ACYD Enjoys Australia-China Council Grant Success

Australia-China Youth Association (ACYA) Group initiatives – the Australia-China Youth Association (ACYA), Australia-China Youth Dialogue (ACYD) and Engaging China Project (ECP) – have been successful in securing grant funding from the Australia-China Council (ACC) to continue their dynamic work fostering meaningful engagement between young people from Australia and China.

ACYA Group would like to thank the ACC Board and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for recognising our contribution to the Australia-China youth space. ACC’s support will allow ACYA to grow its presence across Australian and Chinese universities, encourage ECP to send more young China Ambassadors into Australian high schools and contribute to the 2013 ACYD, which will bring together 30 outstanding delegates from Australia and China to discuss issues of key importance to the bilateral relationship from 24-29 September in Canberra and Melbourne.

For a full list of successful 2013-14 ACC grant recipients, please visit www.dfat.gov.au/acc/grants/successful-recipients.html.

About ACYA Group

ACYA Group’s mission is to inspire Australians and Chinese to work together in realising their vision of a more prosperous, sustainable and interconnected world in the Asian Century. By providing meaningful and frequent engagement between young Australians and Chinese, empowering motivated young people to successfully implement new initiatives, and engaging established leaders in a range of fields from both countries, ACYA Group promotes greater cooperation and engagement between Australia and China and empowers young people who share our vision.

ACYA Group consists of four initiatives: the Australia-China Youth Association (ACYA);Australia-China Youth Dialogue (ACYD); Australia-China Young Professionals Initiative (ACYPI); and Engaging China Project (ECP). For more information, please visit http://acyd.org.au/acya-group-about/.

About the Australia-China Council

The Australia-China Council (ACC) was established by the Australian Government in 1978 to promote mutual understanding and foster people-to-people relations between Australia and China. The function of the Council is to make recommendations to the Australian Government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs on strengthening the Australia-China relationship in ways that support Australia's foreign and trade policy interests.

For more information, please visit www.dfat.gov.au/acc.

Department of State Development, Business and Innovation offering Hamer Scholarships for language study in China

The Department of State Development, Business and Innovation are offering Hamer Scholarships for intensive language study in China valued at $10,000.

• The scholarships are offered for a minimum of one semester (5-6 months) at selected universities or institutions in China.
• Hamer Scholarship application Rounds:
  • Round 1 - March - April
  • Round 2 - August - September
  • Check website for exact application opening / closing dates.
• The program is open to Victorians who are aged 21 or above who are Australian citizens or permanent residents (Victorians living and working in China may also be considered).
• The scholarships are primarily aimed at Victorians working in the public, private, not-for-profit and creative industries with linkages to China.
• Applicants should demonstrate how the scholarship would significantly benefit their career path, study plan, or their employer’s future engagement with China.
• Scholarship recipients will become business, cultural and educational representatives for Victoria.

For application dates, further information about the scholarships and how to apply, visit: dsdbi.vic.gov.au/hamerscholarships

ACYD Welcomes Asialink as a Major Partner for 2013

Asialink’s mission is to build an Asia capable, deeply Asia-engaged Australia, through innovative programs that build knowledge, skills and partnerships. It delivers high-level forums, international collaborations, and education and cultural programs in Australia and Asia. Its far-reaching work engages the business, philanthropic, media, arts, education, health and community sectors. Asialink is proud to be a major partner of the ACYD.

For more information about Asialink, please see: http://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/

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.

Amy King will be a facilitator for the crisis simulation session at the 2013 Australia-China Youth Dialogue

Congratulations to this year's University of Sydney China Studies Centre Fellow! LIU Yun 刘韵

The ACYD congratulates this year’s University of Sydney China Studies Centre Fellow:

LIU Yun / 刘韵

Yun Liu is an incoming student of Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), which is based in Washington, D.C. Yun’s strong interest in international affairs and unique international experiences have been demonstrated through her diverse working experiences in both Australia and China. She previously interned at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, where she assisted in conducting research and preparing international workshops for the East Asian Program. She also worked in the Office of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sydney as a project assistant, and successfully coordinating and implementing over 15 high-level leadership training programs from Asia-Pacific. Yun has also interned at China Radio International, the most prominent international radio company in China. The internship provided her the opportunity to look at international affairs from a media angle.

Yun graduated from the University of Sydney in April 2013 with a First Class Honours in Bachelor of International and Global Studies, majoring in Government and International Relations, and Economics. 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. As a Chinese student in Australia, Yun has devoted herself to promoting cross-cultural exchange in her capacity as the International Student Intern at the University of Sydney Union. In 2012, she was awarded a University of Sydney Union Blue Award for her outstanding contribution to the student community. She is also a finalist of the University of Sydney Graduate Medal.

Yun hopes to work in an international organisation in the future, where she can continue promote mutual understanding and consensus building for China and the rest of the world.

‘Great Hall, University of Sydney’, image courtesy of nextapt via Flickr

Deputy Director of the ACYD Natalie Cope will speak at the Australian Education Foundation National Conference

Natalie Cope, Deputy Director of the Australia–China Youth Dialogue and Manager of Partnerships and Development at Asialink will speak on a panel next Wednesday as part of the Australian Education Foundation National Conference. Speaking alongside four fellow eminent young professionals, she will consider 'So what does it mean to be a global citizen in the Asian century?'. Members of the public are invited to submit questions via the link below, as well as listen to the session live on Wednesday the 14th at 2:30pm AEST. Please see http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au/conference_q_and_a_panel.html for more details.

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