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Cultural event opens doors to Asia
How can young Sunshine Coast people benefit, personally and professionally, from developing their knowledge of Asian countries, languages and cultures?
About 230 high school students will find out at the University of the Sunshine Coast tomorrow, Friday 22 July, when they attend workshops for the ‘Opening a Door into Asia’ event.
Part of USC’s annual Japanese/Indonesian Immersion Language Day, the special Asia Skills event will be held in partnership with the Asia Education Foundation from 9am to 1.30pm.
It will involve interactive talks by visiting Asia Literacy Ambassadors – people of different ages and fields who have become successfully involved in the Asian region in a variety of ways.
They include performer/actor Mark Hill of Bindi Irwin’s Crocmen, Milton Brown of SurfAid International, University of Queensland political science academic Kevin Smith, Griffith University student Kate Stevenson, Bette Boreham of Australian Volunteers International and Phil Kingston of Air Quality Sciences in Queensland’s Department of Environment and Resource Management.
USC organiser Gaby Ziegann said presenters would describe their career pathways, involvement in the Asia region and the importance of intercultural skills including language.
University of the Sunshine Coast lecturers and students of Asian studies also will share their experiences.
Ms Ziegann said the USC Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences joined with the Asia Education Foundation for this project to establish partnerships between businesses and schools to increase local community demand for knowledge and skills about the region.
“It will open students’ eyes to the opportunities available if they undertake Asian studies and languages,” she said.
– Julie Gatehouse