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Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholars |
Link Weekend : 29 September - 1 October 2006
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When RIBI President Peter Offer visited Cardiff in November 2006 he presented a Paul Harris Fellowship to Steve Jenkins in recognition of his work with the Link Weekend. DG Kistiah Ramaya also presented Steve and Stephen Rogers with District Service Awards. |
Link Weekend : 29 September - 1 October 2006
FINAL REPORT
Sunday 1 October
Soon after dawn, and the first flight of the day from Edinburgh lands at 8.45 a.m. at Cardiff International Airport, carrying our early birds Julia, William and Sam. There to greet them with a friendly smile is Rotarian Mike Parry.
Meanwhile, wannabe bus drivers Rotarians David Reeves and Gareth Cheesman are collecting two self drive minibuses which will be used to provide a shuttle service from Cardiff Central station to the University. The promise is for British weather . . . and, oh boy, do we get it!
First arrivals by train at 9.30 a.m. at Cardiff Central are five Cultural Scholars on the Plymouth train but they seem to slip through un-noticed at first. Evidently a bit too early for our chaps – were they catching a quick cat nap?
After this initial flurry of activity, there follows a quiet morning which enables Rotarians to enjoy some fellowship while the early arrivals take advantage of the available time to explore the city centre. Fortunately the coach and railway stations in Cardiff are co-located and it has been relatively easy to have a small group of people keeping a watchful eye for arrivals, and in possession of lists of scholars with their arrival times.
The journey time to the reception point at Cardiff University is about 10 minutes when quiet but this increases to nearly 30 minutes at rush hour. Cardiff University has generously provided us with the use of a large room with tea, coffee and biscuits and nearby access to the internet and good car parking outside.
The action increases for a while after mid-day when the minibus drivers should begin to earn their keep. This is the time David and Gareth choose to take a coffee break! For long periods there is not enough work for one minibus but between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., when the increased volume of arrivals coincides with rush hour traffic and men digging up the road in the adjoining street, we are very grateful that we have the two.
Mid afternoon and RIBI Foundation Chairman Milton Frary and his lovely wife Elaine arrive to greet new arrivals. A very welcome guest is Maurice Turner who has arrived to observe this event for next year. District 1150 Foundation Chairman, Bob Higgins, returns from scouting duties at Cardiff Central to oversee the operations room and everybody has to look busy.
Reports of a number of motorway accidents and delayed flights add an hour on average to the arrival schedules but everybody is in good spirits. Bob heads out to Bristol International Airport to meet a flight from Newcastle and collect our neighbouring district’s scholars from Bristol. We can relax again! Both airports were quite convenient and choice of flight depended upon the availability of low cost carriers. Scholars who booked early got a great rate, which is important if you are travelling from Scotland or the north of England. We were only represented at the airports when a flight was due and it was not necessary to bring these scholars to reception as they could quite easily be picked up by their weekend hosts.
Meantime the phones don’t stop ringing and its all hands to the pumps. It was a good idea to advise scholars of 3 mobile phone numbers as the main number is frequently in use. Calls will be received from scholars reporting delays, from Rotarians who are acting as hosts requesting an update and from the team at the station. Rotarians arriving to collect their guests are in good spirits and enjoy the company of the other scholars.
The last arrivals are due at 9.00 p.m. St Mary Street is now closed to traffic as the city centre pubs and clubs are in full swing and finally we are able to vacate the University rooms and retire to a nearby Italian restaurant.
Everybody is accounted for, thank goodness.
It is a special feature of the RIBI Link Weekend that scholars live with host families during the weekend. This unique feature enhances the appreciation of home life and provides a one to one relationship between scholar and host. On this occasion most Rotarians were able to host two scholars each and many groups met up to host dinner parties or visit local pubs and restaurants. This then becomes a topic of conversation which helps to break the ice the following day.
The hosts and scholars were generally matched up beforehand. This was an inevitable result of giving due regard to allergies to pets and scheduling arrival times for hosts. We were fortunate to find almost all the host families living within 20 minutes travelling time from Cardiff.
Saturday morning, the minibuses are safely returned, and the promise is for more British weather, yippee!.
Many of our hosts take advantage of some free time to take their guests on a tour of the city, including Cardiff Bay with its iconic buildings, the Wales Millennium Centre and the Welsh Assembly and Cardiff city centre with the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Castle and City Hall.
The Bradford Peace Scholars and the Ambassadorial Scholars studying Peace and Conflict Resolution at other universities arrive at the Temple of Peace for a meeting with representatives of the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, followed by a visit to the Rotary Rose Garden. The party are joined by the District Governor Kistiah Ramaya and Carol, and the RIBI Vice President Elect Ian Thomson and Joan.
Everybody else arrives at the National History Museum, St. Fagans for 11.00 a.m. They will be joined by the Peace Scholars later. The design for the day is to ensure that the scholars are;
together at one location enabling them to meet as many other scholars as possible with a low profile presence from Rotarians. Those Rotarians who are present will act like ‘sheepdogs’ ensuring that nobody goes astray . . . but biting scholars around the ankles is not permitted!
able to move freely around the park at their own pace within small groups, debating the Rotary scholarship programme and what it means to them, and
able to observe the development of the culture of this country across many centuries.
During the course of the afternoon they are asked to think up challenging questions for the Sunday morning panel and suggestions on improving the scholarship programme. St. Fagan’s effectively becomes a large outdoor classroom.
After a brief but heavy shower, the weather improves and the afternoon becomes very pleasant and peaceful experience for all. We have been able to source free of charge sufficient plastic ponchos from the local television company S4/C which had become surplus to requirements. Food vouchers enable scholars to eat at various locations around the park when they feel like it without enduring lengthy queues. Scholars are collected at tea-time.
Then after a short period of rest and recuperation with their hosts, it’s time for the celebratory supper at the Holland House Hotel for hosts and scholars.
The evening begins with words of welcome by the District Governor, followed by a local choir, Cor Cwm Ni, performing in Welsh a selection of their favourite songs. This is quite a unique experience as Welsh is only spoken outside Wales in remote parts of Argentina. Then, as Wales is the land of song we all join in (‘Cymanfa Ganu’ style) with a well known hymn sung in English and local Rotarians and Cor Cwm Ni round off the singing with the Welsh national anthem.
The author’s favourite Welsh song, ‘Y Tangnefeddwr’ (which translates as ‘the Peacemaker’) is particularly beautiful and very much in keeping with the occasion. I reckon Rotary should adopt this as a theme tune but the words may take some mastering.
After the meal, the tables compete against each other in a grand quiz, which is a typical event in many communities in this country as a form of entertainment and usually to raise funds. This is a quiz with a difference however because we are celebrating the gathering together of so many cultures and nations and so the questions are all based on the countries represented and are asked in turn by a scholar from each of those countries. Oh, and a few Rotary questions thrown in.
Finally after a final half hour of fellowship it is home to bed.
An early start and drop off at the Holland House Hotel. Farewell to hosts but with many an invitation to return again before too long.
Bob Higgins masterfully reprises the cultural exchange of the evening before by inviting a representative from each country to greet their fellow scholars in their own language.
Rotarian Brian Bird of the Rotary Club of Cardiff extends a warm welcome to Cardiff and traces the history of Rotary in the cities of Cardiff, Newport and surrounding communities.
Rotarian Noel Tippett of the Rotary Club of Pontllanffraith then recalls his experiences as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois in 1980-81 and offers words of advice to those starting out.
RIBI Vice President Elect Ian Thomson welcomes all the scholars to RIBI and gives his personal perspective of the Ambassadorial Scholarship programme of which he is so clearly a great supporter and what Rotary hopes to gain from granting the scholarship.
Rotary Foundation Zone 18 Chairman Alan Holland reinforces the importance of knowing your audience and offers tips on addressing Rotary clubs and encourages scholars to address other societies and organisations.
RIBI Foundation Chairman Milton Frary addresses the conference on the importance of the host counsellor and completing the paperwork and managing finances.
National Rotaract representative, Jonathan Nish encourages the scholars to get involved with their local Rotaract clubs as a way in which to maintain close links with Rotary.
Rotarian Alan Solomon of Harrow runs the January seminar in London and extends an invitation to all scholars to attend. This year the event will span two days to include a guided walk around central London on the Saturday
The Rotary Foundation representative Grete Krohn receives a warm welcome on her return to Cardiff where she herself was an Ambassadorial Scholar. Grete covers the key mandatory topics of coping with cultural differences and harassment and reminds everybody that they have friends in Evanston.
Bob Higgins then leads the panel for an hour long Question Time, selecting interesting topics from the St Fagan’s ‘quasi-classroom’ which had been prepared on cards and handed in.
The buffet lunch is served. Unsurprisingly nobody is in a hurry to leave and this is the final chance to exchange contact details.
Then there is a magical moment as the Japanese scholars form an impromptu choir and sing some beautiful Japanese songs. Not to be outdone, the locals (lead by DG Kistiah) respond with a hearty rendition of ‘We’ll keep a welcome in the hillsides’, with the Americans and Canadians carry on the theme with songs of their own.
All good things must come to an end however although it seems that the weekend has just flown by. The Holland House Hotel was chosen for its close proximity to the station and there is a final logistical challenge in getting people back to the station and the airport – the start for many of a very long journey back to their universities.
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