Former Kennesaw President to Launch Ethics Conference in South Africa

Betty Siegel

Betty Siegel, Kennesaw State University’s president emeritus, is traveling to South Africa to launch an inaugural conference on ethical leadership April 23-25, according to a university press release.

Ms. Siegel spent three months last year teaching on global ethical leadership at Stellenbosch University east of Cape Town, South Africa, where the conference is to be held.

She said that she found South Africans particularly receptive to themes of ethics and social responsibility.

“South Africa is an ideal place to convene such a conference because of its unique history and the enormous changes taking place there,” Ms. Siegel said.  “These ideas really resonated with them because the theme of reconciliation is so prevalent in their experience.”

The conference is to feature keynote speaker Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his work against apartheid.

Ms. Siegel was president of Kennesaw State from 1981-2006, and the university’s Siegel Institute for Leadership, Ethics & Character was named in her honor in 2005.

For more information, visit www.siegelinstitute.org.

 

 

Georgia China Alliance Chair Hosts Report on State Mission

John Ray

The Georgia China Alliance, which was organized in 2003 to promote improved relations between Georgia and China, will hold a luncheon at the World Trade Center Atlanta at noon on Monday, April 21.

John Ray, the organization’s chairman, is organizing the luncheon so that Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, can report on the recent state mission to Beijing and Shanghai.

“There is no better way to get along in this world than to buy and sell goods from each other,” Mr. Ray told GlobalAtlanta. “The more that we can promote trade, the better it is for both of us.”

Gov. Sonny Perdue led the state delegation at a time when China has come under increasing criticism for its crackdown on anti-government protests in Tibet and for the U.S. trade imbalance with China.

Mr. Ray said that he clings to his conviction that to return to a period of complete mistrust as in the time of the Cold War would be a mistake.

“I remember when there was no dialogue with China and it was regarded as a complete moonscape with 20 percent of the world’s people on a different planet,” he said.

He also compared current U.S.-Chinese relations as the beginning of “a marathon not a sprint,” and that he hoped the Georgia China Alliance would provide programs to bring together community groups locally.

Visit www.georgiachina.com.

Georgia Business Leaders Honored at Beijing Banquet

Left to Right: Ms. Fu, Gov. Perdue and Mr. Lesser.

At a banquet during a recent trade mission to China, Gov. Sonny Perdue honored two Georgia business leaders for their role in helping the state open its first trade office in Beijing. 

Craig Lesser, former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, was acknowledged for his efforts in establishing the Georgia-China business ties that led to the office’s opening.

Mr. Perdue presented Mr. Lesser with a glass dogwood engraving showing his appreciation for Mr. Lesser’s vision with regard to China. 

Emily Fu, a member of RE/MAX Greater Atlanta’s board of directors, was also cited in Mr. Perdue’s remarks.  Ms. Fu was serving as a special state envoy to China during Mr. Perdue’s mission.

Delegates, Consuls Join 250,000 Visitors at Macon Cherry Blossom Festival

Taiwanese dancers at the Kaleidoscope Cultures event.  Photo by Glenn Grossman.

Macon’s International Cherry Blossom Festival drew more than 250,000 visitors over the 10 days from March 28 to April 6, including representatives of Atlanta’s consular corps.

This year’s festival, its 26th, had an international emphasis with a spotlight on Japan, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Russia.

Japan’s consul general, Shoji Ogawa; the United Kingdom’s consul general, Martin Rickerd and Jill Olander, honorary consul of Sweden, attended.

Although their countries were not officially represented, Lutz Hermann Görgens, Germany’s consul general based in Atlanta, and Claire Collobert, the press attaché for the French consulate, also based in Atlanta, participated.

Christopher Smith, the Danish honorary consul, and Bruce Allen, Liechtenstein’s honorary consul, both based in Macon, helped host the international visitors.

Delegations from Kurobe, Japan, including Mayor Yasuo Horiuchi, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, including Deputy Mayor Ren-Yih Lin, attended.

A performing troupe from Ulyanovsk State University in Ulyanovsk, Russia, and members of the university’s faculty, also attended.

A “Kaleidoscope of Cultures” event featured a variety of artistic performances from different countries.

Visit www.cherryblossom.com.