HKLNA-Project Newsletter No.4

HKLNA-Project Newsletter No. 4
Monthly Accomplishments (January 2003)

Fundraising
1) Created an HTML form letter that introduces the HKLNA-Project to potential donors. The letter contains direct links to key elements of the HKLNA-Project including EARTH's project proposal, tentative funding structure, economic model, promotional material and other important documents. Personally addressed copies were sent to the following people and organizations:

APEC Education Foundation, Program Administrator
Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO, Program Administrator
Asian Development Bank - Robert BESTANI, Private Sector Operations Department
EPSON Foundation, Hong Kong - The General Secretary (follow-up to December application)
Japan Consulate General, Japan Information and Cultural Centre, Program Administrator
Ford Foundation - Sarah COOK, HE Jin, and Andrew WATSON
Gannet Foundation - Margaret STRAYTON, Newsquest Media Group, Ltd.
SONY Education Foundation - WATANABE Akira

2) Hard copies of fundraising material were sent to the following organizations at their request

The American Insurance Group, Hong Kong, Amercian Insurance Association
Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

3) In order to attract greater interest to the HKLNA-Project EARTH would like to make formal presentations to various organizations in the Hong Kong business and educational communities. Since funding is of foremost importance at this time EARTH has begun contacting various anglophonic chambers of commerce. Those already contacted include the

American Chamber of Commerce
Australian Chamber of Commerce
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce

Government Relations
During the first week of January the long-awaited SCOLAR report was finally made available to the public.

During the weeks that followed EARTH reviewed the entire report, posted it on the HKLNA-Project website (see below), and wrote a brief preliminary critique.
On 23 January 2003 EARTH attended the second of two public consultations. During the question and answer period EARTH addressed the issue of motivation and brought attention to the difference between real private sector demand and artificially induced public sector demand.
HK-Brand logo was contacted again and provided with the copy of a letter from SCOLAR's Chairperson, Michael Tien. EARTH's application for use of the HK-Brand logo is still pending.

Press Relations
A reporter and an editor of the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong's premier English language newspaper) have been contacted. An interview with SCMP's Beijing Reporter, Ralph Jennings, has already taken place. Another interview with the paper's Education Editor is expected soon.

Website Additions and Maintenance
Although a much neglected aspect of the HKLNA-Project this month, some progress was made in the following areas:

Further review of two additional statistical modelling techniques resulted in a new posting under Statistical Modelling - Cluster Analysis.
Resolution of a longstanding problem related to the inability of anonymous viewers to access the HKLNA-Project webpages using the Google search engine.
The Google search engine was added to the links section of EARTH's webpage.
Student enrolment data were added under the Graphs and Tables sections of the Data Collection webpages.
An HTML version of the HKLNA-Project newsletter was created. Unless by special request or obvious need this newsletter is now available only in HTML format.
SCOLAR's Language Education Review was added to the documents section and EARTH's preliminary critique (see above) was included in the HKLNA-Project Fund section.

Strategy Update
Close my eyes and push forward.

Lunar New Year Celebration
EARTH celebrated the New Year with a festive greeting and HKLNA-Project advertisment to both stalwart supporters and potential new adherents. A list of email addresses was compiled for individual faculty members of the economics departments of the following Hong Kong universities: Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of Hong Kong. Well over a hundred faculty members received copies. More than 500 additional copies were sent to various parts of the world -- including Japan -- to promote goodwill.

Acknowledgments
This time around special thanks are given to Christina YEUNG of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Ayesha OSMAN of SCOLAR, Zero WONG of the EPSON Foundation and Evani AU-YEUNG of HK-Brand for their continued effort in helping EARTH to get connected. In a similar vein Ralph Jennings of the South China Morning Post must be thanked for his patience with regard to what was likely his first lesson in the economics of private and public sector language education. Nor must I forget to thank Prof. Dr. Peter P. BARON, Dr. CHENG Wai Kei, Dr. Klaus COLANERO, Mr. LEE Kwong Kei (Abel) Dr. SIU Ho Hin, Mr. TAKAGI Kimiaki, Dr. Juha UITTO, and Mr. Roger STEWART for their continued advice, counsel, and in some cases even financial support. To my Tokyo financial supporters I can only say: "Thanks, but who done it?" Finally, I would also like to thank the members of the ProZ.com bulletin board for their amazingly harsh, but generous, warm, and candid critique of the Moogoonghwa website -- the HKLNA-Project's Apple online home. If I have left anyone out, keep thinking HKLNA and surely we will find our way!

Sincerely,

KIU Sau (R. A. Stegemann)
hsmr@pacific.net.hk

Post Office Box #385
Ma On Shan Post Office, Hong Kong, China
Tel/Fax: 852 2630 0349
http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa