The Greater China Future Leaders Dialogue is part of the OzAsia Festival in South Australia
Tourism
A gathering of young Australian leaders interested in Chinese-Australian relations will meet next week as part of the OzAsia Festival in South Australia.
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澳亚艺术节精彩内容之一：“大中华未来领袖论坛”
Initiated and hosted by the Australia-China Young Professionals Initiative (ACYPI), the Greater China Future Leaders Dialogue will take place on Tuesday 29 September at the Adelaide Festival Centre.
The dialogue will bring together 60 young professionals and experts to discuss the issues important to them in the relationship between China and South Australia.
The dialogue is a great opportunity to discuss cultural differences and build mutual understanding
The ties between South Australia and it’s sister province in China, Shandong, have been a highlight of two trade delegations in the past year, one of South Australians to Shandong and a recent trip of Chinese officials and businesspeople to Adelaide.
The forum will feature five industry-led roundtables, exploring business and entrepreneurship, culture, technology, education, tourism and careers with the aim to present these findings to the South Australian government and business community.
Senior Consultant in Risk Assurance at PwC Ben Watkins will attend the roundtable on culture, sports and cooperation.
“I spent three years on exchange at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. I hope to use my knowledge of Asian culture and industry to provide an informed perspective to South Australian leaders on how to engage Asia in these areas,” Watkins said.
“The dialogue is a great opportunity to discuss cultural differences and build mutual understanding,” Watkins said. “A Chinese student studying in Adelaide may have never seen an AFL match, for example, and may choose to not accept an invite to attend a game as they don’t want to lose face by having to ask how the game is played.”
The owner of Hahndorf Inn in the Adelaide Hills, Andrew Holmes, is sponsoring the roundtable on tourism and migrants, and will speak on how he turned a German pub in an Australian town into a must-see attraction for Chinese tourists.
The education roundtable will be sponsored by Study Adelaide and presented by its Chief Executive Karyn Kent.
South Australian Minister for the Public Sector Dr Susan Close will open the evening session, where forum findings will be shared by selected delegates to government representatives and business leaders.
The founder and City Co-Director of ACYPI, Aaron Duff, said the Future Leaders Dialogue would give a voice to youth who generally do not have a say in developing Australia’s relationship with China.
“We were pleased with the number of applications we received and registration for the roundtables are now closed,” Duff said.
However, business delegates are still welcome to register for the evening, which begins at 6pm at the Banquet Room, Adelaide Festival Centre, followed by OzAsia Festival’s Night Noodle Markets.
Duff was inspired to start the ACYPI Adelaide chapter in 2014 after returning from living in China.
“ACYPI is the premier platform for young professionals to engage with the Australia-China relationship. It provides opportunities for young professionals to connect with significant commercial, political and academic leaders, making SA a more vibrant and attractive place,” he said.
