Australia-Japan Society of Victoria Bridge Club News

Asian Pacific Children's Convention (APCC)

Office Administrator — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:35:17 GMT

It was once again a great pleasure to be selected as a Mission Project country by the APCC. This year we had 14 children and 3 chaperones visit us in Melbourne for a cross cultural exchange program.

All the children were hosted by AJS members and friends and some past JAs were also hosts.

A great time was had by all and we hope we will be selected again in the near future.

Thankyou to all of the host families for opening up your homes to our Japanese guests and to the 3 Japanese Chaperones for escorting the children to and from Melbourne. We would also like to thank Murray Sayers the AJS President for taking the time to come out to the farewell party and meet our guests.

2011 JA Reunion

Office Administrator — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:15:40 GMT

It was great to catch up with the 2011 JAs today. We shared a late lunch and played in the back yard then looked at some of the JAs photos/videos on the huge TV. All of the JAs are writing to their families and have completed their diaries and photo albums. It was great to share the memories of a fantastic experience with each other.

Book of Condolences in Australia

Office Administrator — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:18:24 GMT

Today the 2011 Australian PA Emily Ballantine Brodie and BCA President Erin Maitland went to the Japanese Consulate, in Melbourne, Australia, to sign the book of Condolence. This book is being written in to express the feelings and pass on the messages of support to all the people affected by the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

2011 JA Reunion and BBQ

Office Administrator — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:16:32 GMT

It was great to see so many past JA's and even a few future JA's at a BBQ lunch at past 2010 JA, Tanishas house on Sunday the 18th of March.
The weather was fantastic and all the kids enjoyed a swim in the pool and playing in the families huge backyard.
Thankyou to all the Mums and Dads who brought lunch - what a yummy feast we all shared.
A fun day was had by all and talk has started to plan the next reunion already!

One Home One Tree - BCA Environmental Action Station

Office Administrator — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:26:47 GMT

“Bridge Club’s environmental actions towards safe and clean Earth

Setting up BC environmental action stations”

One Home, One Tree, is a project aimed to inspire, engage and enable young people to take individual action toward living sustainably. By planting a tree, somewhere in their urban environment, every young person engaged in the project can connect to their environment and in turn connect with the issues related to sustainability in cities.

Bridge Club partnered with Urban Reforestation, a local Melbourne not for profit organisation, to deliver the project. Urban Reforestation is a local and global sustainable design project. Their aim is to inspire and enable sustainable everyday lifestyles and they do this by:

Providing a public garden and sustainable living centre to the people of the Docklands
Offering engaging sustainable lifestyles action-education programs, workshops and events
Providing dynamic sustainability services.

Urban Reforestation is based in Victoria Harbour , Docklands , Victoria , Australia .

On the 20^th February 2011, BCA members meet and launched the One Home One Tree Project at a tree planting event at the Urban Reforestation Garden at the Docklands.

The Day was a great success and every child that attended helped plant a tree and also took home planted seeds to grow at home.

After we planted the tree we had a BBQ, we even cooked some veggies we picked from the garden and picked herbs to garnish our sausages.

The project was advertised on Urban Goes Green – a Dockland TV program and also in the Docklands Newspaper.

http://www.docklandsnews.com.au/docklands-tv/urban-goes-green/11-10-2010

Haiti T-shirts

Office Administrator — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:12:23 GMT

Hi Everyone,

Mariah, a 2009 JA has set up and appeal for the victims of Haiti. She has already raised and donated funds and now has designed Tshirts and is selling wristbands to raise further much needed money!

PLEASE HELP HER HELP OTHERS!!

Her email to me is below, so please have a read and scrape together any extra cash you can and send it to her (details below).

Thankyou! And Good Work Mariah!

We are the Bridge!

xxx
Erin Maitland
President BCA

---------------------------------------------------

Hey Erin,

After much toing and froing, the Haiti fundraising t-shirts are finally ready to be ordered. Attached are the three designs. They are available in XS, S, M, L and XL. We are also selling rubber wristbands for the appeal. The t-shirts are $15 each, and the wristbands are $3 each.

If you just want to make a donation, could you please just write a cheque addressed to World Vision Australia Haiti Earthquake Appeal or just World Vision Australia and send it to me at '755 Barrabool Rd Ceres 3221'.

I know it has been a long time (9 months) since the earthquake, but things have hardly improved over there.

Much of the aid promised was never given, and most of the volunteers have left. 98% of the rubble remains uncleared, and in this rubble lie thousands of bodies. 1.6 million people are homeless and only ten thousand of these have a tent. There are increased levels of robbery and violence and children are being stolen and sold into the international sex trade.

The money raised will help towards long-term solutions such as clearing the rubble, building houses and funding health centres and schools.

I was just wondering whether you would be able to pass this on to anyone whom you think would be interested in buying something. They really need to be in by the end of the week or middle of next week.

Thanks for all your tremendous help with everything,

Mariah

Hanami Picnic

Office Administrator — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:16:30 GMT

Following our yearly tradition, members and friends of the Australia-Japan Society and Bridge Club Australia gathered in the beautiful Rhododendron Garden in Olinda on Sunday the 19^th of September to enjoy traditional Japanese-style cherry blossom viewing (Hanami).

Unfortunately this year the Australian native Birds had eaten all of the blossoms off the trees, but as it is now spring in Australia, the Daffodils were all out in full bloom. There were also some beautiful Australian wild flowers in bloom too, so we all enjoyed looking at them instead.

Bridge Club Australia organised Japanese games for the children, including the Japanese summer game of suika-wari (a bit like a watermelon piñata). This involved blind-folded competitors being guided by their team-mates to crack open a watermelon.

Families and friends also watched an Ikebana flower arranging display and viewed a traditional Tea Ceremony, followed by a picnic lunch in the gardens.

A great time was had by all and we hope the birds stay away from the blossom next year!

Back together again - 2010 JA’s catch up after their trip to Japan

Office Administrator — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:19:40 GMT

The six eleven-year old JA’s who represented Australia at last year’s Asia-Pacific Children’s’ Convention, caught up for a one month on reunion, on the 29th of August 2010 at the Rostrevor Guide Hall in Victoria.

We had a great time sharing lunch together and talking about the fun times we had in Fukuoka. The highlight of the day was watching a video presentation that was prepared by Bridge Club Australia members.

2010 Asia Pacific Children’s Convention Invitation Project

Office Administrator — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:43:09 GMT

The 22nd APCC was held in Fukuoka in July 2010. The 2 Chaperones accompanied the six selected children: Ben, Issey, Josh, Tanisha, Gracie and Carrie.

This year the program ran a little differently, and after a night at the Marine House the JA’s went straight to their Host Families house. Half way through the program, all participants went to Nokonoshima Island for the Exchange Camp. Here the children had the opportunity to mix with nearly 350 children from all around the Asia Pacific region. This year, the children were involved in a number of activities including an umbrella art project, sumo dancing, fireworks finale, a balloon release and a performance event in Fukuoka Government Square.

Chrissie participated as a Peace Ambassadors and attended the Peace Ambassador Camp, in which Erin, a past Australian PA, helped run workshops and discussions relating to the future of Bridge Club and possible activities/opportunities that members can be involved in.

A fun time was had by all involved and we all plan to stay in contact with our new found friends from around the world.

Hanami Picnic Invitation

Office Administrator — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 19:38:47 GMT

Hello Everyone,

It would be great to see you all at the annual Australia Japan Society of Victoria Hanami Picnic to be held on Sunday, September 19 at 11am at the National Rhodadendron Gardens, The Georgian Road, Olinda (Melway Ref. 66 K4)

There is already a group of people who have RSVP'ed so come and join us!!

Hanami is the custom of viewing the beauty of flowers, but it mostly refers to the Sakura or Cherry blossom Japan’s official national flower.
Every Spring in modern Japan, crowds of people sit under the blooming　cherry blossoms, usually on plastic tarps, and have a picnic celebration.
Come and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms in the National Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda, along with the myriad of other plants.
Enjoy a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony a gold coin donation, as well as some stunning Ikebana demonstrations. Bridge Club Australia will also be running some Japanese games for you all to enjoy!

Bring your picnic basket and rug/seat, and we can join together and celebrate spring under the cherry-blossom trees. For some extra entertainment, bring along a kite and take advantage of the perfect kite-flying conditions in the cherry tree grove.

Cost: free entry this year

It's always a great day and a lot of fun - would be great to have you there!

Kindest regards,
Bridge Club Australia

And this is why I do what I do!

Office Administrator — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:15:58 GMT

Hi Everyone,
I just wanted to share with you all an email I received from Mariah, a 13 year old past Australian Junior Ambassador, that I took to Japan.
Mariah, by herself, has set up an appeal to raise money for the victims of Haiti. She has organised cake stalls at school, a BBQ at Bunnings, a T-shirt fund-raiser and so far has raised over $1000. I'm so proud of her!
This is why I put so many hours into this program!
To everyone that has supported me in everything I do, THANK YOU!!
xxx
Erin

---

Hi Erin!
Sorry for the delay, but there has been a lot of coordinating going on between our last email and now. School says they will be able to back the BBQ, so you guys no longer have to worry about that. :)
We have already raised $1000 at school, through a cake stall, which was a good start!
I am also setting up an account to put all of the money into, so that will be open for donations really soon. I will send you the t-shirt order form soon too (if that's okay?), so if anybody at the AJS or BC was interested
in getting a t-shirt, can you please forward it to them?
I'd also just like to thank you and Janet for the APCC, because it was truly an amazing opportunity and has inspired me to make a difference in the world. I also now have pen pals from Russia, Sri Lanka, Hawaii, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Nepal, Vietnam, Japan and China. It really did change my life. I am at the moment in the process of application for a year long exchange with the Rotary Club, which will take place in 2012. None of this would've happened without the trip to Japan.
Thank you so much for the experience, and keep up the good work! :)
Love,
Mariah

Pictures of the 1990 APCC

Office Administrator — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:46:40 GMT

BCA had a meeting on 16 May 2010 and 2 of the JA's from 1990 APCC were there, and we looked back at some old photos. We thought we might share these with you :)

2010 Mission Project; Visit from Japan

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:06:41 GMT

In late March, the Australia Japan Society of Victoria welcomed 18 participants to Melbourne as part of the Asian Pacific Children’s Convention Mission Project (a visit connected with the Invitation Project where Australian children visit Fukuoka each July).

The aim of the visit was to allow children from Fukuoka to be given an opportunity to go overseas and deepen their cultural understanding through participating in a program of home stay, school visits and cultural activities with local children. I know that the visit was a complete success with many opportunities to participate in family life and meet new friends.

The group was made up of 15 young people (aged 10 to 18) and 3 leaders. Whilst the leaders stayed in a city hotel, all the young people were hosted by AJS members, past participants of the APCC or school families connected with AJS members. Whilst the visit short (four nights in home stay), the participants managed to fit in many varied activities, including a school visit, visits to Healesville Sanctuary and the Victoria Markets, beach trips, shopping, bush picnics, sporting events and a visit to the Japan Consulate.

A farewell party was held on the last evening of the visit and the host families were entertained by the group who sang traditional Japanese songs and showed us a traditional dance witch some of our host families knew so they joined in.. At the end of the evening, the participants left with the host families and met at the airport the next day to say goodbye see you again one day.

2010 Reunion

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:57:11 GMT

In March 2010 the 2009 JA’s got together at Jemmas (a 2009 JA) house for a BBQ and Pool Party Reunion.

It was great to get together and talk about the fun times we had in Japan and to also talk about the friends we made while we were there.

A great time was had by everyone that attended.

Thanks to Jemmas family for hosting this event – Lets hope it is the first of many.

2009 Common Project – Visions Of Harmony

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:39:22 GMT

This year the BCIO's common activity was to run a photo competition and exhibition to share our culture and our APCC experience with people around the world.

The winning Australian photos were selected by Jonothan Masom form the AJS and have been sent to Hawaii where they will be board mounted and then travel the world on a travelling photo exhibition.

The Australian winners were;

a. Country’s culture
Title of the photo: Rye back beach VIC 2008
Name of the artist: Elly Westwood
Age: 11 (JA 2009)
Country: Australia
b. Nature
Title of the photo: Pelican
Name of the artist: Brayden Longley
Age: 12 (JA 2008)
Country: Australia
c. APCC experience
Title of the photo: We are the bridge
Name of the artist: Erin Maitland
Age: 30 (JA 1990, PA 2007, Special PA 2008)
Country: Australia

From the 18^th of Jan to 6^th Feb 2010, the Toorak Library hosted the Exhibition.

Special Thanks goes to, Lindsay Mackay, the 2009 Australia PA, who worked tirelessly to organise this exhibition.

2010 JA Selection Days

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:14:47 GMT

The Junior Ambassador (JA) selection process started late last year in the hope to find six eager eleven year olds to represent Australia at the 2010 APCC. After submitting applications through their school Japanese teachers, a fun day was organised to observe how the children interacted with similar aged peers. After close observation twenty children were selected and later invited to be interviewed. After the interview between the child and representatives from both the APCC liaison office in Australia (The Australia Japan Society of Victoria) and the Bridge Club, an announcement was made as to who was selected to attend the 2010 APCC.

The lucky 6 children have been selected and now the preparation begins.

Three meetings are planned to be held over the next six months. Firstly there will be an information session to allow both the JA’s and their parents to learn more about the APCC and the Bridge Club. The second meeting will be a sleepover meeting where the children will spend the night together and bond as a group, while learning more about their responsibilities as a JA and what to expect on their visit to Japan. During this meeting there will also be time to put together a performance to do at the Bridge Club Festival while in Japan. The third and final meeting will be held to collect any final information, practice the prepared performance and swap collected souvenirs so each child had a box full of things to give out to their new friends at the convention.

2009 Donation Project with Nepal

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:09:18 GMT

In 2009 Bridge Club Nepal established a new library for children at the Seti Devi School in Pharping, Nepal. Bridge Club Australia sent a package of books and materials to help establish this library. The books were all related to educating the children about Australia and opening their eyes to the world.

635 books in total were donated to the Library and continuous support is necessary to continue the growth of this library and support the children with their learning.

If anyone would like to send additional books, please contact Bridge Club Australia President, Erin Maitland, at erinka79@yahoo.com.au for further details.

A little bit of Japan in Olinda - Hanami and suika-wari

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 11:00:52 GMT

Following our yearly tradition, members and friends of the Australia-Japan Society and Bridge Club Australia gathered in the beautiful Rhododendron Garden in Olinda on Saturday 20 September to enjoy traditional Japanese-style cherry blossom viewing (Hanami).

Just like in Japan, we enjoyed a picnic while viewing the beauty of pink and white cherry blossom trees. We were also joined by the happy bright daffodils that had come into bloom throughout the gardens.

Bridge Club Australia organised Japanese games for the young and young-at-heart, including the Japanese summer game of suika-wari (a bit like a watermelon piñata). This involved blind-folded competitors being guided by their team-mates to crack open a watermelon.

As some visiting Japanese students pointed out, the Australian watermelons were much larger than Japanese watermelons. As a result, they took much longer to be defeated than the Japanese variety. Everyone took quite a few turns to attack the melons and when the winners were finally declared, the melons were in a less than appetising state.

Luckily we had some spare watermelons to enjoy after the game and to share with our Japanese friends.

Families and friends could also have their names written in Japanese calligraphy, have a go at Ikebana flower arranging and view a traditional Tea Ceremony. Some Bridge Club members tested out the kites they had created at the 2009 Reunion at the Osaka festival and there were also quite a few frisbees being thrown about.

20th Anniversary Music Video – Common activity

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 09:50:04 GMT

This year the APCC common activity was to take a video of your Bridge Club together and send it in to be included in the 20^th Anniversary music video. Bridge Club Australia took video footage at the 2008 Scienceworks Reunion and that footage featured in the movie. Have a look and see if you can see yourself in the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bxg7vpBc3k&feature=channel_page*

2009 Laptop Donation Program

Office Administrator — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:04:20 GMT

In 2007 the Australian PA saw a need for establishing BC's overseas to have access to a computer to help run their BC's more effectively.
This year we made 2 newly established BC's very happy!

At the 2009 APCC, BCA presented 2 refurbished laptops to the following BC's PA's

Mitateti Mote from Kiribati and

Julie Andrews from Vanuatu

There were many BC's that applied to receive a laptop but the decision was made to let these two BC's to be the first to receive them.

We hope to continue this program and support the establishment of new BC's in all of the participating APCC countries.
Below are some photos of the donation program as well as two pictures of the classrooms the laptops will be used in Kiribati, just look at all those children’s happy faces!!