EWCA Discussion Board

By Itsuko Suzuki (’62-’64)

It’s that time of the year - when new participants arrive at the East-West Center to begin their respective programs. The excitement is palpable at the Center as things gear up in anticipation of their arrival.

This year 160 students will be arriving this weekend and will take part in various orientation programs scheduled by the East-West Center Education Program. Here is a sample of the types of activities going on at the East-West Center in the upcoming weeks:

August 9 - 11: Welcome Reception by current students and Hawaii Chapter alumni volunteers will be ongoing as each student arrives during this time.

August 11, 4:00 pm: Hawaii Alumni and Friends of the East-West Center are putting on a Bazaar Sale of used kitchen items for arriving students to help them furnish their rooms for a nominal price (10 - 50 cents per item). The small profit that is made will be given to the EWCPA to be used for student activities.

August 12 - 22: The Education Department is putting on a two-week student orientation chaired by Laurel Dudley.

August 13: The Alumni Office is hosting a pizza lunch to welcome new students and give them an opportunity to meet with alumni.

August 23, 11 am - 2 pm: The EWCA Hawaii Chapter will be hosting their annual picnic at Kapiolani Park, giving the opportunity for alumni to mingle with new students. Approximately 250 people, including participant’s families, will be gathering for this event.

EWC alumni in Phnom Penh held a dinner meeting on July 28 with President Morrison who provided an update on EWC and EWCA activities and encouraged Cambodian alumni to attend the Bali Conference in mid November. Chhany Sak-Humphry and Nicole Knudsen (both standing far left) helped to organize the gathering.

About one hundred and sixty new East-West Center students will be arriving at the EWC in the first week of August. We would like to ask the Hawaii alumni to help these students by donating their used kitchen items.

Each year, the EWC Association Hawaii Chapter Board members assist the EWC Participant Association by collecting and selling the donated items for a nominal price (about $.50 a piece) to raise a little money for the Association and help new students save some money for necessary kitchen items.

PLEASE DROP OFF YOUR DONATED ITEMS AT:

ALUMNI OFFICE
EAST-WEST CENTER
1601 EAST-WEST ROAD
BURNS HALL, ROOM 1062

THE DROP OFF PERIOD IS FROM JULY 28 - AUGUST 1ST ONLY

The EWCA would like to welcome its two newest chapters and their chapter leaders:

Timor-Leste, Dili Chapter
Chapter leader Brigida da Silva

Indonesia, Aceh Chapter
Chapter leader Anton Widyanto

We look forward to hearing all about their future activities. If you reside in one of these areas and would like to be involved in chapter activities, please email the chapter leader of that area.

For a complete list of chapters, chapter leaders and their contact information, please click here.

Nick Barker, head of the East-West Center’s Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP), attended a dinner with EWCA Shanghai Chapter members on June 6, 2008. EWCA President Larry Foster and his wife, Brenda Foster, the Director of American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, were the gracious hosts of the dinner.

By Nirendra Maske (ISI ‘66-’68)
Kathmandu Chapter Liaison

Kathmandu Chapter members at East-West Center Day celebrations.

East-West Center Day was celebrated by the EWCA Kathmandu Chapter on 17 May, 2008, and the occasion marked the formal launching of the sister relationship between the EWCA Brisbane Chapter, Australia, and the EWCA Kathmandu, Nepal Chapter. The Brisbane Chapter celebrated the EWC Day on 18 May, 2008.

The occasion was used by the chapter to visit the “Balbhojan” with food for children, an education program, and to distribute educational kits to about 60 underprivileged and street children. We also visited and helped serve them lunch provided by “Balbhojan.” It was a memorable visit.

By P.M. Belliappa (RS ‘78)
Chennai Chapter President

Mr. P.M. Belliappa addresses the Chennai Chapter at East-West Center Day celebrations. To the right are Dr. Gopalji Malviya and Mr. Frederick J. Kaplan.

The East-West Center Alumni Association, Chennai Chapter celebrated its Annual Day on May 28, 2008 at the Strokeside Hall of the Madras Boat Club (founded in 1886).

The Chief guest, Mr. Frederick J. Kaplan, Consul, Public Affairs, American Consulate General in Chennai, delivered a talk on “Indo-US Relations: Past, Present and Future.” Professor Dr. Gopalji Malviya, Head of the Department Defence and Strategic Studies University, presided. Interestingly, Mr. Fred Kaplan was the Chief Guest last year at the same venue. It was sort of a review of Indo-US relations during the twelve-month period that had elapsed. Continue Reading »

By Peter Nunan (ISI ‘66-’68)

Brisbane Chapter members celebrating East-West Center Day at the Nepalese Pavilion in South Bank, Brisbane, Australia

On Sunday 18 May, the Brisbane chapter celebrated EWC Day with a picnic next to the Nepalese pavilion in South Bank, which was built for the EXPO 88. The place was chosen because we were inaugurating our sister chapter relationship with the Kathmandu Chapter in Nepal. We chose that chapter for this initiative because we have a local member who was born there, Bhishna Bajracharya.

At the picnic and chapter meeting were Bhishna Bajracharya and his wife Edilyn; Karen and Peter Nunan; Iraphne and Ralph Childs; and Pat Byrne, Aline and Jeremy Webb, chapter President.

We plan to exchange brief biographical details with the Nepalese (Kathmandu) chapter, to help us decide what we will do next in this relationship. A meeting in a Nepalese restaurant is planned for late June to discuss our options.

The Southern California Chapter decided to hold an event on May 3rd in honor of 2008 being the International Year of the Reef. IYOR involves over 60 countries and hundreds of non-profit, academic and other organizations working to alert the world to the importance of reefs and the threats facing them. We met early in the afternoon in a conference room at the Administrative offices of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Sixteen Alumni attended altogether including two folds from the Arizona Chapter who drove all the way to California to join us. Continue Reading »

By Beryl Yang

EWCA Hawaii Chapter 2008 Travel Grant Recipients (from left to right): Carl Polley, Thuy La, Maria Chelo Manlagnit, and Turro Wongkaren. Not shown: Stuart Candy

On Saturday, May 10, the EWCA Hawaii Chapter sponsored a celebration of East-West Center Day at Hale Halawai. Following opening remarks by special guest speaker Raymond Burghardt, the Hawaii Chapter announced five student recipients of the EWCA 2008 Summer Travel Grant: Thuy La (Vietnam), Maria Chelo Manlagnit (Philippines), Carl Polley (USA), Turro Wongkaren (Indonesia) and Stuart Candy (Australia). Continue Reading »