International Network of Universities (INU)Awards and Donations
The 2006 Henry Fong Staff Award for Global Citizenship
Dr Hans Westerbeek
The International Network of Universities proudly presents the winner of the 2006 Henry Fong Staff Award for Global Citizenship:
Associate Professor Hans Westerbeek, Head of School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.
Born: 1965
Family: wife Loes
Interests: playing sports - football in particular (Ajax is his favorite team) and painting
Music: mood dependent – everything from Mozart to heavy metal
Last seen film: Candy
Last read book: A Beautiful Accident (interviews with six philosophers world-wide)
INU Project Manager, Gunilla Carlecrantz, sat down with Hans to learn more about him and his interest in Global Citizenship.
"The theme of Global Citizenship immediately struck a chord with me! Having grown up in the Netherlands and then moved across the world to Australia, I feel that in many ways I am a global citizen. However, if you also consider my profession – as an academic you can take this so much further. It goes hand in hand with the person I want to be! And my academic discipline, Sport Management, is a subject that can and does in many ways contribute to Global Citizenship."
How do you mean?
"The World Cup, which is soon starting in Germany with teams from all over the world, is a perfect example of an event that cuts across nations and cultures. It shows the enormous power of Sport. It can cross (cultural and national) boundaries where politicians often fail to do so and bring people together, fighting a friendly battle for the same purpose, that is to win the game and have fun."
But hasn't Sport also been used many times as a political tool?
"Yes it has and still is used to achieve political gains. Remember Hitler using the 1936 Olympic games to promote his ideology? And during the 60's and the 70's the communist states dominated the international arena in many sporting fields with the purpose to showcase their moral superiority. Even today, a lot of federal government money is put towards supporting elite performance in order to show the rest of the world how fantastic "we" are. The Beijing Olympics as a stage to present China to the world is such an example. Academically we clearly distinguish between abusing sport for the wrong reasons and its potential contribution to society"
Why is Global Citizenship important?
"I teach a course called Sports business in the global market place and I am often surprised by how similar people of different nations and cultures really are. The fact that many of the problems in the world emanate from focusing on religious and cultural difference, and the fear people have about ‘things and behaviors that are unknown to them' and hence them disliking this difference, does not mean that these differences should divide us. Among the students you notice the ones that are truly cosmopolitan, the increasing few who step outside their own boundaries and understand that it is not us as individuals that are most important, but our combined potential. It is all of us together inhabiting this globe and this is what we should focus on talking and discussing. That is why winning this Award is so important to me, it stimulates me to continue to look beyond my own narrow points of view!"
And with those words we leave Hans for now, but we will follow his work closely as he continues to work on the theme of Global Citizenship. He currently is working on setting up international partnerships in Europe and the Middle East to help develop the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, in the process advancing the university's global participation. And soon he will take a short period of leave from La Trobe to spend time with an INU partner University as part of the Award.
The Henry Fong Award for Global Citizenship has been made possible by a generous donation to the International Network of University by Dr Henry Fong Yun-Wah.
Dr Henry Fong Yun-Wah, a prominent Hong Kong business leader, philanthropist and Honorary Doctor of Letters at La Trobe University, Australia is widely respected and admired for his success in business and for his generous support of education and culture.
Through his generous donation, the International Network of Universities will take an important step towards fulfilling its mission of fostering global understanding and cooperation between developed and less developed nations.
