Bulletin

Issue: October 2006

News

Award recognises contribution to global citizenship

Prominent Hong Kong business leader and philanthropist, Dr Henry Fong Yun-Wah, has received an inaugural International Network of Universities (INU) award in recognition of his generous support for global citizenship.

Dr Fong and Chancellor Walton.

The award was presented at La Trobe University’s graduation ceremony in Hong Kong in September, attended by some 70 graduates and hundreds of guests. Dr Fong holds an Honorary Doctor of Letters from La Trobe and is widely respected for his success in business and generous support for education and culture, both in China and internationally.

La Trobe Chancellor, Mrs Sylvia Walton, said Dr Fong’s support has enabled the INU to ‘foster global understanding and cooperation between developed and less developed nations’.

Dr Fong’s donations support the award of one INU undergraduate and one staff scholarship each year for excellence in studies, research and teaching on the theme of ‘Global Citizenship’.

La Trobe Head of Tourism and Hospitality, Dr Hans Westerbeek, won this year’s inaugural staff award. It will be presented at a ceremony in November, to coincide with the INU Council meeting in Melbourne.

In addition to the Henry Fong Awards, Dr Fong’s donation also makes possible the INU seminars on Global Citizenship. The first of these was held recently at Hiroshima University, see Building Global Citizens: INU Student Seminar shows the way in a troubled world.

INU President, La Trobe University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian Stoddart, said the INU has endorsed the theme of ‘Global Citizenship’ as a common element across the teaching and research of member universities. This can include such subjects as ‘international relations’, ‘development studies’, ‘human rights’ or ‘ethnicity-migration’, depending on the curriculum of each university.

‘The core concept is for students to be educated to act and to think globally, irrespective of their discipline of study, and to be given the tools to play an active role in creating and maintaining a more humane and sustainable world. ‘

La Trobe University was a foundation member of the INU, which today comprises 13 recognised universities from around the world. La Trobe offers 20 to 30 Vice-Chancellor’s Targeted Travelling Scholarships to its students each year under this scheme. The University also provides the INU secretariat and project management section from its main Melbourne campus at Bundoora.