MEDIA RELEASE: Delegates appointed to participate in the 2014 ACYD in Beijing, China

The Australia-China Youth Dialogue is delighted to announce today the appointment of  delegates to participate in the 2014 ACYD to be held in Beijing, China from 21-24 November. From the nearly 250 applications, 30 delegates have been selected to participate in the Dialogue.

Short listing delegates proved a difficult task for the selection committee as the overall candidate standard was high.

As a result, the 2014 ACYD delegates will showcase a rich variety of industries, backgrounds and expertise.  Founder and Chairman Henry Makeham said 'The calibre of the delegates participating in ACYD is extremely high. I am proud to say we have a very diverse group who are united in their passion for advancing the Australia-China relationship'.

The chosen delegates will participate in an intensive four day program with experts discussing issues pertinent to the Australia-China relationship including creative industries, trade and investment, entrepreneurship, food security and climate change. The program includes a special welcome reception hosted by the Australian Ambassador to China, HE Ms Frances Adamson and other meetings with senior experts from academia, government and business.

One of the 2014 ACYD delegates Jean Dong, a Beijing born, Melbourne based entrepreneur, said 'I am very excited to be part of this program. I am looking forward to hearing from prestigious speakers, exchanging ideas with an eclectic cohort of young Australians and Chinese and applying the insights gained at ACYD to my every-day dealings in my current role.'

'With this year’s ACYD to be held in Beijing, it also provides us a great opportunity to have first-hand experience of the rapid growth of China. I believe the four-day thought provoking journey will re-affirm our commitment to developing a more positive and engaging Australia-China bilateral relationship.'

This year's delegates will join another one hundred and twenty outstanding ACYD delegate alumni who have, or are moving into, positions of influence and leadership within the Australia-China relationship.

Congratulations to the appointed delegates. We wish them a productive and valuable Dialogue. Full biographies of the selected delegates can be viewed at www.acyd.org.au

Media enquiries: Olivia Bowden. Olivia.Bowden@acyd.org.au

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The benefits of identifying with multiple cultures

Henry Makeham, founder and director of the Australia China Youth Dialogue is a great example of someone who understands and exercises the benefits of having a multi-cultural background in a globalised world. Born in Canberra, Henry also grew up in Japan and New Zealand before moving to Adelaide for high school. He then worked and backpacked throughout the US, Western Europe, North Africa and East Asia for two years before returning to Canberra to attend ANU. Now living in Hong Kong and practicing as a Corporate Lawyer with an international US law firm, we caught up with Henry to learn more about ACYD and why he thinks cross cultural understanding and relationship building are so important to Australia’s development.

Interview by Anna Groot, Advance Asia Director

How did the Australia-China Youth Dialogue come about and what is the objective of the organisation?

There was an article in The Age in late 2009 authored by Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, highlighting the lack of institutionalised track one and two dialogue between Australia and China, our largest trading partner. He observed that Australia had a series of such institutions between New Zealand, the United States, and even Israel, yet there was a blank slate, and real need for, such architecture between Australia and China across the spectrum of the bilateral relationship.

I read the article with interest and decided to take action. I met with a motivated group of (then) undergraduates at the ANU over coffee one afternoon and decided to make a pitch to the Australia China Council at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. To our surprise, we were successful. With DFAT’s support and institutional backing, it made it a lot easier for the ACYD to fundraise the capital we needed to kick-start our first dialogue that was held in Beijing then Shanghai in 2010.

The objective of the organisation is to identify future leaders in Australia-China affairs, network them with each other, then via the global ACYD alumni community, build out an inter-disciplinary community of future business, political, academic and artistic leaders who will, at some stage (if not already), rise to positions of authority and thought leadership across the Australia-China dynamic. Developing a high-powered network of Australia-China savvy leaders can only be to the net benefit of Australia-China relations. Moreover, such a network will only serve to make Australia more competitive against other peer middle power countries seeking access and influence in China.

Aside from your involvement with ACYD, do you see any particular opportunities Australia should be picking up on in terms of deepening its engagement with Asia?

I think there is scope to provide a lot more pastoral care for full-fee paying Asian students studying in Australia, in addition to making it easier for them to gain working visas to intern or remain in Australia after they’ve completed their studies.  International students who have felt cared for, as opposed to exploited and commoditized, are more likely to, over time, act as roaming brand ambassadors for Australia which would create a range of win-win opportunities for Australian national interests.

What are the most important benefits of cross-cultural networks?

The opportunity to see other viewpoints without sensationalised media distortion which tends to grip issues that are multi-faceted and difficult to distil in a brief news grab, is an important benefit of cross-cultural networks. Moreover, cross-cultural networks allow first-mover informational advantages: often there is a lag when events or trends in places such as China are picked up by Western media. Having friends from China or of Chinese heritage that are active China watchers allows me to not only empathise with other perspectives, but also be ahead of the curve with respect to my understanding of events and trends in the region.

Why did you initially decide to move to Hong Kong?

To be close to China and be at the financial epicentre of Asia’s economic rise.  In addition, as Hong Kong is a mature, sophisticated economy, the scope for more rigid and comprehensive training in a developed market with established law firms and clients that have been here for decades was another reason I wanted to start my career in Hong Kong.

What did you most enjoy about living here?

The entrepreneurial spirit of living in Hong Kong and the convenience of travel to so many cultures and landscapes within a few hours flight. The diversity of cultures, both Asian and Western in addition to the beautiful nature reserves and beaches around HK for outdoor fitness are other terrific aspects of living in Hong Kong.

I also enjoy the opportunity to look at the world through new perspectives; gaining an appreciation of different norms, traditions, and ways of doing business is incredibly enriching. If you studied Chinese, like I did, the opportunity to use Chinese in a day-to-day work context, both within and outside the office, adds an extra dimension of challenge and reward to my work.

Which formal networks do you belong to?

I am a member of the AustCham Young Executives Committee in Hong Kong, the Asia Society, the Young China Watchers, the American Australian Association, the Royal Geographical Society in Hong Kong, the Harvard Club of Hong Kong and the ANU Alumni Association.

Do you have a life motto?

A passage from Confucius’ The Analects provides a good roadmap to life of continuous learning:

At 15, I set my heart on learning;

At 30, I took my stand;

At 40, I no longer had doubts;

At 50, I knew the will of the heavens;

At 60, my ear was attuned;

At 70, I follow all the desires of my heart without breaking any rule.

What drew you to Advance?

The fact that Advance is the only organisation seeking to connect Australia’s global diaspora with each other and our links with Australia is a worthwhile mission. No other organisation has this mandate and so, as a member of Australia’s global diaspora, it made sense to get involved with Advance.

What advice would you give other young Australians looking to move to Asia?

Resist the temptation to spend time just with other Australians when abroad.  Do your best to break out of a foreign ghetto existence.

To get the most out of living in Asia, you need a lot of energy and an open mind: there’s so much going on professionally and socially, you need to be active and alert to take advantage of, and participate fully in, the extraordinary array of business deals, networking events and activities taking place all over Hong Kong every day of the week.

You require patience and an open mind to empathise with other cultures and viewpoints, in both the social and business contexts, to earn trust and build respect.

You should also have an enduring curiosity in the region around you – in Asia, the learning curve never stops; you’ve got to be interested in the socio-political-cultural environments that you’re working and living in, to offer informed, sophisticated perspectives.

Retrieved from : http://advance.org/articles/the-benefits-of-identifying-with-multiple-cultures/

Fiona Lawrie, Executive Director of ACYD talks to SBS Australia ahead of applications closing for this years Dialogue

Please listen to the Executive Director of ACYD, Fiona Lawrie talks to SBS Australia radio for this years Dialogue. Click Here

2014年澳中青年对话（Australia-China Youth Dialogue）的报名申请将于本月底结束，而今年的青年对话将于11月底在北京举行。2010年，澳中青年对话在澳大利亚首任驻华大使菲茨杰拉德的呼吁下创立，并在澳大利亚和中国轮流举行，为两国青年加深跨文化的相互理解，与专家和政策制定者共同探讨相关议题提供了机会。在本届对话的报名结束之前，本台记者吴音采访了澳中青年对话主办机构的主任劳瑞女士，请她给我们介绍一下这个活动和如何报名等情况。

The audio is in Chinese and English.

Retrieved from www.sbs.com.au/chinese/audio/352236/-11

MEDIA RELEASE: Applications for the 2014 Australia-China Youth Dialogue (ACYD) are now open

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MEDIA RELEASE:

Applications for the 2014 Australia-China Youth Dialogue (ACYD) are now open

Australia-China Youth Dialogue (14.07.2014) – The 2014 ACYD seeks inspiring and emerging leaders from a range of industries to participate in this year's bilateral dialogue, held from 21-24 November in Beijing.

2014 ACYD aims to promote sophisticated cross-cultural understanding between emerging Australian and Chinese leaders by:

• Facilitating an understanding of Chinese and Australian culture and society;
• Encouraging promising talented to take an active interest in Australia-China relations;
• Assembling Australian and Chinese emerging leaders from various sectors to create long-term, mutually beneficial relationships

In May this year, the Hon. Warwick Smith AM, Chair Australia-China Council said in his keynote address to the Australia in China’s Century Conference that ACYD has become 'a premier event on the bilateral calendar'.

2014 ACYD will welcome a diverse range of experts who have a unique perspective on the Australia-China relationship, including the following confirmed speakers:

• Frances Adamson, Australian Ambassador to China
• David Walker, BHP Billiton Chair of Australian Studies at Peking University
• Changhua Wu, Greater China Director, The Climate Group
• Alexandra Phelan, Adjunct Professor in Public Health Law and Ethics, Georgetown University
• Jane Perlez, China Diplomatic Correspondent, The New York Times

Founder and Chairman Henry Makeham said "Held in either Australia or China over 4 days each year, the ACYD builds out a high impact concentration of future leaders across a range of industries and sectors (public and private) who are connected at an early stage in their careers, relatively free of institutional constraints so as to promote forthright, long-term exchange. The network produced from the ACYD and its positive implications for a well networked Australia-China relationship, will be unparalleled."

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Media Contact

Olivia Bowden

Communications Manager

olivia.bowden@acyd.org.au

Social Media

www.acyd.org.au

@ACYDialogue

Weibo：ACYD中澳青年对话

Linkedin: ACYD Alumni Group

Now in our fifth year, the Australia-China Youth Dialogue is lauded as a premier event in the bilateral calendar

In his keynote address to the Australia in China’s Century Conference the Hon Warwick Smith AM, Chair Australia-China Council said that Australia-China Youth Dialogue has become a premier event on the bilateral calendar. To read a transcript of the speech, click here.