“Premier Wen: China to put cultural reform, development at important place - Xinhua News Agency” plus 1 more |
| Premier Wen: China to put cultural reform, development at important place - Xinhua News Agency Posted:
BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday that China will put cultural reform and development at an important place in the coming five years, and a quite long period of time after that. Wen made the remarks at a press conference right after the conclusion of the annual parliamentary session. Wen said China would step up institutional reform, build a team of workers with high qualities, and actively develop people-to-people activities to achieve cultural prosperity. He said cultural traditions are the soul of a country and China must fully carry forward its own traditions while at the same time learn from and refer to other civilizations in the world. China can only become stronger by being open and inclusive, Wen said."The strengths of a country lie not only in its economic power, but also in the qualities of its citizens, the level of cultural development and ethic rules." China is a good example of completely inheriting 5,000 years of cultural traditions despite the twists and turns in world history, the premier said. Special Report: NPC, CPPCC Annual Sessions 2011
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| Peace Corps celebrates 50 years of cross-cultural ties - ReporterHerald.com Posted: Story updated: 3/13/2011 5:48 PM Peace Corps celebrates 50 years of cross-cultural ties
But no matter what they planned to get out of it, it's not what they expected. It's more. More emotion, more culture shock, more perspective. West Indies Heather Hallett-Thurston, a grant coordinator for the Thompson School District, served in the West Indies from 1982 to 1984. She had been working at a corporation and realized she wanted more substance in life. As a volunteer, she lived in a village in the mountains and had to constantly battle the stigma that she was a tourist instead of a Peace Corps volunteer. "There was a tremendous hostility to Americans," she said. She was held up once with a machete and another time with a gun. It was common for volunteers to be robbed. Hallett-Thurston's job was disaster mitigation. When parts of the country were destroyed by hurricanes, the villages rebuilt but there was no infrastructure or plans for communication warnings or systems. She also worked with physically handicapped adults to teach them income-generating projects. Hallett-Thurston built relationships with community members at all ages. She still keeps in touch with some of her friends. She said that time was on a 'soon-come' basis. She would ask, "When is it (a bus or product) going to come?" "Soon come," the villagers would say. Which could mean hours or days. They had a casual approach to life and a willingness to sit and wait in the heat for things to happen. She feels a special connection to the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps because she met her husband, who had served in the Philippines, the 25th anniversary. Their background with Peace Corps taught the couple how they wanted to raise their children and how to approach life. "You're embedded in a less superficial way in another culture. No matter how big of a global world we get to be, that component of the world that you bring back home can never be replaced electronically," she said. Ukraine Ross Nolan of Fort Collins finished his Peace Corps service in 2008. He worked in youth development in a village of 5,000 people in Ukraine. The educational system was entirely different, which was an eye-opener and made him appreciate the American system more, despite its flaws. Nolan worked with local government officials to promote HIV and AIDS awareness. He also promoted the Peace Corps goal of educating the people about Americans. They asked him if he was friends with Britney Spears and they'd comment about how much money Americans have. Nolan did an 18-day summer camp and could see the difference he had made. He worked with ninth- to 11th-grade students and taught his students to open up and think for themselves. Since coming back from Ukraine, he has had many opportunities to teach people about the country and what he learned. "Seeing how much you can teach other people has been great," he said. Regarding the relevancy of Peace Corps, Nolan feels that volunteers get the better end of the experience. "We do a lot for the country we're in; but we get so much more in return," he said. Nolan is working on a master's degree at Colorado State University in student affairs and higher education. Madagascar Maggie Flanagan, a student in the master of business administration program at CSU, worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar starting in 2006. Flanagan lived in a large village of about 4,000 people. Behind her house was a river where she walked down a steep hill to collect water. One of the first tasks she worked on was building wells for the community. "I like to say I got tired of walking up and down that hill, so I built a well," she said. Flanagan had electricity only from 5 to 9 p.m. until the hospital doctor procured a solar panel. She was assigned to a rural clinic, not as a health professional, but as an educator. She taught ways to prevent illnesses and worked with community leaders to create campaigns to inform the public. She went in with an open mind, but soon became aware of how different her perspective was from the villagers. "There is a set of experiences that have led this person to a viewpoint; that was huge, learning to see things from a different perspective," Flanagan said. In Madagascar, every member of the family contributes to the community, including children and pets. "The children want to help. They would show up at my door and ask if they could do my laundry," Flanagan said. Women also fulfill a specific gender role. They have their own responsibilities, their own self-image and needs. "You don't mess with that system," she said. Flanagan learned to respect that the women don't want to do the same things as a man. She encouraged families to balance life, but she learned that she couldn't begin to judge. Peace Corps is important here and across the world because it brings a greater collective awareness of other people, Flanagan said. "It's a scary thing when people lose the ability to relate to one another because you almost discount foreign perspectives as inhuman." Volunteers worry about their projects and whether they're sustainable. But sustainability goes beyond the wells and outhouses they help build. Jessica Benes can be reached at 669-5050, ext. 530, or jbenes@reporter-herald.com. © Copyright 2011 Loveland Publishing Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | ||||||||||||||||
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