2/2/2005 - Leslie Bains’ Visit to Malaysia Coincides with the Launching of Friends of AFS
AFS International President, Leslie Bains and AFS Regional Director of Asia & Pacific, Elizabeth Keyser, visited Malaysia from January 4-6. A welcome dinner was held at the revolving restaurant of the Kuala Lumpur Tower. The dinner was organized by AFS Malaysia and its Board members.
During her visit, Leslie Bains paid courtesy calls to the U.S. Embassy and the Education Department at the Ministry of Education and officially launched “Friends of AFS”. The launching was held at the Malaysian Petroleum Club on the 42nd Floor of the Petronas Twin Towers. Among the foreign dignitaries that attended this event were H.E Geoff Randal, ambassador of New Zealand, H.E James Wise, ambassador of Australia, Jaakko Lehtovirta, first secretary of the Embassy of Finland, and Jamari Salleh of the U.S. Embassy.
The mayor of Kuala Lumpur, Dato’ Ruslin, an AFS sending father, was one of the guests. His daughter will begin her AFS adventure at the end of the month. Other guests included corporate sponsors, potential sponsors, sending parents, hosted students, and host parents.
Atty Sulaiman, National Director of AFS Malaysia had the following to say about the Friends of AFS Program: “Through ‘Friends of AFS’, we aim to build a network of individuals who are interested in getting involved with AFS and believe in the AFS Mission. As ‘Friends of AFS’, you will be on our mailing list and will receive information and invitations to the activities organized by AFS. There will be no subscription fee; ‘Friends of AFS’ are welcome to participate in any of our activities. We are planning to organize talks, excursions and informal gatherings from 2005 onwards.”
“There will be a synergy of informal learning as some of these activities will overlap with AFS activities involving our hosted students from different countries. These activities will promote a more just and peaceful world through better understanding of the rich cultures in Malaysia. They will also promote a better insight and understanding of cultures of countries outside Malaysia as well.”
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