OSCA China 2011 and Clean Energy Projects
The OSCA China projects are still being set up at the moment. Camps are organised in several locations throughout China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Foshan. There are projects with children from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as camps in rural areas or with the children of migrant workers. The students in these camps have a very limited knowledge of English. Camps are also organized in good state schools, where the level of English is slightly higher - and the students are extremely eager to learn, as to be able to do better in the very competitive state exams. The dates for the OSCA Hong Kong projects are not confirmed yet. While it’s possible there will be variations between teams and locations, it’s likely the programme will take place from the 2nd of July to the 14th of August. All the China Camps will be day-camps. You will have evenings free, leaving you plenty of time to get your energy back and enjoy exploring a bit of China! China is a tough location. By and large, English is not widely spoken, not even very basic English. Western food is not as readily available as in the other projects. Although it changes from camp to camp, accommodation in China is generally less luxurious than in the other projects and toilets will probably not be “western style”. If you can’t live without your daily comforts, China is perhaps not the best project for you. Each team will consist of seven volunteers, of which six will be teaching volunteers and the seventh will be a bilingual manager, who will help out with all the translation. In addition to a manager, each volunteer will be paired with a local teaching assistant who will be “bilingual” to some degree. Teaching assistants will be with you throughout the camp and will help with any language problems you might encounter while teaching. You’ll often be living where you work, immersed in the culture. This gives you the chance to get to know your local area and immerse yourself in the real China of street markets, watermelon sellers, etc. Travelling: China is a dream destination for travelling. Due to its sheer size, you will first need to decide what sort of China you want to see. The China of rice paddies, temples and holy mountains, the China of jungles, elephants and waterfalls, the China of deserts, nomads and camels, the China of Tibet, monks and the roof of the world… China has it all! Once you are in your destination of choice, travelling is cheap (much more so if you’ve picked up some Mandarin during the camp). China is a place to fall in love with… it’s intense and not for the faint hearted, but it doesn’t disappoint!
China’s 100 Clean Energy Projects to Aid Africa
(Updated: 2011-10-28) China has been carrying out clean energy projects in more than ten African countries to help the continent, believed one of the largest victims of climate change by some experts, tackle the multiple effects it brings, a foreign affairs official said. In order to improve African countries’ abilities to adapt to climate change, China has been actively implementing 100 clean energy projects including solar power, biogas and small hydropower projects in Africa, said Lu Shaye, directorgeneral of Department of African Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the ongoing China-Africa Think Tank Forum held in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Lu said China has worked out countryspecific plans and signed exchange of notes on setting up projects with 11 countries, including Ethiopia and Mozambique. Relevant projects will start in the near future. The 100 clean energy projects were proposed by Premier Wen Jiabao at the fourth ministerial conference of the Forum On China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2009 as part of the eight new measures the Chinese government has taken to strengthen China-Africa cooperation.