Charity ball with Oceanic Flavour (News)

HUNDREDS of people are set to attend a charity ball with an oceanic flavour later this month. The annual event, organised by the Australian Association of Bahrain (AAB), will bring together Australians, New Zealanders and other nationals for fun and philanthropy. "We're expecting around 700 people to attend the ball this year," AAB administrator Tina Hunt told the GDN. "We also have around 250 people coming in from Saudi Arabia for this event." The association aims to raise funds for three charities they chose to help this year. "We're aiming to raise BD5,000 at this year's ball for The Palm Association, The Children's Academy and Alia Centre for Early Intervention," said Ms Hunt. "Last year's ball at the Gulf Hotel attracted more than 670 people and we raised BD4,000 for various charities. "The ball is an annual feature of the association that portrays Australia as a multicultural society while raising funds for a good cause." Down Under the Sea is the theme of the charity ball, which will be held at the Gulf Hotel's Gulf Convention Centre on May 20. "People refer to both Australia and New Zealand as Down Under most of the time," said Ms Hunt. "Our theme reflects that with an underwater twist as well. "The ballroom will be lit up with blue lights with star fish and sea horses as centre pieces." The evening will also offer an exotic array of sumptuous Australasian fare, said Ms Hunt. "We have a four-course Australian menu which includes crocodile and kangaroo meat and the quintessentially Australian barramundi fish," she said. "We also have New Zealand lamb as well as beverages from both the countries." Entertainment for the night will be provided by local band Frankie's Friends and DJ Ralph will play a selection of songs from Down Under. Batelco is the main sponsor of the event and AAB's event sponsor for the year while Gulf Brands International, Bahrain Duty Free and DHL are other sponsors of the ball. Tickets for the black tie event are priced at BD32 for members and BD40 for non-members and are still available. Founded in the 1970s, AAB has 250 members and more than 900 others on its distribution list. The association recently held a commemorative service to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey during the First World War. The ANZAC Observance Day is one of the main events in the association's calendar. The AAB also hosts business and social events through its Australian Business Group and the Australasian Women's Group. The charity ball will begin at 7pm. For more details contact the association at aab@australiabahrain.com or Ms Hunt at 38395803. Copyright 2010 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group 'Charity ball with Oceanic flavour', Gulf Daily News, May 14, 2010, Jennifer Gnana

Switch off – for our planet’s sake

People around the world will unplug on a massive scale tomorrow to mark Earth Hour, a global solidarity event which each year brings people together to vouchsafe our planet's future. Every year the event, which began in 2007 in Australia, witnesses important landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge plunged into darkness for a full 60 minutes. I caught up online with a friend of mine currently studying in Brisbane last week. After exchanging a year's worth of news, our conversation veered to the upcoming Earth Hour, something close to our hearts as we missed many a class to participate in our school's Eco Club activities. She was so excited about switching off, it sounded like Christmas had come early for her. From what she told me, the World Wildlife Fund, which spearheads the event, has done such an incredible job in educating Australian folk about Earth Hour, it is actually looked forward to as a big annual gathering. Moreover, the country has an enthusiastic environment ministry, with former Midnight Oil rocker Peter Garrett at the helm and even a Minister for Climate Change and Water! Closer to home however, I couldn't help feeling a little down last week after I phoned over a dozen schools in Bahrain to find out their activities for Earth Hour, only to discover that most of them didn't have a clue what I was talking about. Some of them had environment as part of their syllabus, but it was disheartening to know that they shirked from actually putting the lessons into practice. It has long been an argument that extra-curricular activity distracts students from classes and nothing fruitful comes of it. I remember the Green Week we had in school, when teachers turned up in green and the students in green ribbons. Some of my classmates planted saplings, while others helped empty the hand-painted recycle bin which had taken the collaborative effort of many months of hard work to be filled. It used to be almost routine for most of us to come to school with a bunch of newspapers and then slide them down the recycle bin chute. There was also a memorable clean-up day, when we volunteered to clean our school campus, picking up empty Coke cans, polythene bags and other rubbish. I can never forget a friend of mine who was always on the lookout for people with recently opened Coke cans, to collect the rings, which were then donated for making prosthetic limbs. We also had seminars on shopping bags, climate change documentaries and hands-on green activities throughout the week. You may wonder what good came of wearing green ribbons, but honestly, every time I go shopping I think twice before accepting plastic bags and I remember to use unused leaves of old notebooks when I'm studying. There's nothing better than people coming together for a particular cause that will help reinforce it as a habit. Also, there are no better institutions to promote them than those which educate us in our formative years. Though there are social groups and hotels in Bahrain who are switching off, only schools can effectively help dissolve the callousness that prevails with regard to the environment. You could have many interesting activities planned as a group or family for tomorrow, such as hosting unplugged events like an a cappella concert, a candlelit dinner, or a story-telling session. My five year-old brother Abhishek and I will probably spend time melting chocolate over candles, with me making shadow puppets on the walls to scare him. While lights go off around the world, there are groups of people who have taken the pledge to leave lights and appliances on in defiance, labelling the world-wide event a farce. Though the credibility of international climate watchdogs is in disrepute over some of their exaggerated claims, we can't disbelieve the threat of climate change to our species and our planet. It was reported just days ago that a tiny island in the Bay of Bengal, known in India and Bangladesh as the New Moore and South Talpatti Island, respectively, has disappeared thanks to rising sea levels. It's time Bahrain too joined hands with the world community in pledging support for our planet by switching off tomorrow from 8.30 to 9.30pm. For once, let's Vote Earth! ¥ Jennifer is a former Bahrain resident now studying in Mumbai. Copyright 2010 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group 'Switch off - for our planet's sake', Gulf Daily News, March 26, 2010, Jennifer Gnana