Sometimes words are not needed. This year’s Art Jam was again a blast as the pictures tell the story.Seems we have hidden artists among us!

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Location was again at the Crossroads Centre in Da Shiqiao Hutong. Proceeds (over RMB 1,500) went to support the 4th Edition of China Women’s Film Festival.
Great job by Jade and all the others!

A quiet lunch this time, just after the (short) 1 May holidays, no speaker.
Sven H., one more new German member of our club was inducted.

Gilbert received his new Paul Harris Foundation pin, the PHF+7, see his collection, PHF+7 (2016) and PHF+6 (2016), plus the first one and all others together! Received for his work with Rotaract.

Rtn Daniel R. also got a PHF pin and brought the banner and news of the new Rotary Club of Tianjin.
Daniel Ralph, who runs URBRAU (König Ludwig Beer!) kindly gave free tickets for a beer festival in Shanghai.

We had a French visitor from the loverly region of Monaco, Rtn Yann G. from the Rotary Club of Beausoleil.
Rtn Jens H. tried a new role as Sergeant-at-Arms!

During our weekly lunch we had as speaker Ms. Jocelyn Ford, a documentary director and journalist.
She is a Beijing-based award-winning public radio  journalist and filmmaker who has reported from Asia for three decades, including 15 in China. Her audio work can be heard on Marketplace, Radio Lab, The World and other U.S. public radio programs.
Director of the award-winning documentary “Nowhere To Call Home: A Tibetan in Beijing” Jocelyn Ford spoke about her work, and how her ground-breaking film paved a path to cross-cultural education and workshops for students headed abroad.
Her documentary on Tibetan views has been translated into 11 languages and won awards worldwide.
“Nowhere To Call Home: A Tibetan in Beijing” tells the story of Zanta, a widowed Tibetan migrant in Beijing whose life dream is to send her young son to school. When Jocelyn started filming Zanta and her seven-year-old son’s lives in Beijing, she assumed she’d never be able to show the documentary in China.

She tells the story of a Tibetan lady in Beijing, her struggle against plain racism in the capital (like being refused to rent an apartment), her views on her home town, her transformation into the jewelry business. While the topic seems controversial Jocelyn succeeded to show the movie in China. The movie makes us discover a world that most ignore or tend to ignore.
China never ceases to surprise. First came invitations to present her film at Xinhua News Service, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and various universities.  Following an enthusiastic response to screenings at high schools affiliated with the People’s University and Peking University, the Beijing-based journalist realized she’d stumbled on a way to have groundbreaking conversations on tolerance and inclusion with PRC teens.

The discussions on cultural sensitivity, diversity, tolerance and social justice were a catalyst for Jocelyn to develop full-fledged workshops and short films that help prepare PRC students bound for college overseas to integrate into diverse societies. She is now considering developing similar workshops for companies sending personnel abroad, and welcomes ideas.

So, we can say she covered a number of interesting topics, starting with her rather unexpected transformation from a radio reporter into a film maker. And the story of the Tibetan lady.

She has also worked on showing the challenges Chinese students face while studying abroad, the culture clash, the impulse to cheat, the lack of personal engagement and creativity.
See more here: CollegeSurvivalWorkshopb.pdf

Thanks Jocelyn for the talk!
Our big next event is on 22 May, see the flyer!

Rotaract West and Rotaract Sanlitun both had very successful events. On Sunday 24 April some braved a steep climb of the Great Wall. All was reviewed during the Sanlitun meeting in Lyrics Cafe on Monday 25 April. Next major event is Art Jam, on 7 May; a repeat event due to its success.

The first Rotaract Beijing West Volunteering event was an amazing day. Everyone had a great experience spending a day with kids from four foster houses. Even though with disabilities, those kids are so smart and talented, each in his/her own way all definitely enjoyed it, and learned a lot from these little kids.

The event was organized by UFCF (United Family Charitable Fund) that brought more than 40 kids from 4 different foster houses together with fellow Rotaractors and BU alumnae. Unforgettable experience for all. All through the Alumnae Association of Boston University in Beijing, they organize every year a “Global Days of Service”; this year they joined that UFCF event. See: http://www.unitedfoundation.org
(As reported by Rotaractor Gau)

Rotaract Beijing Sanlitun had a baking session with migrant children who have hearing disabilities, a project of MCF. Also on Saturday 23 April.
An awesome day volunteering, teaching kids with hearing disabilities how to make an awesome breakfast! All participated actively (10 Rotaractors and 24 kids). They also checked the plants from the previous visit: yes, they are growing!

The ten volunteers headed out to the eastern outskirts of Beijing where a very special school is located, the MCF school for deaf kids. It was this year’s third volunteering event of this kind, a long-term collaboration with the Migrant Children Foundation (MCF). This time it was all about baking. The kids got the opportunity to produce different kinds of baked goods, with a range from chocolate muffins all the way to whole wheat bread. “Mixing different ingredients following a recipe can be a challenge, but also a practical lesson for these kids.” Said one of the volunteers right after the event. “But what also counts for us is to simply make these kids smile. We definitely hit that goal today”. It indeed was an event that was marked by many smiling faces. No wonder – naturally someone had to eat all the freshly baked goods. In the end there was enough food to keep no stomach empty. The volunteers once again proved the theory: Bought food goes into the stomach – self-made food goes right into the heart.
(As reported by Rotaractor Nico)

The Great Wall trip was organized by Nastia, they visited an unrestored section of the Wall in Huanghuacheng.

Yes, we now have to mention Rotaract Sanlitun (or Rotaract East) as the new Rotaract Wudaokou (or Rotaract West) has really started its weekly (Thursday) meetings.
We met in Lyrics Cafe, in SOHO Sanlitun, they moved into a new location with a nice view. Still “soft opening”.

Even with two clubs, attendance was good and the discussion lively.

Next planned are Art Jam (7 May – I will donate the wine), a visit to a MCF school for a baking lesson (23 April) and a joint fundraising event by the two clubs, probably in mid-June, among others.

We had two speakers: Ms. Fei (Program officer – Smile Angel) and Marcus of the Rotaract Club in Sweden.
Nationalities again so diverse: Guyana, Netherlands, France, China, Belgium, Romania, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Germany, USA. Impressive!