International Students Congress

What are you Doing in the Holidays?

From the 6 - 9 May, the International Students Congress will be held, 26 miles out of Auckland city in an outdoor camp on the Whangaparoa Peninsula. The conference is being organised by the National Overseas Students Action Committee (NOSAC) and a warm invitation is extended to all students, both overseas and local.

The International Student Congresses have traditionally been a source of not only much fruitful discussion, but also future action. It was at the 1977 Congress that NOSAC was first formed and the campaign against the cutbacks to overseas students was innitiated.

A very important aspect of the conference is the discussions that take place, both at an informal and formal level. Often very academic theories or ideas are illuminated by people's direct practical experiences. This years conference will deal with the current situation in South East Asis, trade unions their place in society both in New Zealand and overseas, the situation in Malaysia, Singapore and the South Pacific, and the role of students.

But of course, the conference will not only consist of discussions. Ample time is allocated for films, slides, informal cultural and social evenings, and sporting events. This means that people not only develop their understanding of world events but also close friendships. It is also an ideal opportuntiy for local and overseas students to mix and thus gain an understanding of each other's problems.

In the next few issues of Salient there will be articles covering some of the workshop areas e.g. South East Asia, Trade Unions etc, and also a fuller run-down of the Conference Programme. Watch out for these articles. If you would like further details i.e. the transport and subsidies available etc, then contact Soo Ching 758-099 or Leonie Morris 757-627 or Lindy Cassidy 759-274, who would be only too happy to answer any queries.