Our Voice - The Australia-China Youth Dialogue

25 September 2013 The premier bilateral conference for young Australian and Chinese leaders, the Australia-China Youth Dialogue, kicks of this week, and international student Lina Tao from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is one of 30 delegates selected to participate.

Tao will also attend as one of only two Foundation for Australian Studies in China Fellows. This year, the conference will focus on Australia’s political, economic, cultural and security relationship with China.

The four-day conference will feature keynote addresses from high-level ASEAN, Defence Department and DFAT representatives, as well as former Victorian Premier and Independent Director of Huawei Technologies, John Brumby. Delegates will also have the opportunity to visit the ABC offices and learn about its China engagement strategies.

This is of particular interest to Tao, whose Masters project is focusing on how the Chinese media represents migrant children in the country.

“It’s an examination of how both traditional and new media represent the millions of child migrants in China. They are often represented as a minority, and there has been a very specific ideology underpinning the discourse relating to them,” she says.

For Tao, the motivation to undertake this particular area of research comes from her personal experience of moving from rural China to Beijing so she could complete a Bachelor of Communication Studies at Peking University.

She is now looking forward to discussing with delegates how Australia engages with China on the key issues of governance, politics, economics and the changing media landscape.

“The two countries have different frames of reference and different ways of thinking,” says Tao.

“It’s more than just language and cultural barriers. We have to discuss what the ideology is behind each country’s approach to their bilateral relations.”

The Australia-China Youth Dialogue is taking place in Canberra and Melbourne, 25-29 September.

Media contact: Cassie Chorn, UNSW Media Office, 9385 8107

Retrieved from https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/students/our-voice-australia-china-youth-dialogue

2013 Australia-China Youth Dialogue: Press Release

Australian and Chinese young leaders are again set to engage in frank and forthright dialogue about shared regional challenges at a key forum in Australia in September.

The fourth annual Australia-China Youth Dialogue (ACYD) will bring together 30 exceptional young leaders from both countries over five days to explore issues and trends affecting the two nations’ relationship.

ACYD Founder Henry Makeham said the event would present several sessions each with a panel of experts considering critical issues facing the bilateral relationship, such as Australia and China’s roles in the international climate framework.

“Influential speakers such as The Hon. Kim Beazley, Australian Ambassador to the United States, Professor The Hon Gareth Evans AC QC, Secretary to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Dennis Richardson AO, and Secretary to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Varghese AO are just some of the names that will lead opening address, panel discussions and keynote speeches for delegates to engage in lively discussion on Australia’s economic, security, trade and cultural relationship with China”, Mr Makeham said.

“The 2013 ACYD is an outstanding opportunity for delegates, between the ages of 18-30, selected from hundreds of applicants, to develop more sophisticated understandings of each other’s nations. ACYD’s most valuable asset is its ability to generate real and meaningful dialogue and develop genuine friendships between the young people who will one day be responsible for the ongoing development of the bilateral relationship”.

Mr Makeham said this year’s Dialogue – guided by the theme Asia Dream – follows several highly successful past Dialogues held in both China and Australia.

“For this year’s Dialogue, as a unique activity in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) International, delegates will visit the ABC Centre and learn about developments in the digital and online space being used to drive engagement with Chinese audiences.”

Natalie Cope, Director of the ACYD said that delegates will receive a fast track introduction on how to create creative and engaging content that can be used to connect with audiences and tell stories in an inspiring fashion.

“Following this session delegates will have the opportunity to produce interesting, engaging and creative user generated content to express themselves”, she said.

The ABC International will shortly release a smartphone App which will provide a unique platform to share this content with audiences in Australia and China.

The 2013 ACYD is presented by the Australia-China Youth Association in partnership with the China University Media Union and the All-China Youth Federation’s ‘Dialogue with the World’ series.

It will be held in Canberra from 24-27 September, and in Melbourne from 27-29 September.

Major sponsors include The Australian National University, Victorian Government, The Australia-China Council (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and Asialink.

For more information on the ACYD 2013 visit www.acyd.org.au

Contact for media enquiries: Christine.Christmas@acyd.org.au

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