2013 was another big year for ACAA and 2014 looks to be even bigger.

New Year’s Greetings from the team at the ACAA!

At the beginning of the new year it’s worth taking time to note a few of the ACAA’s achievements in 2013, as well as taking a look forward to what 2014, the Year of the Horse will bring.

The ACAA reached out to engage its 10,000th member in 2013, a remarkable achievement from an organisation formed in 2007. Ms. Xiao Chen, a Shanghai-based alumna from the University of New South Wales was the lucky number 10,000. We would like to thank all our alumni and supporters for their continued support, especially the 34 Australian University partners from across seven states and territories. We look forward to continuing to grow the number of alumni to make the ACAA the largest and best organised overseas alumni association operating in China.

*Pictured: The Inaugural Alumni Uni Games.

In 2013, the ACAA organised, hosted and supported some 130+ events in over 10 cities.

The highlight was once again the Australia China Alumni Awards, which is now into its fifth year. Over 250 alumni and friends attended the gala ceremony in Beijing on November where the University of Queensland’s Mark Hutchinson, CEO for Greater China and Mongolia GE was the keynote speaker and the University of Melbourne’s Zili Shao was the winner of the Australia China Alumni of the Year Award.

*Pictured: Alumni reception with the Australian Governor General, Quentin Bryce.

We were delighted once again in 2013 to be able to participate in, and include alumni representatives in events with a number of VIPs including:

• A reception with Australian Governor- General Quentin Bryce

• Dinner with Prime Minister Julia Gillard

• A Victorian alumni reception with Victorian Premier Denis Napthine

• An ACT alumni reception with Chief Minister Katy Gallagher together with the Vice Chancellors of ANU and the University of Canberra

On top of this, we also ran an active program of events focused in Beijing and Shanghai, where our alumni network is strongest, but also in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Nanjing, Kunming, Chengdu, Suzhou, Melbourne and Sydney.

These included social networking events such as ski trips, and a day trip to watch the Australian Men’s Basketball team play the Chinese national team. These complemented the series of professional events, including an alumni speaker series with AustCham Shanghai, a series of Young Professionals and Banking and Finance Drinks as well as Careers events in Shanghai and Beijing.

*Pictured: Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop meets with young Australians studying and working in Beijing.

2013 concluded with Christmas parties in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Chengdu in which an estimated total of 850+ alumni attended to celebrate Christmas “Aussie Style.”

Looking forward to 2014, an exciting development will be the increased activity in South China, led by our newest team member Ms. Iris Huang. Iris is a Guangzhou native and holds a Bachelor of Business & Management from Guangzhou University and a Master of Business (Marketing) from the University of Queensland. Iris will be working to grow the ACAA’s South China network and will focus on Guangzhou, with additional outreach into Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

There will be plenty more exciting plans for 2014 with the introduction of a new membership card with associated benefits. We also plan to trial a new online payment system for events and will keep up our efforts with social media in China by launching our WeChat corporate account early in 2014.

From all the ACAA team, we wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year “新年快乐” and look forward to seeing and hearing from you all in the Year of the Horse. ■ 

*To learn more about the Australia China Alumni Association, visit us at: www.austchinaalumni.org