Asia Education Foundation

Opening a door into Asia

Year 9 and year 10 students from across Victoria celebrated Asia Week at the University of Melbourne through an inspiring morning in which they explored Asian art, culture and language. It took place at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre on 7 September 2010.
crowd asia week 2Asia Literacy Ambassadors’ Project Manager Lucy Carroll introduced the motivations behind the event. ‘By linking you with Asialink staff, as well as students and academics at the University of Melbourne, we’re hoping to open your eyes to learning about Asian history, language and culture.’

The value of langauge learning

Michael Ewing, Deputy Director of the Asia Institute at the university, explained the rewards that flow from studying an Asian language from both a professional and personal point of view. ‘It gives you the skills and flexibility to work internationally, learning to deal with people of different cultures.’

Elly Patterson, an Asia Literacy Ambassador and Asialink’s Director of Communications agreed, and urged the young audience to maintain their passion for studying an Asian language. ‘It will bring you to sorts of places you can’t even imagine.’ 

Eliza Roberts of the Asialink Arts team then introduced the 80 enthusiastic students to the differences between Western, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Australian Aboriginal art.

Students drawingAll fired up from the inspiring presentations, the students worked in small groups to collaborate on their own art works, each in distinctive styles. They also had the opportunity to talk to Asia Institute staff and students about Asia study options.

Rounding off the morning’s activities, students reconvened to present their art works and share what they had learned from the seminar.

A new perspective

Catherine, a Lorne–Aireys Inlet P–12 College student, said that the morning reinforced her enthusiasm for Indonesian language and study. An aspiring journalist, she feels that learning Indonesian until year 12 will broaden her opportunities. ‘It’s a great opportunity and I am grabbing it with both hands.’

St Columba’s College teacher Nathan Lane said that the seminar afforded his students a newfound perspective. ‘Rather than me standing in front of my class talking about the importance of learning Japanese, it was great for them to hear the real-world, practical benefits from other people.’

Read more

View the main Asia Week page

Did you attend the event?

We invite your comments below.

Videos



Respond to this post

You need to Log in or register to post comments.

Thank you for your comment

Please note that we are not able to publish all the comments that we receive, and that we may edit some comments to ensure their suitability for publishing.

Although we try to publish comments just as they are received, we reserve the right to edit or delete any and all material.

A system error occurred whilst submitting your comment. Please  try again.

If the problem persists, please report this error.


Sign up now
 
Image: National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools

National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools

This 2005 statement defines a commitment to educating Australians for a world in which the Asian region plays a major role.View more

 
play video >>

Angus McNeill, University of Melbourne student

Angus explains his longstanding study of Chinese and the value of learning an Asian language.

National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia