Asia 21, the preeminent network of young leaders from across the Asia-Pacific, today announced its 2016 class. Comprised of 32 emerging leaders from 24 countries representing the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, this year’s class is a remarkable group focused on shaping a brighter future for the Asia-Pacific region. Among these selected emerging leaders TWO are alumni of ACYD.
ACYD Alumna Danma is getting her hands dirty creating a social enterprise, Maya Mountain
ACYD Alumni Crystal Tsoi shares her recent success through her appointment as the Australia-China Fashion Ambassador
ACYD Alumnus Alan Wu Named ANU 2016 Young Alumnus of the Year
ACYD Alumni Lisa Qin speaks at the Australian Embassy on the importance on networks
In June 24, the Australian embassy invited Lisa Qin, one of the 2013 ACYD delegates, and 2014 & 2015 ACYD organisers to speak as a representative of ACYD/ACYPI. Lisa talked about her Australia China story, as well as the importance of the networks and support she had received through ACYD. Here is her speech.
2013 ACYD delegate Tim Coghlan talks about his career in luxury retail
2013 ACYD Delegate LIU Yun 刘韵 has been awarded the 2013 University of Sydney John C Harsanyi Medal for International Student Achievement
Yun Liu, a Chinese delegate to the 2013 Australia-China Youth Dialogue and this year’s University of Sydney China Studies Centre Fellow, has recently been awarded the 2013 University of Sydney John C Harsanyi Medal for International Student Achievement. Established in 2012, the Harsanyi Medal is awarded to honour academic excellence and contribution to the diverse life of the University and the broader community by an international student.
As a recent graduate of the University of Sydney, Yun has left a lasting impression on the University community through her diverse contributions to student life. Keen to enrich the experience of her fellow international students, she took on the position of international student intern at the University of Sydney Union. The role saw her organise an array of events to inspire international students to become more involved in campus activities including Multicultural Night, a pilot program that has since developed into a full Festival. As the vice-president of Unimates, the largest intercultural society on campus, she actively sought out volunteering and mentoring opportunities for international students. Yun served as the Students Representative Council international student officer and was also an international student ambassador in the International Office. In 2012, she was awarded a University of Sydney Union Blue Award for her outstanding contribution to the student community.
Yun combined all this with very strong academic performance, graduating with First Class Honours in Bachelor of International and Global Studies in April 2013. During her Honours year, she completed a 19,000-word thesis on Taiwan’s changing economic policymaking towards China Mainland. Her outstanding academic record has brought her many awards, including the 2009 International Merit Scholarship and the 2010 Academic Merit Prize.
Yun’s strong interest in international affairs and unique international experiences have also been demonstrated through her diverse working experiences including Lowy Institute for International Policy as an intern, the Office of Vice-Chancellor International Leaders Program as a project assistant and a media intern at China Radio International.
2013 ACYD Delegate Timothy Coghlan (高靖峰) has won the Young Australia China Alumni of the Year Award
Mr. Timothy Coghlan- Senior Manager, Luxury Retail, Savills Property Services China
Winner of Young Australia China Alumni of the Year Award
Australian National University Alumnus Beijing Based
Based in Beijing, Timothy Coghlan leads the luxury retail team for Savills Property Services China and advises the world’s most iconic fashion and luxury brands on their China entry, expansion and retail strategies. His clients include, Louis Vuitton Group (LVMH Group), Gucci Group (Kering), Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Tiffany & Co., etc.
In 2011, Timothy created Maosuit.com and wrote over 100 articles and opinion pieces on the business of fashion in China for the site. Time permitting, he still writes for Maosuit.com and with his expertise he often speaks at luxury and fashion industry events including seminars hosted by Tsinghua University, Goldman Sachs and the Melbourne Fashion festival.
As an Australian Fashion Industry Ambassador to China, Timothy struts his own brand of ‘catwalk diplomacy’ and he set up the Australia-China Fashion Alliance (ACFA) project to provide strategic guidance to the development of Australian fashion and related services in China.
In 2012, ACFA received funding through DFAT’s Australia-China Council and in 2013, Timothy led the first-ever official Chinese fashion industry delegation to visit Australia. In October 2013, Timothy will bring the first official Australian Fashion Delegation to Beijing to attend China Fashion Week and formalise the Australia-China Fashion Alliance by signing an MOU committing the two countries to foster mutual cooperation, open commercial dialogues and facilitate regular fashion industry exchange for government, universities, wool producers, fashion brands and fashion designers etc.
Timothy graduated from the Australian National University with degrees in both Economics and East Asian Studies (Mandarin). Since graduation, he has spent his entire career in Asia with many years in both China and Japan.
In addition his ‘regular’ work activities Timothy serves as an Australian International Alumni Councilor for China, Committee Member of the Australia-China Young Professionals Initiative (Beijing Chapter) and is a delegate and the Creative Industries Session organiser for the 2013 Australia-China Youth Dialogue.
Retrieved from: http://www.austchinaalumni.org/awards/nominees2013.php#categ3
Hong Kong-born Wesa Chau is a Labor candidate in the Australian federal election
Growing up in Hong Kong, Wesa Chau Wai-sum never thought she would enter the world of politics. But a move to Australia when she was seven changed all that. Now 31, Chau is hoping to become Australia's first Asian-born member of the House of Representatives, running as a candidate for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's ruling Labor Party in the September 7 federal election.
ACYD Alumni…where are they now? Amy King
1. What have you been working on since participating in the Dialogue in 2010?
After participating in the Dialogue in Beijing and Shanghai in 2010, I went straight back to Beijing to complete another round of archival research in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. This archival research formed part of the research for my PhD on China's foreign economic policy towards Japan during the first two decades of the Cold War. Drawing on hundreds of recently declassified Chinese archival records, my PhD argued that despite China’s experience of Japanese imperialism, industrialisation and war during the first half of the twentieth century, China's Communist leaders viewed Japan as an important source of industrial goods, technology and expertise, and a symbol of a modern, industrialised nation-state. This meant that after 1949--and despite the fact that they were situated on opposite sides of the Cold War divide, China's leaders tried hard to rebuild an economic relationship with Japan. My research challenges a couple of common narratives that we often hear about the China-Japan relationship: either that China-Japan relations were nonexistent before diplomatic recognition in 1972, or that they have been purely conflict-ridden since the end of the Second World War. After completing my PhD at Oxford University in 2012, I moved back to Australia in 2013 to take up a Lectureship with the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. At the ANU I teach on international security in the Asia-Pacific, and on Chinese defence and security policy.
2. How has the Dialogue helped you get to where you are?
The Dialogue was a fantastic way to meet a whole range of Australians and Chinese working on cutting edge issues facing China today. During the 2010 Dialogue, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hear from people like Richard Rigby, Jeremy Goldkorn, Geremie Barme, Philippa Jones, and Jingdong Yuan, who are leading experts on China's foreign policy, media, history, environment and security. Speaking with these experts, and discussing with fellow delegates the issues raised at the Dialogue, has strongly shaped my thinking about China.
3. How do you influence the Australia China relationship on a day to day basis?
Although my own work does not focus specifically on the Australia-China relationship, there are a number of ways in which I think my research and teaching is having some small influence on this relationship. In my research, I try to enhance our understanding of China, and how China's history--particularly its history of conflict and economic interdependence with Japan--play a role in shaping it's foreign policy and security outlook today. I think we in Australia still have a fairly limited understanding of China's past and present foreign and security policy, partly as a result of the difficulty of studying China and getting access to its archives, official documents, and policy-making community. Though there are challenges to studying China, it is by no means impossible, and I hope that in the coming years I can contribute to the impressive community of China scholars at the ANU who are all trying to increase our understanding of China. Outside of my own research, every year I teach a hundred or so undergraduates and postgraduates at the ANU about China. Many of these students will go on to play a role in Australia's business, foreign policy, defence and aid relationship with China, and so I hope that through the debates and discussions we have about China in my lectures and seminars, I am contributing to Australia's future China-watching community.