ESU NewsTHE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION Creating global understanding through English

Minister Byung-Young Ahn, Deputy PrimeMinister, Dr Seok Hyun Hong, Chairman ESURepublic of Korea, Lord Watson and Mrs ValerieMitchell gave speeches at the official launch ceremony, which was held on 16 April at theWestin Chosun Hotel.

Prior to the launch ceremony, Lord Watson wasmade a Visiting Honorary Professor of KoreaUniversity and spoke on the subject "The AsianDimension of English". Delegates were invited toattend a lunch reception held in the stunningsetting of the British Embassy gardens, hostedby HE Mr Warwick Morris, British Ambassador.

As part of the official launch, ESU Republic ofKorea held two debates. Yonsei University wasthe venue for the first debate, where two Koreanteams debated the motion "This House believesthat furthering North-South Korean reconciliationand co-operation efforts will be conducive toresolving the current nuclear threat on thePeninsula".

This gave the delegates a fascinating insight into both recent Korean history and the currentpolitical situation.

Telephone : 020 7529 1550 Fax : 020 7495 6108 Email : esu@esu.org Web : www.esu.org

ISSUE No. 117 JULY 2004

ContentsESU Republic of KoreaLaunch . . . . . . . . . . .Page 2

International PublicSpeaking Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3

International Schools Mace . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 3

50 Years of the Universities Mace . . .Page 4

ESU Mongolia ‘EFL’Scholarship . . . . . . . .Page 4

ESU Sierra Leone . . .Page 5

ESU Nigeria . . . . . .Page 5

Literary Lecture – AndrewRoberts . . . . . . . . . .Page 6

Literary Lecture – Graeme Fife . . . . .Page 6

Partridge Fine Arts PLCPrivate View . . . . . . .Page 6

Couture Showing . . .Page 6

Travelling Librarian Award . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7

ESU Japan . . . . . . . .Page 7

International at Home . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 7

ESU Staff . . . . . . . . .Page 7

Obituaries . . . . . . . .Page 8

Strasbourg Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 9

World Members’ Conference . . . . . .Page 10

Diary Dates . . .Page 11-12

American Election Night Party . . . . . .Page 12

Above: L-R Mrs Valerie Mitchell, Lord Watson, Dr Seok Hyun Hong, Minister Byung-Young Ahn and HE Mr Warwick Morris.

ESU Republic of Korea Launcheswith Live Internet DebateGlorious spring sunshine and beautiful pink and white cherry blossom greeted 23 delegates in Seoul for the launch of ESU Republic of Korea. The delegatesrepresented Hong Kong, Japan, Mongolia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Pakistan,Romania and the UK.

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With the use of video-conferencing and the Internet, the seconddebate was held between a team at Ehwa Women’s University inSeoul, and a team at Dartmouth House in London. The teams hadchosen to debate the highly topical motion "This House believesthat the Iraq War will change international relations for the better",which allowed Korean and UK speakers alike to explore a widerange of interesting issues. The Debate was watched by audienceson opposite sides of the world, many of whom participated in thefloor debate immediately following the main speeches.

In the UK the ESU was represented by the Rt Hon. the Lord Huntof Wirral, Deputy Chairman, who chaired proceedings. The debatewas introduced (in the UK) by the Baroness Perry of Southwark,former Governor, who was instrumental in founding ESU Republicof Korea, and Minister Il-Soo Kim, from the Embassy of theRepublic of Korea. In Seoul, Dr Seok Hyun Hong, President of ESURepublic of Korea, and Lord Watson of Richmond, Chairman,responded. The speakers in the debate were Moses Choi (YonseiUnivesity), Alyson Thompson (University of Cambridge), Can Okar(University of Bristol), Kerry Lee (Ewha Womans University), AdamBerlin (University of Oxford), and Jin Joo Lee (Kyung HeeUniversity).

The Committee of ESU Republic of Korea did a wonderful joborganising the launch and making delegates feel very welcome.They organised a packed and varied programme of events, whichincluded a visit to a Korean folk village and the Demilitarised Zonebetween North and South Korea.

It was a really international delegation and everybody who attendedwholeheartedly agreed that the enthusiasm of the Committee had

made the visit trulymemorable.

Left: L-R Korean debatersJin Joo Lee, Moses Choiand Kerry Lee.

Above: Baroness Perry, an Embassy representative and Minister Il-Soo Kim.

Above: UK debaters Can Okar, Adam Berlin and Alyson Thompson withLord Hunt.

Above: Delegates in the British Embassy gardens.

Now in its 23rd year, the 2004 International Public SpeakingCompetition attracted 60 participants from 34 countries, who gatheredin London for the Final on 14 May. The speeches at this year’sevent were all of a particularly high standard, and the judges at theHeats at Dartmouth House had a difficult task selecting the finalists.

In the Heats, the judges selected eight participants from Argentina,Brazil, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistanand the Philippines to go through to the Grand Final at SouthAfrica House.

Brian Hanrahan, BBC Diplomatic Editor, chaired the Panel of Judgesfor the Grand Final, which also included Richard Price, formerChairman of BAFTA, Dame Mary Richardson, Chief Executive of theHSBC Education Trust and Robert Rowland, Executive Producerand Media Adviser with Corporate Television Networks.

After lengthy deliberation they announced the winner to be PatriciaEvangelista from the Philippines who spoke on "Blonde and Blue

Eyes". The runner-up was Uyanga Erdenebold from Mongolia withher speech "Invisible Borders" and the Best Non-native EnglishSpeaker, and also the Audience’s Choice, was Xiao Qing Wong fromMalaysia with her speech "Citizens of the World".

Whilst in the UK, participants went to see The Woman in Black,where they enjoyed a talk from the Director, Robin Herford, who isalso an ESU Alumnus. Other activities included a trip on theLondon Eye and a visit to the House of Commons to watch adebate. Following this, they took part in a mock debate atDartmouth House.

Many of the participants spent the weekend following the competi-tion with ESU members outside London. We would like to thank allthese hosts, and also the Branches who so generously supportedthe competition. The ESU would like to thank HSBC Holdings plcfor once again generously sponsoring the Competition, and also theSouth African High Commission for hosting the event.

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Philippines wins International Public SpeakingCompetition

Scotland wins International School Mace

The England and Scotland Finals of theESU Schools Mace debating competitionwere held in March and saw AlysonThompson and Richard Trainor ofWestminster School, and Gabriel Brady andThomas Boston of George Heriot’s Schoolwin the right to go through to meet the

Wales and Ireland National Champions inthe International Final.

The Final was held in the ParliamentChamber of the Honourable Society of theMiddle Temple on 8 May. The first debate,which was on the motion "This Housebelieves that criminal justice systemsshould treat terrorist suspects in the sameway as those suspected of other crimes",was proposed by Wales and opposed byScotland. The second debate, proposed byEngland and opposed by Ireland, was onthe motion "This House believes that theUSA should remove its military bases fromthe Pacific Rim".

All the teams rose to the challenge of thesedifficult, topical motions and the quality of debate was very high. The judges,chaired by Spenser Steadman who won the competition in 1996, declared GeorgeHeriot’s the winner. David Bussey, chair ofthe Committee for the Centre for Speech

and Debate, presented the winners with the Silver Mace. This is the third time thatGeorge Heriot’s has won in the last tenyears.

Above: L-R Xiao Qing Wong, Patricia Evangelista and Uyanga Erdenebold.

Above: Participants and judges at South Africa House.

Above: Gabriel Brady and Thomas Boston ofGeorge Heriot’s School, overall winners, with the Mace.

Above: Winners of the English Final, Richard Trainor and Alyson Thompson ofWestminster School.

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Fifty Years of the Universities Mace

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of theUniversities Mace, the ESU invited all pre-vious finalists to the 2004 InternationalFinal followed by a reunion dinner atDartmouth House on 28 April. This provedto be a wonderful event with old friendsbeing reunited after many years.

The Mace was founded in 1954, and wasrenamed the John Smith Memorial Mace in1994 after the late Labour leader who wonthe competition for Glasgow in 1962.

Mace champions from across the fivedecades and the four nations gathered to

watch Cardiff, Cambridge, Edinburgh andUniversity College Dublin debate the motion"This House believes that the world was asafer place during the Cold War".

The Debate was judged by the Rt Hon.Charles Kennedy MP (winner in 1982),ESU Deputy Chairman, the Rt Hon. TheLord Hunt of Wirral (winner in 1965), Mr Vincent Kane (winner in 1960), Mr Damien Crawford (winner in 1986) andMr Colm O’Cinneide (winner in 1998).

Harriet Jones-Fenleigh and Nicholas Tan of the University of Cambridge were

unanimously chosen as winners. Theywere awarded the Silver Mace by thePatron of the competition, the BaronessSmith of Gilmorehill. Sam Collins andDavid Whelan, representing the LawSociety of University College Dublin, werenamed runners-up.

The Final brought together the winners ofthe four national tournaments that hadbeen running through the year and whichstarted with 172 teams. Many thanks toAndy Hume (Scotland), Niall Murphy(Ireland), Nancy Bicknell (Wales) and KirstyMcNeill (England) for convening the nation-al tournaments and especially to CentreCommittee member Clark McGinn (winner1982) for his help in convening theInternational Final and for chairing the finaldebate.

Czech Republic hosts ESU Mongolia ‘English as a Foreign Language’ ScholarshipA very clear example of putting into practice the ESU's aim to create global understanding through English, was recently demon-strated by an initiative developed at the launch of ESU Mongolia.

Last July, whilst attending the launch in Mongolia, Ian Tervit,Chairman of ESU Czech Republic Steering Committee, promised a Scholarship for a Mongolian Teacher of English as a ForeignLanguage (EFL) to spend a month at the British InternationalSchool Prague and observe teaching methods. This Scholarshipwas made possible by the generosity of the School.

Orkhon Gantogtokh, Director of ESU Mongolia, described theprocess of selecting the teacher for the EFL Scholarship:"There is a long term teacher training programme conducted by theMinistry of Education and the US Embassy. Eighty applicants aretrained as teacher trainers and senior teachers, and ten of the bestare chosen as finalists. They are then interviewed, and the winnerchosen to undertake this Scholarship."

Badamtsetseg Badamdorj was awarded the Scholarship and said ofher experience:

"I would like to thank the British International School of Prague andESU Czech Republic for generously giving me the wonderful oppor-tunity to learn new teaching methods. …these included how tomotivate students, how to get them to use opportunities and to thinkindependently. I have been exposed to current teaching methodsand have learnt a lot."

Above: Nicholas Tan and Harriet Jones-Fenleigh of the University of Cambridge being awarded theSilver Mace by the Patron of the competition, the Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill.

Above: Badamtsetseg Badamdorj during her time in Prague.

Above: The Rt Hon. Charles Kennedy MP, Chairof the Judging Panel, announcing the decision.

Above: Marc Whitmore with pupils from St Joseph’s School, which is based in Makeni, a small town about 200 miles away from the capital city ofFreetown. St Joseph’s won their district heat and travelled the five hours to Freetown to take part in the Finals, winning third place overall.

Despite ten years of Civil War in SierraLeone, the ESU in Freetown is back on itsfeet, and is working harder than ever beforeunder the aegis of the Committee of ESUSierra Leone and Revd Moses Kainwo,Organising Secretary. Revd Kainwo, supported by the British Council in SierraLeone, has been working with ESU staff inLondon to build debate ability amongstschool pupils.

As part of this initiative, two members ofESU staff, Marc Whitmore, Executive Headof Development, and James Probert,Debates and Education Officer, travelled toSierra Leone with Kirsty McNeill and RobRinder (both regular participants in ESUprogrammes) to take on the tough task ofstaging the first ever post-Civil War nationaldebate championship.

Prior to the visit, ESU Sierra Leone hadworked hard to organise workshops anddebates in 20 schools across the country.This built on the work of last year wherethe focus had been on working with univer-sity students and teachers, and holding acompetition for the six constituent collegesof the University of Sierra Leone.

During the two-week visit, workshops andtraining sessions were held with pupils andteachers to hone debate talent. This worktook the joint London/Sierra Leoneon teamall over the country to judge competitions -to Kenema, Bo and Makeni, as well as thecapital, Freetown.

The climax of the fortnight was the finalDebate, which took place between

Ahmadiyya Islamic School, Kenema andSierra Leone Grammar School, Freetown.Before a judging panel chaired by DavidCrane, Chief Prosecutor of the Sierra LeoneSpecial Court, and also consisting of Mr Femi Renner-Thomas, Mrs MarionetteFonnah, a member of Parliament for SierraLeone, and the UK team, Sierra LeoneGrammar School won by a whisker, and thebest speaker was nominated as HowardNelson-Williams.

As his prize, Howard travelled to the UKwith Revd Kainwo in May to take part inthe International Public SpeakingCompetition, held at South Africa House.Both Howard and Revd Kainwo had a tripthey will never forget.

The ESU is especially grateful to KirstyMcNeill and Rob Rinder for all their hard

work, as well as to all those in Sierra Leonewho made the trip possible. The projects,over the past three years, would not havebeen possible without the funding of theBritish Council, nor without the support ofRevd Kainwo, ESU SL, Donald Williams,British Council and ESU SL and RajivBendre, Director, British Council SL.

The winning school was presented with the Maurice Mallinek Trophy, which wascontributed by Rob Rinder in memory of his grandfather, a holocaust survivor. Verygenerous donations from ESU London andan anonymous ESU Alumnus provided thecost of two flights, one for Howard andanother for a UK team member, withoutwhich the programme would never havebeen a possibility.

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Left: During arecent visit toNigeria, HRH ThePrince Philip,Duke of Edinburghand President ofthe ESU, attendedan event at ESUNigeria. Here, (L-R) he met MrsOluwole, an ESUmember, andPrince MichaelAjose, Director-General ESUNigeria.

Growth of ESU Sierra Leone

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What Might Have BeenHistorian Andrew Roberts gave English-Speaking Union members a view of manyparallel universes at an ESU LiteraryLecture for his new book ‘What Might HaveBeen’. The collection of essays, written bya selection of distinguished scholars andbiographers, looks at what might have happened if major world events had gonedifferently.

From the Gunpowder Plot to the AmericanPresidential Election of 2000, AndrewRoberts examined many familiar andfamous moments in the past and cast them in an entirely new light.

The lecture, chaired by Lord Watson,unsurprisingly provoked many questions,and much interesting discussion took place at the Reception and Book Signingafterwards.

Graeme Fife speaks atDartmouth HouseWriter and broadcaster Graeme Fife wasthe speaker at a Literary Lecture held at Dartmouth House in April, when heintroduced his new book ‘The Terror: TheShadow of the Guillotine’.

The book examines that extraordinary period in French history from 1793 to1794. Drawing on contemporary docu-ments, eye-witness accounts, and reportsfrom the dreaded Committee of PublicSafety, the author demonstrated in chillingdetail the atmosphere of fear, suspicion and

betrayal that gripped the country at the endof the eighteenth century.

As the French Revolution is a major part ofmany A-Level history syllabuses, pupilsfrom Blue Coat School, Reading and KingsCanterbury also attended the lecture.

Graham Fife brought to life the drama and the sadness of the Terror with energyand accuracy and was able to answer theaudience’s many questions on the subject.

CoutureShowing atDartmouthHouse

Above: A model wears a hand-printed silkevening dress by Karl Ludwig Couture.

In April Dartmouth House hosted a CoutureShowing of the Spring Summer Collectionby Karl Ludwig Couture, dress makers toHM The Queen and the late QueenElizabeth The Queen Mother. On showwere a range of beautiful suits and blouses,coats, and afternoon, cocktail and eveningdresses, with hats by Philip Somerville.

The show was preceded by a Receptionand Mrs Terence Mallinson presided.Proceeds from the show will go towardsfunding ESU scholarship programmes.

Private View at Partridge FineArts PLCAt the kind invitation of Partridge Fine Arts PLC, ESU members and guestsenjoyed a Private View of the Galleries and the exhibition "In the Garden" on 13May, in aid of the ESU Chilton Art HistoryScholarship.

Michael Pick, Director, welcomed guests andspoke about the history of the companyand the building. Guests were able to seethe world famous selection of fine 18thCentury English and French furniture, silver, paintings and works of art – allhoused in the last great purpose built"palace of the arts" remaining in the world.

Arne Maynard, the leading internationalcontemporary garden designer and JulieHarris, the artist were also present to talkto guests about their work which was featured in the exhibition.

The event raised over £2,700 in aid of thescholarship. The evening was well attendedand we are grateful to Ann Chilton for heruntiring work for this Scholarship.

Above: Lord Watson with Andrew Roberts atDartmouth House.

ApologyWe would like to apologise to theChairman of ESU London, Mr ColinMcCorquodale, and his wife, Bindy, for an inaccuracy in the May ESU News about their visit toESU Hungary. We reported that Mr McCorquodale’s wife wasHungarian, it is actually Steve Jones’wife, Eva, who is Hungarian, not Mrs McCorquodale. We apologise for this error.

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International at HomeAt the International at Home held atDartmouth House on 9 June Mrs AnthonyBull, Chairman, Promotions Sub-Committee,said farewell to ESU Governor Mrs ToyokoFry and thanked her for all that she haddone to make the International at Homessuch successful occasions. Mrs Fry will beaccompanying her husband Graham Fry toTokyo in July when he will take up his postas British Ambassador to Japan.

The morning was well attended and guestsfrom a variety of countries including Japan,Norway, Poland, Russia and the UnitedStates had the opportunity of learning moreabout the national and international work of the ESU.

Right: L-R Toyoko Fry and Susan Bull.

Travelling Librarian Award

Each year CILIP (The Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals) and theEnglish-Speaking Union fund a travel programme for a UK librarian to visit the UnitedStates to investigate relevant aspects of their work.

The 2003 Travelling Librarian was Anne Peoples from the Western Education and LibraryBoard in Northern Ireland, who recently shared her experiences – looking at outreach services in Arizona, Pennsylvania and New York, at a reception held at Dartmouth House.

Lord Watsonvisits ESUJapanLord Watson arrived in Tokyo for the startof his visit to Japan and South Korea earlyin the morning of the 11 April, EasterSunday. The timing led to an immediateencounter with the reach of English inAsia. Met at the airport by AmbassadorHanabusa, Lord Watson enquired whetherit would be possible to take EasterCommunion in Tokyo that morning.

Ambassador Hanabusa’s suggestion was avisit to the well-known St Ignatius Churchwhere midday mass was being celebrated. The Church was completely packed outand the service in English. The Priestleading the celebration was from Indiaassisted by priests from the Philippines,Luxembourg and Japan.

The Congregation of over 1,000 was drawnfrom Japan, the Philippines, Singapore,Hong Kong, mainland China, the UnitedStates and Britain. Easter Sunday was alsoin Japan’s stunning cherry blossom seasonand he was able to visit some of Tokyo’smost famous public gardens.

The main public highlight of Lord Watson’svisit was giving a lecture at Japan’s leadingprivate university, Keio, on ‘The Asian andInternational Dimension of English’.Cocktails and a reception, at which LordWatson was able to meet many of themembers of ESUJ, followed this eventwhich was reported in some detail in theJapanese press.

He also visited the ESUJ offices and discussed the success of the ESU in Japanand the reasons for it. In particular, LordWatson was much impressed by the ESUJwebsite and its special feature ‘Japan inTheir Own Words’, a webpage in Englishconveying unique insights into Japaneseperspectives on world events.

Lord Watson had two personal highlightsfrom his trip. His visit to Kyoto, whisked toand fro by Bullet Express and accompaniedby the ever-entertaining and erudite MsSashiko Tsuchiya, and his meeting withAmbassador Masaji Takahashi. TheAmbassador was the first Japanese under-graduate at Jesus College, Cambridge atthe same time as Lord Watson was there.Ambassador Takahashi met Lord Watson inthe foyer of the Imperial Hotel wearing his college tie. English really does have a wayof shrinking the world.

CongratulationsMary Dawson (pictured right) who has workedat the ESU for two years as EducationOfficer has been promoted to AssistantDirector of Education. She will continue to work on a variety of programmes andscholarships including the SecondarySchool Exchange Programme, Walter HinesPage Scholarships and English in Action.

Her additional responsibilities will includecontributing to the preparation and planningof new educational projects.

Above: L-R Carole Andrews, Chair of the ESU Library Committee, Anne Peoples and Neil Gilroy-Scott, ESU Director of Education.

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ObituariesThe Baroness Brigstocke CBEChairman of the English-SpeakingUnion 1993-1999

It is with profound sadness that welearned of the cruel and tragic death ofour former Chairman, Lady Brigstocke, inAthens in May.

The Baroness Brigstocke had a distin-guished career in education and was theHigh Mistress of St Paul’s Girls Schoolfrom 1974 to 1989. The English-Speaking Union was most fortunate sheaccepted the invitation of its Board ofGovernors to take on the onerous task

of Chairman from 1993 to 1999. She was a truly remarkable person ofgreat energy, commitment, courage and foresight. In many ways she trans-formed the ESU and laid the firmest offoundations for its present growth andinternational expansion.

Lady Brigstocke contributed vitally to the activities of the ESU of theCommonwealth as Chairman from 1993to 1999 and to international developmentas International Chairman from 1995 to1999. Under her chairmanship ESUswere launched in Armenia, Brazil, Japan,Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Vanuatu. In addition to this shehelped to set up steering committees inmainland China, Hong Kong, Latvia andMoldova. Her visits abroad were greatlyappreciated and always enlivened by herintense interest and sense of occasion.Lady Brigstocke favoured direct involve-ment with the existing ESU education programmes and took a particular interestin the creation of the Centre for Speechand Debate. She led the expansion of itsremit to provide training for teachers andstudents wishing to develop their skills in spoken English, particularly those from sectors with little or no tradition ofparticipation in formal public speaking or debate.

Always alert for opportunities to widenthe range of the ESU’s educational

work, she initiated an imaginative readingprogramme for state primary schools inLondon in support of the governmentsponsored “Year of Reading”. This culminated in a reading festival held atDartmouth House attended by 200 primary school children. Her range ofcontacts among teachers and education-alists ensured that the ESU had unri-valled access to the expertise and skillsneeded for the effective functioning of the Education Committee. The strengthsand successes of our current programmescould not have been achieved without her contribution.

Lord Watson, the Board of Governors,Valerie Mitchell and her team atDartmouth House, our national and international members all wish to expresstheir heartfelt sympathy to LadyBrigstocke’s husband Lord Griffiths andPersephone, David, Julian and Thomas,her four children. She will be greatlymissed and long remembered by us all.As an organisation, we owe her an enormous amount.

Antonia Fraser, the historian and friend has written of Heather Brigstocke:“She was all those things ascribed to her - intelligent, beautiful, witty and looking half her age. She really was one of those people you would neverexpect to die.”

Dame Mary Green DBEChairman of the Education Committee1974-1982 and former ESU GovernorThe ESU records with very great sadnessthe death of Dame Mary Green at the age of ninety. In a long and happy association with the ESU, Dame Marywas Chairman of the EducationCommittee from 1974 to 1982 andserved as an ESU Governor, roles towhich she brought exceptional qualifica-tions and experience.

After studying modern languages atWestfield College, she began a distin-guished career in teaching, which culminated in the Headship in 1954 ofKidbrooke – London’s first purpose-builtcomprehensive school – and lasted until

1973. In addition she gave enthusiasticand unstinting support to a wide varietyof public organisations, including fiveyears as a Governor of the BBC, threeyears on the Press Council, four with theCentre for Educational DevelopmentOverseas as well as others too numerousto list here. Nevertheless, she saw herself as a teacher first and foremost,and always retained her belief in thevocational nature of the profession.

Dame Mary was a much valued member of the ESU community and will be sorelymissed by those who worked with herand were privileged to share her friend-ship. The ESU was represented at herfuneral by Lady Dean and Dr Gilroy-Scotton behalf of the Director-General.

Mrs Aida Violet GowanMrs Aida Gowan was an ESU English inAction tutor for over 10 years, from thebeginning of the programme. She spentevery Tuesday at the ESU taking three oreven four students from 11am to about4pm, sitting in her favourite spot in thebar at Dartmouth House with her weeklygin and tonic. Many students kept intouch with her after they had left and shewas always enthusiastic, caring and funto talk to. She was full of life and vitalityand will be much missed.

Everyone at the English-Speaking Uniongreatly appreciates the contribution thatMrs Gowan gave to the work of the ESUand particularly in promoting this mostimportant English speaking programme.

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Lord Watson will lead an English-Speaking Union Conference entitled ‘Dimensions of the New Europe’, which will be held in Strasbourg on Monday 6 September. It is apt that thisConference should take place in this city which is known as the "crossroads of Europe" and isthe seat of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the EuropeanParliament.

The Conference will take place in the Council of Europe with speakers to include Mr LuziusWildhaber, President of the European Court, Mr Stephen Howarth, UK Permanent Representativeto the Council of Europe, Mme Fabienne Keller, Mayor of Strasbourg, José Caverez, Head ofPublic Affairs for Europe, Coca-Cola and Dr Richard Mayne, Writer and Broadcaster. These andother renowned speakers from the business and political spectrum will be discussing the historicalbackground of European enlargement, and the economic and cultural dimensions.

Strasbourg, with its rich and fascinating history dating from Roman times, offers a wealth ofattractions. ESU Strasbourg has kindly organised a cultural tour of the city on Sunday 5September to include a boat trip on the Rhine river, and a guided tour of the magnificentRomanesque and Gothic cathedral and Oeuvre Notre Dame Museum. Strasbourg is also famousfor its gastronomy and its proximity to the Wine Route of Alsace. There will be an opportunity to take a wine tasting tour on Saturday 4 September. The Strasbourg Branch is looking forwardto welcoming ESU members to this special Conference meeting and will give you all a warmwelcome to their city.

Information as follows:Please note that delegates are responsible for booking their own accommodation and flights.The Hôtel de Prince (33 rue Geiler, 67000 Strasbourg) has reserved 40 rooms for delegates for the nights of 3-6 September. Werecommend that to ensure your place in the hotel you should contact them at your earliest convenience clearly stating that you arepart of the English-Speaking Union delegation:

Euros £Room with bath/shower 91.50 60.55Room with King-size bed or two beds 103.50 68.49Room for three persons 114.00 75.44Petit-déjeuner buffet 12.00 7.94

Tel. 0033 388 61 55 19, Fax. 0033 388 41 10 92, www.hotel-princes.com All room bookings must be made by Thursday 8 July.

Conference Fees

SaturdayWine Route (to include transport, guide and wine tasting tour) 30.00 19.91

SundayGround Travel (to include tour and evening reception) 20.00 13.23Boat trip along the river Rhine 7.00 4.63Lunch at the Restaurant Le Baecheoffe d’Alsace 26.00 17.20Guided Tour of Cathedral and the Oeuvre Notre Dame Museum 13.00 8.60

Sub-Total 66.00 43.66

MondayConference fee 30.00 19.85Ground Travel (to and from the Conference venue and evening reception) 25.00 16.72Tea and Coffee 4.00 2.65Three course lunch (to include wine) at the Council of Europe 35.00 23.16

Sub-Total 94.00 62.38

TOTAL 190 Euros £125.95

In order to help the administration, please note that we have made different categories for costing. Transport has been organisedand clearly this has been added as an extra cost.

For more information and a booking form please contact Sarah Spinney, Communications Officer, telephone 020 7529 1562, email sarah_spinney@esu.org.

European Conference in StrasbourgSaturday 4 - Monday 6 September

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For further information and a booking form please contact: The English-Speaking Union, Branch Services,

144 East 39th Street, New York, NY 10016, telephone: 001 212-818-1200,

fax: 001 212-867-4177, email: info@esuus.org

The programme will include a welcome reception and dinner at the Yale University Club, discussion sessions on international

themes, the 2004 Ambassador Book Award Ceremony, a Tour and Reception at the United Nations, and demonstrations of ESU

educational programmes, a farewell dinner at Ellis Island Immigrant Museum and two lunches. Speakers will include Stuart

Rothenberg, one of the country’s most respected non-partisan political analysts and commentators who will discuss the upcoming

Presidential elections. There are optional tours on the morning of Wednesday 6 October for those who arrive early. The closing

session will take place on the morning of Sunday 10 October.

If you are staying on for an extra day or two, volunteers from the New York Branch are standing ready to help you with any special

requests you might have, such as touring a particular neighborhood, visiting a museum with a local guide or going on a souvenir-

shopping spree.

Optional Pre-conference trip to Washington DC: Sunday 3-Tuesday 5 October

The Washington DC Area Branch has put together an enticing tour package that includes visits to the White House, the U.S.

Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and such Smithsonian highlights as the National Gallery of Art and the National

Air and Space Museum. Each morning will begin with a group breakfast at which a prominent speaker will provide an overview on a

timely subject. Each evening will end with a buffet reception, at least one of which will take place in a stately Embassy.

If you plan to take advantage of this special excursion, you should book your flights into Washington DC and out of New York City.

COSTS

Full payment must be received by Wednesday 1 September

• New York Registration fee (not including accommodation – see below) $440

• Washington: $1200 per person for couples and $1500 per person for singles

(since accommodation must be billed at double-occupancy rates). This will cover

three nights in the Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Avenue NW

(a short walk from Union Station), all breakfasts, all receptions, transportation

to and from scheduled events and train fare from Washington DC to

New York City. Student rates are also available; please inquire directly of

Dr. Andrews at 001 202-234-4602.

ACCOMMODATION

• The Roosevelt Hotel, East 45th Street and Madison Avenue

$179 and $139 (not including breakfast, and excluding 13.625% tax

and a $2.00 occupancy fee).

Reservations can be made by fax: 001 212-885-6162

telephone: 001 212-661-9600.

Please specify that you are with The English-Speaking Union group.

• The Vanderbilt YMCA, East 47th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues

$60 for a single, $70 for a double (bunk beds), both with a shared bath,

excluding breakfast.

YMCA reservations must be pre-paid to the ESU of the US

World Members’ Conference, New York, 6-10 October 2004

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Unless otherwise stated we regret that no refunds can be made for cancellations within seven working days of an event.

For members: We accept payment for Dartmouth House events andmembership subscriptions by credit/debit cards. Cards bearing Visa,

Master-Card, Maestro, Switch, Solo or Delta symbols can now be used to make bookings by post, telephone or email.

DARTMOUTH HOUSE Telephone : 020 7529 1550

Diary DatesJULY

Wednesday 7 July at 3.30-5.00pmHouse of Lords Tea PartyThe Lord Watson of Richmond will receive guests on the

Terrace of the House of Lords. This event is now fully

booked. Please contact Jacqueline Abbott if you wish to

go on the waiting list

Tickets: £22

Sunday 11-Saturday 17 JulyInternational Summer Conference, Oriel College, OxfordThe 42nd International Summer Conference will be held

at Oriel College. The aim of the Conference is to give

participants the opportunity to expand their knowledge of

Britain and to widen their outlook on world issues. It also

offers a unique opportunity to make individual contacts

with people from various fields, cultures and backgrounds

Delegate fee: £845 members, £965 non-members

Contact: Helen Green

Wednesday 14 July at 10.30-11.30amAt Home at Dartmouth House

Members and their friends are invited to coffee at

Dartmouth House

Contact: Jacqueline Abbott

Friday 30 JulyThe 2004 Branches Conference will take place at

Dartmouth House with a full programme of events

and lunch. The day will close with a splendid dinner

at the Lansdowne Club (just around the corner), with

entertainment by singer Siona Stockell

Accommodation, at extremely advantageous rates, has been

arranged at the Lansdowne Club for those wishing to spend

the night in London

For further information, contact Meriel Talbot,

Director of Branches, on 020 7529 1567, or

email meriel_talbot@esu.org

Saturday 31 July – Friday 6 August ESU St Petersburg – Fabergé Tour‘Become a Tzar or Tzarina for a day!’Theo Fabergé’s ‘St Petersburg Collection’ will be making

its 12th Luxury Palaces and Gems Tour to St Petersburg, in

conjunction with the ESU St Petersburg. You are promised

access to palaces and objets d’art, which only the magic

name of Fabergé can open. More details are available

from Irene Clarke on 01895 238 674, or

email creations@stpetersburgcollection.com

AUGUST

Wednesday 11 August at 10.30-11.30amAt Home at Dartmouth House

Members and their friends are invited to coffee at

Dartmouth House

Contact: Jacqueline Abbott

SEPTEMBER

Monday 6 SeptemberLord Watson will lead an English-Speaking Union

Conference entitled ‘Dimensions of the New Europe’ in

Strasbourg. ESU France, Strasbourg Branch, will be

organising cultural visits around the Conference.

For more details, see page 9

Contact: The Director-General’s Office

Wednesday 8 September at 10.30-11.30amAt Home at Dartmouth House

Members and their friends are invited to coffee at

Dartmouth House

Contact: Jacqueline Abbott

Friday 24 September at 7.00pmAs part of the ESU American Arts Scholarship to

Attingham Lecture Series 2004, Thomas Michie, since

1991 Curator of Decorative Arts at the Museum of Art,

Rhode Island School of Design, will give a lecture on

‘Cargo and Adventure: Rhode Island and the China Trade

1700-1900’. Proceeds from the lecture help to support

an ESU scholar at Attingham

Cost: £7.50 to include wine

Contact: Tim Rolph

Wednesday 6-Sunday 10 OctoberThe World Members’ Conference will take place in New York. For more details, see page 10Contact: ESU New York

Tuesday 9 November Reception at 7.00pm and Dinner at 7.30pmESU Dinner with Theo and Sarah Fabergé’s ‘St Petersburg Collection’The wonderful name of Fabergé calls forward images ofdazzling craftsmanship presented in imperial splendour.Philip Birkenstein, Chairman of the Collection, will give anamusing and informative talk at this dinner at DartmouthHouse, and bring you up to date with the family’s creationstoday – a selection will also be on display. Theo Fabergé,the only living grandson of Russian imperial jeweller CarlFabergé, is an Englishman and the company works activelywith ESU St PetersburgTickets: £70 (Tables of 10 £650) to include champagnereception, dinner and half a bottle of wineContact: Jacqueline Abbott

Wednesday 17 NovemberThe 2004 ESU Churchill Lecture will take place atGuildhall with guest speaker Senator George Mitchell Contact: Sarah Spinney

Wednesday 17 November at 7.00pmAs part of the ESU American Arts Scholarship to AttinghamLecture Series 2004, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, AnthonyW and Lulu C Wang, Curator of American Decorative Artsat the Metropolitan Museum, New York, will give a lectureon ‘Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1848-1933, Interior Designer,Glassmaker, Metalworker and Jeweller Extraordinaire’.Proceeds from the lecture help to support an ESU scholarat AttinghamCost: £7.50 to include wineContact: Tim Rolph

ADVANCE NOTICE

Diary Dates cont.DARTMOUTH HOUSE Telephone : 020 7529 1550

Telephone : 020 7529 1550 Fax : 020 7495 6108 Email : esu@esu.org Web : www.esu.org

Published by the English-Speaking Union, Registered Charity No. 273136 Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED Tel : 020 7529 1550 Fax : 020 7495 6108 Email : esu@esu.org Web : www.esu.org

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American Election Night Party at Dartmouth House

Since it was first held in 1976, the ESU’sAmerican Election Night Party has been aregular fixture in the London Anglo-

American calendar, with some 400 ex-patriates, politicians, and friends of the United States of all persuasions celebrating this important event.

From Kingman Brewster in 1976, throughJohn J Louis, Charles H Price II, Henry ECatto, Raymond Seitz, William J Crowe,and Philip J Lader, we have welcomedeach and every US Ambassador to ourhome here at Dartmouth House as ourguest of honour, and we are hopeful that this year will be no exception.

As before, the event will start at 9pm,and we will be showing live coverage of the election on screens around thebuilding.

We expect to continue into the night, untilat the very least the Eastern and Centralregions have returned their results.

The party will take place on Tuesday 2 November from 9pm. The ticket pricewill be confirmed in the September ESU News.

The ESU needs your helpIf you would like to support the ESU’s ever increasing educational programme by a donation or a legacy in your Will,

please contact Jo Wedderspoon at Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London, W1J 5ED,

telephone 020 7529 1550, email jo_wedderspoon@esu.org. Your help would be greatly appreciated.