Quotable+quotes

=Quotable Quotes=

"Right around the world countries are competing for China's attention. They want to come to China and be heard. They want their issues to be right there at the forefront of thinking in China. That's understandable as this great power continues to rise. What we have secured ... is a structure that says we'll be there at the table." **// Prime Minister Julia Gillard, April 2013 //**

“Teaching about Asia through literacy (or English) classes is so easy. Use a text with some Asian content, discuss this and compare with Australia. The use it to teach some language skills – like verbs, or forms of writing, or similes. It’s a no-brainer really!” Teacher at recent curriculum PD day.

" To understand China (and Asia more broadly), a country must mobilise more than just guns and money. It must change its culture. Australia has grasped this better than the rest of the world." **// Irvin Studin is editor-in-chief of Global Brief magazine // // and a professor at the // University of Toronto //. //**

“We will need an education system - right from the very earliest years of schooling - that acknowledges and recognises Asian culture and history, equipping the next generations with the ability to operate more effectively in an Asia-centred world.’’ **Dr Ken Henry,** **Head of the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper task force**

“If you have kids at school and they are not learning anything about Asian culture or history, you should challenge the school or change it.” **Amanda Vanstone**

“The growth in the economies of nations like China, India and Indonesia will provide fantastic opportunities for Australian businesses, and help create thousands of high-tech, high-skill and high wage jobs for Australians. To benefit from these opportunities, Australians must have a better understanding of the languages, cultures and history of our Asian neighbours. This work needs to start in our schools."
 * Peter Garratt **

In the Asian century, business as usual not enough… The growth and change in Asia is something really new—to adapt an expression from another century, this is a change of “world-historical” significance.
 * The Hon Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister of Australia, September 2011 **

It should go without saying that geography won’t keep Australia prosperous even in the coming Asian century. Australia’s moment could easily be missed through complacency.
 * The Hon Tony Abbot, Opposition Leader, July 2012, Beijing **

'I'm a bit of a cynic, but this (L21CSV) is one of the best programs the Department has run.We've been trying for years to strengthen languages, but this has made all the difference.Studies of Asia across the curriculum has given Languages support and profile''I was a bit nervous joining the network (as a non-DEECD school) but the whole program has been very inclusive and supportive. It doesn't matter how advanced or not you are - the support is great.''Well it has taken a while but it looks like we may be able to offer an Asian language next year.For the past two and a half years we have been offering Studies of Asia as a comparative study to our existing curriculum. It has been very well received by children, parents and staff.' Leading 21st Century Schools Victoria; engage with Asia principals - July 2012.


 * //"There's a consistent view that Australia needs a well-funded, bipartisan strategy to develop 'Asia-relevant capabilities'. This would focus on strengthening the cultural awareness and Asian language skills of Australians in schools and the workplace. It would also seek to build stronger people-to-people links between Australia and the region. What has really struck me is how much enjoyment people derive out of those relationships. It's clear that for many people, it's really a mind-expanding experience to have a strong personal relationship with somebody of a different culture,whose first language is a different language, but is living in part of the world that we also live in."//**

Ken Henry - Chair of Prime Minister and Cabinet's taskforce on Asia

Philipp Ivanov, Manager, Australia-China Council Secretariat at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in ‘the interpreter blog’ 2 November 2011
 * //‘Another element of any future Asian languages strategy should be a focus on Asia literacy rather than just proficiency in Asian languages. Literacy suggests a broader approach to a study of a country including its history, environment, economy and political system. Focusing our future strategy on literacy and broader area studies rather than the proficiency in a language (which seems to our students as restrictive and unworthy of time and investment) may broaden the appeal of studying Asia and stimulate the demand.’ //**

//**'I call it the English speaking conceit. Expecting to be able to rely on English in any meaningful or serious negotiation with an Asian counterpart is like agreeing to play poker with someone who has a mirror on the ceiling and can see your cards....'**// DR MICHAEL WESLEY, DIRECTOR, LOWY INSTITUTE 2011

//**'Respect for cultural diversity is a core element of 21st century humanism. It is a vital** **constituent during these times of globalization. No single culture has a universal** **monopoly. Each and every one can contribute to the consolidation of our shared values.'**// Irina Bokova - Editorial//UNESCO Courier, December 2011//

===//'One of the great benefits of seeing other cultures is seeing one's own culture with fresh eyes, and that is one of the possible outcomes, if the viewer is from the West, of looking at Asian art. It means putting aside accepted hierarchies, understanding differences, and acknowledging the influences in understanding of the last millenium that have flowed from East to West and back again.'//=== Allison Carroll, 'Ignorance is bliss', //Asialink Essay,// December, 2009

//**'We now have a society that is so staggeringly diverse that if you have a national logic and an accompanying educational system that doesn’t allow you to cope with that diversity you’re creating a society that’s bound to implode' **// Waleed Aly - National broadcaster

Jenny McGregor, The Age, 13 April 2011
 * //We know from Australian businesses active in Asia that speaking the local language is useful. What matters even more, though, is knowledge of the people, their histories and social structures, their legal frameworks and political processes.//**

“The cultural maps we hold in our minds to make sense of the world are tangible maps which we often mistake as immutable truths. To dislodge the apparent immutability of our cultural interpretations of the world requires considerable effort. It requires educating the mind to identify cultural boundaries within which we operate and it requires the willingness to venture into the foreign and to potentially be changed by it.”  Crozet, C., Liddicoat, A., & Lo Bianco, J. (1999).’ Intercultural competence: From language policy to language education’. In J. Lo Bianco, A. Liddicoat & C. Crozet (Eds.) //Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education// (pp. 1-20), Language Australia: Melbourne, p. 9.

//**'Regardless of whether the student has Chinese parents, is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, is descended from arrivals on the First Fleet or recently arrived from the Sudan, they each need to know that Australia is part of the Asia region.'** // Anne Fisher, AEF Manager, Australian Curriculum Strategy

Adam Liaw, MasterChef 2010 Winner
 * “Asia literacy doesn’t mean reading and writing specifically. It means knowing more about the regions you’re going into, knowing something that sets you apart from all those vying for the same opportunities”. **

Christian Bennett, Marketing Director
 * 'Whether you want to be a doctor, or work in the not-for-profit sector, in the arts, in law or in finance, whatever discipline... the benefits of Asia literacy are so immense because so many roads lead to, or go through, Asia.'**

Charlie O'Sullivan, Pharmaceutical Director
 * //'By better understanding how different people work you can make a relationship much more effective. In Asia, in particular, the relationship is so critical to making// //progress… Being able to understand how to optimise those relationships is really important.'//**

**// 'Asia Skills enable Australians to live and work effectively in Asia and with people from the Asia region.' //** Asia Education Foundation

President Obama State of the Union address January 2011.
 * //'Just recently, China became the home to the world's largest private solar research facility and the world's fastest computer.'//**

//Charles Morrison, President East-West Centre, Washington, January 2011//
 * //'In the past, other countries thought that globalisation was what the US was doing to them. Now i'ts what China is doing to others.'//**

//Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard//
 * ‘//it is impossible to conceive of a future Australian education system that does not take Asia seriously’//**

//Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd//
 * //'...wants Australia to become the most Asia literate country in the western world’//**

// **“India, China and other Asian nations are growing and their influence is increasing. Australians need to become ‘Asia literate’, engaging and building strong relationships with Asia.”** // //Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians//

** //'Goal 2: All young Australians// //become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and// //informed citizens....// **// **...active and informed citizens…are able to relate and communicate across cultures, especially in relation to cultures and countries of the Asia-Pacific.'** // //Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians//