CHAIRMAN’S REPORT TO THE 91 st AGM

THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION OF THE COMMONWEALTH

DARTMOUTH HOUSE, 3 PM THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2010

1. Agenda

EDUCATION

In the past year the Education Department has awarded over 50 varied scholarships and grants. Our wide range of education programmes include the Secondary School Exchange scheme for gap-year students, the Walter Hines Page and Chautauqua scholarships for teachers, the Lindemann Trust Fellowship Awards for post-doctoral scientists, the American Memorial Chapel Grant for UK clergy and the Morehead-Cain scholarships to the University of North Carolina.  

a) Effective Spoken English Competitions :Winners of our public speaking and debating competitions were:

The International Public Speaking Competition, sponsored by HSBC Mouataz El Esrawi from Lebanon

The Public Speaking Competition for Schools Simon Mariner, Katharine Heard and Patrick Heard from Bourne Grammar School, Lincolnshire

The Schools Mace Debating Competition Hasan Dindjer and Edward Schwitzer from The Haberdasher’s Aske’s Boys’ School

The John Smith Memorial Mace, Sponsored by Baillie Gifford of Edinburgh Sebastian Osborn and Paul Brown from the University of Edinburgh

The ESU Universities Mooting Competition, Sponsored by Essex Court Chambers Hannah Noyce and Emily MacKenzie from the University of Oxford

London Debate Challenge Championships Tayla Ryan, Deren Mehmet, Nadine James and Tolgan Ozbilenler, all from Crown Woods School in the borough of Greenwich

Great Shakespeare Debate, in partnership with The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Ewan Bruce, Jonathan Newhouse, Joshua Ellis-Jones from Ermysted’s Grammar School, North Yorkshire

b) Duke of Edinburgh English Language Awards The English Language Award Ceremony was held on Thursday 9 November 2010 at Buckingham Palace, the winners were:

Joint Winners: - Fiction in Action: Whodunit by Adam Gray and Marcos Benevides, Abax Ltd- Global by Lindsay Clandfield and Barbara Mercer, Macmillan Education

Highly Commended - Collocations Extra by Elizabeth Walter and Kate Woodford, Cambridge University

Press

Best Entry for Teachers

1

- Teaching English Grammar by Jim Scrivener, Macmillan Education

2010 ESU President’s Award Winner - Global eWorkbook by Macmillan Education

c) The ESU Shakespeare’s Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers - took place in August. Thirty scholarships were awarded to teachers of English and Theatre from 30 countries, to attend the week long seminar at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The ESU Shakespeare Study Course was held at Stratford-upon-Avon with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in August benefitting teachers, theatre practitioners and university students from throughout the world. This year, the Music Scholarships will continue with auditions for scholarships in 2011 taking place on 25th November. Up to 6 places will be awarded to young musicians to attend summer schools and master classes of international renown at The Banff Centre, Yale Summer School of Music, Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar and the Ravel Acadèmie. The Chilton Art History scholarship was awarded to Sylvia Bai, originally from China to take up a place at Christie’s. The awards ceremony for the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation will be held at Dartmouth House on 20 January. Entries for the Marsh Biography Award will open in early 2011.

LORD HUNT’S VISITS

Branches – In November last year I was the guest speaker at Canterbury and East Kent Branch Lunch and also at ESU Plymouth Branch Thanksgiving Dinner. On 30 July I chaired the One Day Branches’ Conference at Dartmouth House and the Royal Overseas League, and on 17 September I was Guest speaker at ESU South Wales Lunch and AGM. Branch members are actively supporting the international development by raising money at Branch level for scholarships and also by attending launches of new ESUs. This year more Branches than ever supported education programmes together with airfares and homestays, contributing a total of more than £42,993.

National: Last December I introduced HE Madame Fu Ying, Chinese Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China to the UK, as our Churchill Lecturer at Mercer’s Hall and on 16 November this year Lord Guthrie was our Churchill Lecturer at Guildhall.

In May, I attended the Election Night Party at Dartmouth House and in July I hosted ESU House of Lords Tea Party. On 11 August I hosted Dinner at Dartmouth House for delegates of ESU Shakespeare’s Globe Seminar and the International Relations Conference, Mansfield College, Oxford. On 9 November I introduced the English Language Award Ceremony at Buckingham Palace followed by the English Language Council Meeting chaired by HRH Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh.

International: In February and March my wife and I visited ESUs in New Zealand where I met with Mr Alec Waugh, Chairman of ESU Wellington who introduced us to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Australia where we met with Mr David Flint (President of ESU Sydney). In April I hosted lunch at Dartmouth House for the Albanian Ambassador, HE Mr Zef Mazi. I attended the Launch of ESU Turkey in June and chaired the International Council Meeting 2010 which was held at the Albanian Parliament, Tirana, and I am pleased to announce that we welcomed ESU Australia back after many years of absence.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2010 has been a busy year for the ESU internationally, with new ESUs launched in Bangladesh, Malta and Turkey; a record breaking number of participants to the Public Speaking Competition with a winner from Lebanon; a successful International Conference in

2

Oxford; and a productive and well-attended Council Meeting, where ESU Iceland was ratified for launch in June 2011. Steering Committees have been formed in Ghana, Spain, Iceland, Belgium, Belarus and the Ukraine. The Public Speaking Competition is due to expand to new countries including Malta, Mongolia, Rwanda and Japan.

International Council Meeting The International Council Meeting 2010 was held on 21 October at the Albanian Parliament in Tirana. 18 International ESUs were represented by 30 delegates. The International Council delegates approved the draft of a new constitution which will be finalised in time for the 2011 Meeting in Philadelphia. Garo Keheyan, Chairman, ESU Cyprus was voted in as President of the International Council 2010-2011 and Turkey was chosen as the destination for the ESU’s World Members Conference in 2012.

This meeting was a major stepping stone in establishing a process for international affiliates to work with Dartmouth House to produce a single constitution document underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding and to develop ways in which the international network might become more co-ordinated and proactive and work towards a self-funding model.

International Relations Conference The 2010 IRC was attended by 30 delegates from 25 countries. The conference was themed on Global Challenges and included speakers such as Sir Christopher Meyer, Natalie Bennett, Editor, Guardian Weekly and Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert. The ESU worked with the Directory of Social Change to run workshops based on what the delegates had learned from the lectures to further enhance their experience. The IRC delegates joined the delegates from the Globe programme for a dinner at Dartmouth House which I hosted. This was a particularly vibrant evening that reminded us of the value of bringing young people together.

International Public Speaking Competition 2010 – ‘Speculation on Our Future’ The final of the 29th annual International Public Speaking Competition was won by Lebanon with the interestingly entitled speech ‘Oops...I’m Pregnant Again’ which dealt with issues of over-population. The runner-up was Hong Kong and the Audience’s Choice Award went again to New Zealand. Seventy-nine participants from 46 countries took part, each of whom had already achieved success in their own national competitions. We are grateful to HSBC Global Education Trust for their support of the competition.

Bangladesh, Malta and Turkey Launches The purpose of the launches was to officially welcome Bangladesh, Malta and Turkey to the ESU family, to expand the public speaking competition with local schools, to engage with the ESU Committee there and to forge partnerships with the British Embassy or High Commission and the British Council. At the launch ceremonies, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed and the ESU flag was presented to the Chairmen. ESU staff engaged with local partners, sponsors and media. ESU staff also led workshops on public speaking and assisted the committees with training. At the launches of ESU Malta and ESU Turkey, members from across the world travelled to support the new ESUs and enjoyed an additional cultural programme.

DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S VISITS

Monday 13 September – Midlands Region meetingThursday 16 September – Guest speaker at Exeter & District BranchWednesday 22 September – Guest speaker at Cambridge Welland Valley AGM Friday 24 September –North East Region meetingMonday 27 September – Guest speaker at Salisbury and S. Wiltshire Branch Lunch and AGMMonday 11 October – South Wales Region meeting

3

Wednesday 13 October – East Region meetingThursday 14 October – South East and London Region meetingTuesday 19 October – North West Region meetingThursday 28 October – Guest speaker at the Ouse Valley Branch Thursday 4 November – Guest speaker at 1066 (Hastings) Branch

Mike Lake attended the International Council meeting in Tirana, Albania, in October, and also the Branches’ Conference in London.

HEAD OF SPEECH AND DEBATE

In 2010, the Speech and Debate team created 7 new programmes and took over the running of the National and International Public Speaking competitions in a change that fully integrated Speech and Debate with the wider charity. New areas of work include, communication training for young professionals, designing a social advocacy course which can be used in the UK and internationally and undertaking an important academic research programme into the benefits of speech and debate training for young people. The calendar of public debates will also be re-launched and include “Dartmouth Open House” this will run before the public debates and be a drop-in workshop for school students with the possibility of one for adults if there is enough demand. The next 8 months will see the full cycle of our core and new programmes at which point we will address gaps in our provision.

FUNDRAISING AND DEVELOPMENT

The Fundraising and Development department was created in September 2010 to co-ordinate fundraising, corporate membership (now partner membership), alumni, events, membership benefits and the membership database administration.

Corporate - Since December 2009 the ESU has received £283,849 in corporate sponsorship, donations and legacies. There are 46 partner members (schools, universities, embassies and other organisations) and 19 corporate partner members. Several of corporate partner members are sponsors of ESU programmes.

Alumni - A number of alumni events have been organised in 2010, including the monthly alumni open house evening which encourages alumni to use the bar at Dartmouth House with friends and other alumni. Alumni and Events will be working closely together in 2011 to organise more ESU events aimed at alumni.

The Events Manager now combines cultural events with fundraising events. A seasonal programme of events for 2011 is being planned at Dartmouth House. There will be a monthly Dartmouth House Lunch and a monthly evening Literary Lecture with wine reception. A Gala Dinner with the St Petersburg Faberge Collection is planned for April. Events are working with the London Region Events Committee with the aim of combining high profile events at Dartmouth House and marketing them across London. There are also plans for music and theatre events for 2011.

Membership benefits have increased this year with a range of retail discount in shops in London and retail outlets on the internet as well as accommodation and lifestyle benefits. In response to problems with the current database a review is underway to appoint a new database provider in January 2011. A working party has been set up and has looked closely at five companies. A shortlist of three has been chosen and detailed analysis of the databases is being undertaken. By the beginning of December a decision will have been made. There has been a good response to the member survey and the Database Officer is working to clean up the current data. There has been invaluable support from the branches.

4

The ESU has made membership free to anyone under 27 to encourage alumni and other interested young people to join the ESU. This has proved very popular. The development of our alumni and their migration to membership is fundamental to the future of the ESU. I would particularly like to thank Brian Marsh for the generous financial and moral support he has given to this activity and to Jenni Hibbert and Rod Chamberlain who are giving invaluable support.

2. Auditors’ Report and Adoption of the Accounts for the Year Ended 30 April 2010:

a) Chairman invites the Honorary Treasurer to read the Auditors' Report on the accounts for the year ended 30 April 2010.

b) Chairman invites Honorary Treasurer to make a report on the Accounts.

c) Chairman invites questions on Report and Accounts. I suggest you ask the Treasurer or Jill Lloyd to answer any questions that might arise. In essence our financial circumstances are in satisfactory shape with the exception of the return from Dartmouth House. This source of our income continues to be a concern.

d) Chairman proposes "that the audited accounts for the year ended 30 April 2010 be received and adopted". ASK FOR SECONDER. PUT THE MOTION TO THE VOTE. DECLARE RESULT.

3. Election of Honorary Officers: CALL UPON CHRISTOPHER MCLAREN, ESU HONORARY TREASURER

Pursuant to Bye-Law 44 the post of Honorary Secretary is optional and remains vacant. No nominations have been received.

Election of Governors:

a) Pursuant to Bye-Law 50, Mr Brian Marsh OBE, having completed six years in office, retires and is not eligible for re-election.

b) Pursuant to Bye-Laws 49 and 50, Sir Richard Dearlove, Andrew Hay, Jeanne Pumfrey, Miss Margaret Rudland and Baroness Symons retire by rotation but are eligible for re-election. Mrs Pumfrey is not standing for re-election. The other four members are nominated by the Board.

I will address the subject of governance in the future under Any Other Business.

4. Auditor’s Remuneration:

Pursuant to Bye-Law 78 the Board of Governors seeks authority to fix the Auditor’s remuneration for the ensuing year. The Treasurer to be asked to convey the Governors’ thanks.

5. Any Other Business:

The main task for me under this item is to report on the concerns of members stemming from the Governors review of strategy and associated matters.

The Governors began this work in 2008 and it was completed in 2009. The Governors considered various conclusions and recommendations and established Governor led working parties to determine future arrangements for:

5

- governance- the public benefit role of the ESU- the development of the public benefit agenda including co-operation with other like-

minded bodies- the revenue and capital value basis of Dartmouth House and the associated property

Separate reviews were commissioned into the role of members and branches, led by Richard Oldham and into the purpose, constitution and administration of the international affiliate network.

This work was reviewed by the Board at their meetings in November 2009 and in March and July this year, with a briefing to the Members and branches’ conference in July.

As many of you will know, there was widespread unrest amongst members as a result of this work and concern about possible impacts on the ESU itself.

There was also concern expressed about the process, which was seen to exclude members and their interests and views.

Equally, there were those who felt that the Board should have the freedom to consider a broad range of options, before making recommendations to members and that the ESU does need to adapt to changing times.

As Chairman, I received three early resolutions that addressed these matters and that expressed a vote of no confidence in the Director-General, who was seen to be responsible for the unrest.

I met with the movers behind the resolutions and we agreed that they would be withdrawn on the understanding that the underlying concerns would be addressed by the Board of Governors and that no further action would be taken with regard to any of the reviews, pending a further review incorporating members’ representatives in a joint working group with Governors.

I can now bring these matters right up to date following consideration at the earlier meetings of the NCEW and the Board of Governors.

The Rt Hon The Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE PCDartmouth House

18 November 2010

6