Breadcrumbs

Somerville Association AGM and Winter Meeting

25 February 2012 - Somerville College

Our next Winter Meeting in Somerville will be on Saturday 25 February 2012 and will be preceded by the AGM of the Somerville Association, including an update from the Principal on the plans for the College’s future and the election of Committee members.  See the agenda and minutes from the 2011 AGM

The subject of the Winter Meeting itself will be a talk by Princess Zarith Idris of Johor, Malaysia (Oriental Studies, 1979), entitled: “We Are Like You: What Muslims in Malaysia have in common with other communities around the world.”

Zarith Idris, a daughter of the late Sultan Idris of Perak, is married to Sultan Ibrahim of Johor. They have six children. She is the chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, and is a Royal Fellow of the School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She supports various charitable and non-governmental organisations. She is Royal Patron of the Johor Spastic Children's Association, the Rotary Club of Tebrau Foundation and the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association. She is also the Royal Adviser for the Malaysian Red Crescent. She has presented papers at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s international language conference. In April 2011, she was invited to be one of the speakers at the Credit Suisse Philanthropist Forum in Singapore.

Raja Zarith is a strong advocate of improving the use of English in Malaysia. In addition to Malay and English, she speaks Mandarin Chinese, Italian and French. She has authored four children's books, and writes a periodical newspaper, often promoting multiculturalism and understanding between religious and ethnic communities throughout Malaysia.  In 2010 she wrote: “We can choose to see what we have in common or we can just focus on the differences. We can choose to remain ignorant about others or we can ask for guidance from our religious leaders and officials to help us broaden our perspective .” 

The charge for the meeting (2.30 pm) will be £15, including tea. Before the meeting, a light luncheon (soup/sandwiches/a glass of wine) will be available from 1.00 pm at a cost of £15.  Guests are welcome.  

BOOKING

Please book by 18 February 2012.

You can book and pay online by visiting Somerville Online, logging on or registering, then clicking on the Upcoming Events link on the right.

If you prefer to pay by debit card, please ring Elizabeth Robson on 01865 280626.  

If you prefer to pay by cheque, please download the booking form and post with the correct payment.