gathering, Claire Langham received a written proposal from Nyoman Suwidjana and forwarded the email with attachments to active chapter participants. At the July 9th meeting, this proposal was summarized, for the chapter to provide some funding to an existing after school English language program in Bali. Our chapter members posed relevant inquiries and proposed revenue generation as well as volunteer involvement suggestions.
Contact the Southern California Chapter
TOKYO CHAPTER
In this quarter, five new members joined the Tokyo Chapter. In response, a a welcoming party was held for them on August 4th at the Bank of Japan’s recreational facility in Toriizaka, near Roppongi, thanks to the kind arrangement of our distinguished alumnus Yutaka Harada.
Luncheon meeting in Tokyo: Mr. Koichiro (Ko) Fujii (’16) and Ms. Noe (Noelle) Takahashi (’14)
Standing: Kazuko Tonoike (’78), Michiko Yamashita (’76), Yasutaka Yano (’63), Yutaka Harada (’78), Chie Hasimoto (’06), Hitomi Yokote (’09) Seated: Chimaki Sakai (’92), Taku Jindo (’12), Naomi Tonoka (’84), Misato Matsuda (’15), Shiego Tonoike (’73)
Three of the five new chapter members learned about the chapter at the reception for Jefferson Fellows held last May (this year) in Tokyo. This is good news in itself, but it also shows that there is some room for improvement in our efforts in recruiting new (as well as old) members.
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