8 November 2000 Rotary welcomes Asia-Pacific students to 'YES 2000'

Lincoln University's award-winning ‘EnviroSchool’, known this year as the Youth Environment Summit or ‘YES 2000’, goes international thanks to the support of the Rotary Club of Lincoln.

To celebrate the occasion, a special welcoming reception for the visiting 21 overseas students (from 16 countries) will be held on Saturday 18^th November at the Ellesmere Country Club, Lincoln, from 5.45pm onwards.

Overseas students will attend this function in their national costumes. A special photographic session with the invited guests is planned.

"Rotary has always been committed to environmental protection under its Preserve Planet Earth programme," says Ravi Gooneratne, the Rotary coordinator of the overseas segment of ‘YES 2000’.

"In addition to the students' participation in the scientific programme of 'YES 2000', Rotary wanted the young visitors to appreciate the scenic beauty of the New Zealand environment. Therefore we have also arranged a one-week educational environmental field trip to the West Coast, Milford Sound, Queenstown and Dunedin."

The overseas students will be home-hosted by Lincoln Rotarians during their two-week stay in New Zealand.

Rotary sponsorship of Asia-Pacific students to 'YES 2000' – Background Information

I would like to bring to your attention the internationalised version of EnviroSchool 2000 known as the Youth Environment Summit 2000 or ‘YES 2000’. This year it is a very special version of the biennial award-winning EnviroSchool 2000. As its millennium project, Rotary Club of Lincoln is sponsoring 21 high school students from the Asia-Pacific region to ‘YES 2000’. About 50 New Zealand students are also participating.

COMING EVENT: Youth Environment Summit 2000 or ‘YES 2000’

DATES:  19^th - 24^th November 2000

LOCATION: Lincoln University

ROTARY WELCOME FUNCTION: Date: Saturday 18^th November, 5.45 - 9.00pm

                   Venue: Ellesmere Country Club at Lincoln

                   Dress: Students will be in national costume

                   Chief Guest: Mayor of Selwyn District

ABOUT ‘YES 2000’

Students from 16 Asia-Pacific countries will join New Zealand students at ‘YES 2000’, a workshop to be held at Lincoln University over 19^th - 24^th November. The aim of ‘YES 2000’ is to promote a sense of environmental responsibility and an understanding of environmental science among these young people. Each overseas student will initiate an environmental project in their own community on their return home, in collaboration with a local Rotary club, and will report back to Lincoln in six months’ time.

Following the ‘YES 2000’ workshop, the overseas students will make a one-week tour of places of environmental significance in the South Island.

The Rotary Club of Lincoln has organised the overseas segment of ‘YES 2000’ as the Clubs' millennium project, and is greatly encouraged by the response. Overseas students will be home­-hosted by Lincoln Rotarians over their three weekends in New Zealand, and a welcome function will be held at Ellesmere Country Club, Lincoln on Saturday, 18^th November at 6.00pm. The Mayor of Selwyn District, several past and the current Rotary District Governors, Lincoln University staff and Rotary members of the Lincoln club will join the students who will all dress in their national costume for this night.

ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING

Students will come from Australia, American Samoa, Bangladesh, Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan (Tokyo), Japan (Kobe), Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu and Western Samoa as well as New Zealand.

Ian Collins, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand

Beverley Ruddick, WRONZ, Canterbury, New Zealand

Ravi Gooneratne, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand