Here are some of the guest speakers and what they will be talking about at Labrador's Asia Connects Conference.
Dana Hynes was with the JET (Japanese Exchange Teaching) program where she taught in Kobe, Japan for two years. She is from the local area and attended J.R. Smallwood Collegiate in Wabush. She will talk about her time in Japan, the similarities and differences between the school system here and there and her experience during the January 1995 earthquake. Dana was in town for a short period of time, so her presentation was recorded and will be shown from a video cassette. Ms. Hynes is now teaching in Vancouver, B.C.
Casy Lee is a resident of Labrador City but was born and raised in Taiwan, so she has a lot of stuff to talk about. She will describe life in Taiwan and how the people from each village and province are different from each other even though Taiwan is slightly bigger in size than Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories. Also she will discuss her first visit to China, the difference she noticed from Taiwan and the 'cultural shock' she felt. Mrs. Lee visited China recently in 1994, so she will also discuss the differences from China that she saw in the past and China that she recently visited.
Richard Sawyer is the local college's English Professor. He grew up in Toronto, Ontario and after University went to China to teach for two years, 1986-1988. He was in a very remote area and being there he was able to see the differences between the Chinese people. Dr. Sawyer will discuss his experiences in China and touch on the history of China, how the government has taken control over the Chinese on the outskirts of the country. Dr. Sawyer went back to China to visit in 1994, so he can describe from his point of view the differences from China in the eighties (80's) and the nineties (90's).
Stephen Whelan is a former student of Labrador City Collegiate who is teaching in Pusan, Korea. He teachers English as a second language to younger school students there. Stephen was teaching in Korea the past year and is going back next year. Stephen will not be here during the time of the Asia Connects conference so his presentation will be from a presentation that was recorded earlier and will be shown from a video cassette. In his presentation, Stephen will discuss many different topics about Korea, such as the conflict between North Korea and South Korea. Also he will discuss the similarities and differences between Labrador and Korea.
Kumud Acharya is a retired High School Science teacher, who taught at J.R. Smallwood Collegiate. He was born in Nairobi, Kenya and went to University in India. After working in Kenya a few years he moved to St. John's, Newfoundland to work at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Following MUN he moved to Labrador West to start as a High School teacher teaching Physics and Chemistry. Mr. Acharya is very knowledgeable about the Hindu culture, especially the music.
Iqbal Biswaz came to Labrador West from India via England. He is the anisithesist at the local hospital. He was very supportive of the Asia Connects conference and can't wait for it to happen.
Mike Power is Labrador West's CBC reporter for both Radio and Television. He will be speaking on the panel/topic of Behind the Headlines. Mr. Power has more than 20 years experience covering news from around the world, including Asia. He does periodic interviews with Labrador residents living and working abroad in such countries China, Japan & Korea.
Alfred Boota, originally from Pakistan, now works as a tradesperson at the Iron Ore Company of Canada here in Labrador City. He will share his expriences of coming to Canada and raissing his 4 children in a new culture.