March at the Foundation revolved around our Honorary Advisers meeting – a biennial event that brings together the group of highly respected individuals from Asia and New Zealand that the Foundation turns to for expert knowledge and guidance.
However, it was far from the only activity going on this month, which has also seen the Lantern Festivals in Auckland and Christchurch, the Foundation-led Mekong Track II dialogue in Thailand, and a group of emerging fashion entrepreneurs depart for a week-long trip to Thailand through our ASEAN Young Business Leaders initiative.
Honorary Advisers meeting
Despite the threat of Cyclone Hola hanging over the Honorary Advisers meeting and forcing us to make a late change of location to avoid a choppy trip to Waiheke Island, the meeting was a great success that saw two days of robust discussions.
Honorary Advisers and Board members gather for a group photo at Government House
Most of those who attended were old hands with good knowledge of the Foundation’s work, but we also welcomed five new Asia Honorary Advisers who were attending their first meeting: Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz (Malaysia), Ms Heekyung Jo Min (South Korea), Mr Guillermo M Luz (The Philippines), Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak (Thailand) and Ms Pham Thi My Le (Vietnam).
It was great to have these new faces providing fresh eyes and fresh perspective on the work we do.
The role of our Asia-based Honorary Advisers, of which there are 16, is to provide the Foundation with insights into developments in Asia and to advocate in their countries for New Zealand and the Foundation.
It was hugely beneficial to have such an esteemed group of people in the one room all considering how they can work to support the Foundation. Ideas were shared and debated and I think all parties came away from the meeting with a greater sense of what’s required of them and how together we can achieve our goal of helping New Zealanders to thrive in Asia.
The Honorary Advisers network is chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, who hosted the group for dinner at Government House. It was also an honour to have Governor General Patsy Reddy speak at the meeting. She clearly had a good understanding of the Foundation’s mandate and the importance of the work we do.
I’d like to extend my gratitude to all of those who took part in the meeting and thank you for your hard work and dedication to our cause – much of what we hope to achieve would not be possible without your support.
Lantern Festivals
March was also Lantern Festival month, with tens of thousands of people turning out in Auckland and Christchurch. This year’s Christchurch festival once more had the Avon River as a central locale. Hippos, tigers and dragons not only lined the banks but emerged from the river itself, providing a magical touch to what is already a pretty magical event. About 55,000 people attended in Christchurch and more than 200,000 attended over three days in Auckland.
The Foundation supported a number of international acts to come from China to appear at the Lantern Festivals, including high-energy folk band Lao Qiang, Xingguang acrobatic troupe from Shanghai and shadow puppet performers from Xi’ an.
The performers said a highlight of their time in New Zealand was visiting schools in Auckland and Christchurch where they performed for students and shared some of their culture, and the students responded in like with pōwhiri, waiata and haka. Our research has shown that the more exposure New Zealanders get to Asian cultures the more confident they feel about interacting with Asia and Asian peoples. We see these outreach programmes as an important first step in sparking children’s interest in Asia; an interest we hope to help them develop as they progress through their school years.
Thailand visit for fashion entrepreneurs
If you’ve been checking the Foundation’s Facebook and Twitter feeds over the last week, you may have seen photos and videos posted by a group of fashion entrepreneurs and business leaders we took to Thailand through our ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (ASEAN YBLI) entrepreneurship programme.
The group took part in a week-long programme that gave them a better understanding of the fashion sector in Thailand. They met with influential people in the Thai fashion scene, travelled to the silk-producing region of Isaan (where they tried their hand at spinning silk), showed their creations at a New Zealand Embassy fashion event and attended Bangkok International Fashion Week. The purpose of this trip was to expose these emerging fashion leaders to an Asian market to build their confidence and potentially help them spot a niche for their products.
Mekong Track II
Asia New Zealand Foundation Honorary Adviser Thitinan Pongsudhirak addressing the delegation
Finally, I’d like to touch upon the Mekong Track II, which the Foundation led in Thailand at the beginning of the month. The dialogue brought together academics and commentators to examine and discuss political, economic, social, and environmental issues in the Mekong region.
The value of our Honorary Advisers was demonstrated through the help Honorary Adviser Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak provided in organising the dialogue. As the Foundation’s senior adviser Dr James To wrote in his article about the dialogue, its success was in part testament to the energy Dr Thitinan put into bringing together his colleagues and associates from across the region, many of whom stated it was his involvement that persuaded them to take part.
And that's all from me this month.
Have a great Easter break.
Simon Draper