The programmes and Net Notes raise certain issues that you may wish to cover in more detail, such as the situation of minorities in China, the changing role of women, the issue of migration, and the Tibet issue. You may wish to involve your school in promoting a greater understanding of Chinese culture through the ‘China in Britain’ campaign. The following resources may be helpful:
China in View
A set of activities focusing on development issues, produced primarily for use in A level geography, but adaptable for younger students. The activity ‘Behind the Bamboo Curtain’ in the Introduction section of these Net Notes was adapted from these materials with kind permission from Dave Richards. The role play ‘Toy Story’ is particularly recommended for use with Programme 4. The activities can be found on the website of the Reading International Solidarity Campaign:
www.risc.org.uk
For further information, contact:
Dave Richards
RISC
35—39 London Streer
Reading RG1 4PS
Tel: 0118 958 6692
Oral Testimonies of Rural Minority Women
An archive of 26 oral testimonies of rural women from Yunnan province, translated into English. These testimonies were gathered by and from local women as part of an international oral testimony project with mountain communities. The interviews have been published in Chinese by Oxfam Hong Kong in a book entitled Dashan de Nuer (Daughters of the Mountains). They are due to be published in English by Panos in 2000 and will also be accessible online. For further information, contact:
Olivia Bennet
Director, Oral Testimony Programme
The Panos Institute
9 White Lion Street
London N1 9PD
Tel: 020 7239 7628
Fax: 020 7278 0345
Email: oliviab@panoslondon.org.uk
Website: www.panos.org.uk/
China Through Women’s Eyes
A display of photographs which attempts to counter the stereotypical images in the Western media of China as either the ‘exotic orient’ or the ‘yellow peril’. Female friends and colleagues of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) volunteers in China were asked to take photographs to represent the aspects of China they would like British people to see. The best of these, supplemented by the work of professional women photographers, create a picture of diversity, accompanied by transcripts of interviews with Chinese women reflecting on their lives and aspirations.
For further information, contact:
Joke Oke
The Global Education Department
VSO
317 Putney Bridge Road
London SW1 3TS
Tel: 0181 780 2266
China in Britain: A New Era
The China in Britain Campaign celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Launched by the Cultural Office of the Chinese embassy, the campaign aims to raise the general level of understanding of China and Chinese culture amongst British people, particularly the young, and to encourage co-operative projects with this aim.
The main themes are: arts and culture; language; the environment; co-operation.
The campaign will identify and assist:
initiatives demonstrating the variety, history and wisdom embedded in Chinese arts and culture
studies of Chinese languages
projects highlighting the importance of peaceful and enlightened coexistence
environmental programmes
Individuals, schools, community groups, local authorities, universities and companies are all welcome to join in. For further information, contact:
Simon Jones or Bernice Lee
Tel: 0161 237 3821
Fax: 0161 236 7558
Website: www.china-britain.org
For the Chinese government’s views on the population issue, see:
http://www.cpirc.org.cn/eindex.htm
For further information about Tibet, see:
http://www.tibet.ca/
http://www.tibet,com/index.html
