Everyone,
A lot of questions have been asked recently in regards to the upcoming Fourth International Vietnamese Youth Conference (DH4) in Sydney, Australia this year, especially in regards to the US/Canada delegation, so I hope this semi-official newsletter will address all your questions. A lot of questions have already been answered on the official DH4 FAQ at http://www.lenduong.net/article.php3?id_article=13262.
Mailing List
A North America delegation informational mailing list has been set up for all attendees from US and Canada who are going to DH4 this year. If you are 89% sure you are going, please send an email to dh4_northamerica-subscribe@yahoogroups.com, so that we can keep everyone up to date with the DH4 progress.
Flight Ticket
I guess by now everyone is aware that flight tickets to Sydney are not necessarily cheap over Christmas. Unlike domestic flights, prices don't fluctuate with time, they just tend to go up the longer you wait. We strongly encourage you to plan your vacation now and book your flight ticket early. You want to fly into Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), and be sure to arrive no later than the morning of December 27th. It is recommended to also check with real agents instead of just relying on websites, as agents can sometimes find cheaper tickets, especially on international flights.
We will approach Quantas Airlines as well as United Airlines soon to ask for group discounts, and therefore need to get a rough projection of how many people from North America will go to DH4 this year. So, please subscribe to the above-mentioned mailing list. We hope to have more information on the group discounts available within the next few weeks (yeah, we know, this is a chicken/egg problem, yadi-yadi).
Passport--yes, you need a passport, no doubt about this, and it usually takes up to a month to get a passport, so we encourage you to go to your local post office today and get your passport paperwork started. As for a visa, all US and Canadian citizens need a visa to enter Australia. Alright, white-lie, it's not really a visa that you guys need. The official paper that is needed is the so-called Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) and it can be applied online simply at http://www.eta.immi.gov.au for the price of three Starbucks mocha frappuccinos.
Keep in mind that ETA's are only offered to citizens of certain countries (which includes the United States and Canada, but excludes Vietnam). If you are stateless, a permanent resident and do not have a passport, please contact the Australian Embassy in Washington DC to start your visa application process now. If anyone of you have problems obtaining a VISA/ETA, the Aussies can help by writing an official invitation letter.
Price--alright, the real deal.
The $350 early-bird registration fee for the conference is in Australian Dollars, which is roughly 260 US dollars. After October 15th, the registration will increase to $450 (which is about 340 US dollars). We are very aware that money is a big factor in making a decision to attend DH4 or not. This is why the North America organizing team is working hard on a big fundraising plan so that we can subsidize the cost for all North America attendees. At this point, we don't know how much we can subsidize, but I'll assure you that this is our top priority and that we plan to subsidize a rather significant amount, which leads me to the.....
DH4 Fundraising Campaign!!!
We are currently planning on nationwide DH4 fundraising tour, consisting primarily of an upcoming nationwide Radiothon (probably end of August) as well as fundraising dinners in the following selected cities:
San Jose - 8/27 or 8/28
Orange County - 8/27 or 8/28 or 9/11
Toronto - 9/3 or 9/4
Chicago - 9/3 or 9/4
Dallas - 9/15 or 9/16
Houston - 9/10 or 9/11
Sacramento - 9/24 or 9/25
San Diego - 9/24 or 9/25
Atlanta - 10/01 or 10/02
Okay, sure the dates above are pretty vague, so please take this with a grain of salt. Official tour dates will be finalized by the end of this week, with an official press release coming out soon. We will present DH4 at these dinners, answer all questions and most importantly will hope to fundraise the necessary funds through auctions, raffle tickets and other means. 50% of the proceeds will go to the DH4 organizing team in Australia, and 50% will go directly back to the US delegation. Having said that, we encourage all attendees to do the best they can to help out with these fundraising dinners and the radiothon. It's directly affecting your out-of-pocket expense for this trip. In addition, please help in finding corporate sponsors by using the fancy-dancy sponsorship proposal at http://www.lenduong.net/article.php3?id_article=13221 . A US version of this sponsorship proposal is being worked on as we speak.
Who's my liaison?
For DH4, there are only four liaisons for North America:
All of Canada:
-- still working on this person --
These four lovely people can answer all your questions and will help with any North America-related matters. However, unlike DH3, registration to DH4 will be available online, so you have to register yourself. The above-mentioned liaisons will keep track of everyone, but will not collect the fees. You will be able to pay with a credit card with the online registration, which we hope to make available by the end of this month.
Alright, gimme a real update on what's going down under!
The Aussies are working day/night on the conference, and here's what we can reveal so far:
- The program is being worked on and is being finalized. It will be posted soon. Yes, it is true that DH4 will not have a camping-section a la sleeping bags and tents, but the program will include many outdoor activities in lovely Sydney.
- The conference will be hosted at Bankstown Townhall, which is the heart of the Vietnamese community in Sydney. However, due to logistical reasons, lodging will be provided in a hotel in Cabramatta, which is 20-30 minutes away from Bankstown Townhall. Cabramatta is the other big Vietnamese section in Sydney, and we will provide daily buses between the two venues.
- The Aussies are putting on their first fundraising dinner August 5th in Melbourne, followed by walkathon on September 17th in Sydney
More questions?
Still have questions about DH4? Email the above-mentioned liaisons who can answer all your questions or can find out the answers for you, or join the attendee mailing list, where we can address everyone's needs. Keep an eye on the official website at www.sydney2005.net. Please don't hesitate to email us if you have any further questions. It's our job to make this this trip as easy, painless and fun as possible for all of us. Please forward this newsletter as appropriate.
159 days until Finding Nemo,
Minh T. Nguyen
DH4 North America Organizing Team