The enduring relevance of research on Asia and the Pacific at ANU was highlighted at a major gathering of students and scholars earlier this month.
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Vanuatu Cultural Centre Director Ralph Regenvanu and Jocelyn Cuming from the National Library of New Zealand discuss heritage issues at Asia Pacific Week. Photo: Darren Boyd, Coombs Photography |
More than 300 people took part in Asia Pacific Week 2006, run by the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, making it the largest number of participants in three-year history of the event.
The week included 10 programs looking at issues from specific geographic areas around the region, including a roundtable discussion on Australia’s relationship with East Timor.
“The individual programs ranged across a wide range of issues, but there was an emphasis on relevance to modern day issues in the region,” the Chairman of Asia Pacific Week 2006, Professor Darrell Tryon, said.
“For example, in the Korea program, they talked about North Korea and the nuclear problem. In the Timor session, they spoke about the treaty and its ramifications. These kinds of discussions are current and relevant to what is going now, which is part of the University’s national mission.”
Members of the public were invited to attend many Asia Pacific Week events, including film nights and lectures.
“We were really thrilled that we had a public lecture nearly every day, and that these lectures were very well attended – not just by participants in the week, but people drawn from around Canberra, and even Sydney and Melbourne,” Professor Tryon said.
Professor Tryon said this outreach role extended from the general community to the university sector, and stressed that it was important for ANU to share its excellent resources on Asia and the Pacific.
“Apart from our own excellence and scholarship, I think we’re a national resource. A good proportion of the people who came were from Australian universities, which reinforces that role. It is absolutely important that we do as much as we can to promote and create goodwill among other Australian and international tertiary institutions.”
Professor Tryon praised the efforts of program conveners, and made special mention of Asia Pacific Week manager Dr Diana Glazebrook who ensured that the event ran smoothly.
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