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| Officially launching the Australian International Workshop Festival, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier for the Arts Ms Lorraine Elliott MLA. |
The Australian International Arts Workshop Festival was launched last week at the Melbourne Town Hall by Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier for the Arts Ms Lorraine Elliott MLA.
Presented by Monash with the support of Arts Victoria and the Australia Council, the festival will give local artists the opportunity to keep up with performance developments around the world.
According to Ms Elliott, the importance of the event could not be overestimated. She said Arts Victoria was delighted to be involved, and congratulated Monash and its executive director of Public Affairs Mr Stephen Dee for bringing the event to Melbourne.
The festival will include masterclasses by internationally acclaimed teachers and creators of performance as well as forums, functions and workshops.
"Having access to workshop leaders who are recognised internationally as being outstanding in their field will provide local artists with the chance to benchmark their achievements in an international context," she said.
Ms Elliott added that the festival would provide an optimal environment for the generation of new ideas and future collaborations. She looked forward to seeing the results in the future work of the participating artists.
Prior to the official launch, Mr Dee provided an overview of how Monash developed its policy and plan for the arts.
"We felt we should be doing things that contribute uniquely to the arts," Mr Dee said. "Things that are specifically about the business of universities, that is, teaching, learning, research and development."
He said the festival fitted everything that Monash wanted to do.
"By supporting the arts through teaching and learning, we could not have found a better project."
The festival is being held from 26 June to 11 July. For further information, contact Ms Jan Clancy on extn 51677.
ARC/TAC target seatbelt safety
Monash University Accident Research Centre in conjunction with the Transport Accident Commission last week conducted a simulated car crash to launch a new safety campaign. The test took place outside the centre on Clayton campus, watched by students and university staff as well as a large contingent of media. The test vehicle contained two dummy passengers - the passenger in the back seat who was not wearing a seatbelt, and the driver, whose seatbelt was faulty. The vehicle was 'driven' at 50 to 60 kilometres per hour into a concrete structure. After the crash, it was found that the unrestrained passenger had not only been thrown around the cabin on impact, but had also been thrown into the front seating area, illustrating the potentially fatal 'pinball effect'. TAC general manager, road safety, Mr Anton Staindl said the crash results highlighted the very real possibility of belted drivers or passengers being seriously injured by others in the car who were not wearing a seatbelt. According to MUARC director Professor Claes Tingvall, a large proportion of unbelted car occupants are thrown from the vehicle during a crash, and an unbelted passenger also doubles the chances of the driver or front-seat passenger being killed. "While most people value safety highly when buying a car, many new safety features depend on occupants wearing a seatbelt in the first place. The safest car in the world will not save you unless you are strapped in," Professor Tingvall said. The new TAC campaign is the first major seatbelt offensive in four years and includes television, radio, newspaper and billboard advertising. This article was written in conjunction with communication student Ms Kathleen Ryder from Boston College, US, who is doing six weeks' work experience in Monash's Public Affairs office. |
Items of interest from Council, 28 June 1999The major item of business for this meeting was adoption by Council of the university's most important planning document, Monash: Leading the Way. Council discussed the document at length and noted that it set 'signposts' for the future of Monash over the next 20 years. There was enthusiastic support for the vision articulated in Leading the Way and for the high standards set for Monash over the planning period as an institution that is at once Australian and global. Council members also noted that the vision expressed in Leading the Way was supported by the successful development of operational planning across the sectors of the university and that a wide cross-section of the university had shaped the content of the document before Council. Council received, enthusiastically, a report from Professor John Rosenberg, dean of the Faculty of Information Technology, on future directions for the Faculty of Information Technology, the second of five such decanal presentations to Council to 1999. Presentations from Engineering, Pharmacy and Law will follow over the course of the year. Other business
Queries should be directed to Mr Phillip Siggins on extn 52010 or email phillip.siggins@adm.monash.edu.au |
During a recent visit to the Monash Malaysia campus, dean of the Faculty of Information Technology Professor John Rosenberg attended the wedding of Malaysian campus staff member Mr Hiew Pang Leang.
Mr Leang was a PhD student and then an assistant lecturer in the school of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the Clayton campus before taking up a lectureship in Malaysia late last year.
The wedding was 'Chinese' style, with more than 400 people attending the reception. This included both staff and students from the Monash Malaysia campus.
According to Professor Rosenberg, there was plenty of entertainment apart from the usual speeches.
"There was a slide show and many noisy toasts, as well as karaoke later in the evening. The 30 or so Monash students formed a choir and sang a love song to Mr Leang and his new wife," he said.
"It was a highly enjoyable evening which demonstrated the excellent relationships between staff and students and the vitality of our campus in Malaysia."
Lecturer in Information Technology at the Malaysian campus Mr Hiew Pang Leang (in the white dinner suit) is surrounded by Monash students at his recent wedding ceremony.
The deputy general manager at Monash International, Mr Robert Cochrane, has accepted a one-year secondment as strategic development adviser for the Ministry of Health in Indonesia.
The appointment follows that of Faculty of Business and Economics' staff member Professor Bob Price as adviser to the Department of Cooperatives and Small Business.
Mr Cochrane's secondment will take place during a period of major change in government in Indonesia. It is being funded under a US$447m Asian Development Bank project for health sector reform and development.
A farewell function for Mr Cochrane will be held at the Monash International office on Friday 16 July at 4 pm.
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