On Tuesday 19 January we had as speaker Mr. David Kelly. His topic: Going Global 2.0 on Capacity Cooperation.

Mr. David Kelly works at China Policy. With interests encompassing a sweep of issues affecting China’s domestic reforms and its strategic positioning, David leads the governance and law, and geopolitics teams at China Policy. He has a particular interest in the external impact of China’s governance model.
A skilled workshop facilitator and driver of organizational learning on China, David is known for leading tough, China-grounded debate in corporate boardrooms. A sought-after international media commentator, he frequently appears on the BBC, Voice of America, Australian ABC, Al Jazeera and in leading print media.
In his speech David focused on China’s new globalization drive and how it differed from the country’s earlier going out initiatives.

The President of the Rotary Club of Beijing attended our weekly Rotaract meeting at Lyrics Cafe (SOHO Sanlitun) on 18 January.

He was impressed by our dynamic group of Rotaractors, coming from all corners around the world )Belgium, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Holland, China, Guyana, and maybe more. Good job by the Rotaract President Anissa!
I hope we can see more Rotarians attending!

On 26 January we had the pleasure to have Thomas as a speaker. Before he even started I bought his book “China In Those Days”, a remarkable collection of postcards showing a much forgotten past of China. One more example of how foreigners have been much more engaged preserving China’s history and culture. Other examples are the preservation of hutongs and antiques.
The book is not for sale on the market, so a really precious volume.
The Tuesday Speaker, Mr. Thomas Brandt, talked indeed about “China In Those Days”

Thomas Brandt is General Manager of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is a passionate collector of post cards and view cards. He is the author of several publications focusing on Asia. Furthermore Mr. Brandt has written four books in the field of intercultural management, journals and handbooks. His bestseller “China in Those Days” was published in 2008.
In his presentation Mr. Brandt used pictures from his collection of around 49.000 postcards and view cards from the years 1890 to 1914. His collection presents a photographic report of the political upheavals in China of the Qing Dynasty. It also visualizes the phenomenon of overseas Chinese, which is still of high relevance in recent history. The historical pictures took the audience to a journey to the early 20th century in China, an era when it was a privilege to send or receive postcards from a country as far away as China.

On 22 February in Lyrics Cafe, a special meeting. The usual discussion about the projects and the introduction of Morning Tears (by myself).
The star was however the Austrian songwriter and musician Franz Eppensteiner who set up his social platform EPPI.

EPPI is a platform where music, art & social commitment come together. EPPI’s team includes people who are following their dreams and who are work on the projects aimed to help people in need.
First project carried out by EPPI was named “I JUST WANNA SEE YOUR SMILE”, and it includes song “Smile”, related music video and so-called “Smile T-shirts”.
This project is supporting two charity organizations aiming to help kids who are suffering from cleft lip and/or palate. The music video “Smile” shows the power of a smile and gives a solution of how to help these (mostly) children, namely by getting the “Smile T-shirts”.
Austrian national Franz Eppensteiner is a founder of EPPI Platform. He is also musician, singer and songwriter. Trough almost a year now he was trying to reach out to people all around China with the help of the EPPI’s team aimed to build partnership so project can be promoted properly and to get platform bigger to create more collaborations and opportunities from which will benefit young Chinese kids born with cleft lip and/or palate. He wrote song ‘Smile’ few years ago and after his arrival to Shanghai he heard of the organization aimed to help those kids. Than he realized he can contribute it with his music.
Visit: www.loveppi.com

Video “I want to see your smile”
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTQ2MDg5Nzc2MA==.html

Or here directly:

Enjoy