Malaysia Celebrates 50 With Tasty Reception Malaysian Ambassador Rajmah Hussain played impresario as she created an evening in Malaysia at her large embassy on International Court. The event, titled “Malaysia: The Truly Asian Kitchen,” was designed to celebrate her country’s cuisine as well as its 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. A colorful program of live native music and dancing kept guests intrigued until a dancing tiger led guests into the enchanting garden and Malaysian street buffet that featured different food kiosks by Washington’s array of Malaysian restaurants and vendors, which delighted neophytes and Malaysians alike. A new mangosteen drink and the icy dessert were favorites. Then, a second show began in the gazebo with embassy officials and one very brave deputy chief of mission (Ahmad Bader Mahmood Rasouqi of the Kuwaiti Embassy) who competed in making Malaysia’s famous coffee latte while dancing throughout the whole process. All were later rewarded with gifts and many raffle prizes. But the biggest reward, the trip to Malaysia via Malaysia Airlines was won by the Omani Ambassador Hunaina Sultan Ahmed Al Mughairy, who has already been to Malaysia many times. A bit embarrassed, Al Mughairy, accompanied that night by her beautiful daughter and niece, promised the coveted tickets to them. From left, Vice President and Director of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board in New York Mohamad Taib Ibrahim, Omani Ambassador Hunaina Sultan Ahmed Al Mughairy (who won a trip to Malaysia), Vice President of Malaysia Airlines for the Americas Malkit Singh, and Malaysian Ambassador Rajmah Hussain attend the “Malaysia: The Truly Asian Kitchen” reception at the embassy. Front page: A festive tiger welcomes guests at the Malaysian reception celebrating the country’s cuisine as well as its 50 years of independence from British colonial rule. Photos: Gail Scott Poland’s First Lady Experiences Embassy Adoption Program The culmination of Poland’s yearlong participation in the Washington Performing Arts Society’s (WPAS) Embassy Adoption Program, which partnered the Polish Embassy with the D.C. Public School System, was presented to Poland’s first lady, Maria Kaczynska, in mid-July during her husband’s official visit to the White House. Throughout the year, Hanna Reiter, wife of Polish Ambassador Janusz Reiter, along with Monika Król, director of the American Center of Polish Culture, have been visiting and working with the sixth-grade classes at Anne Beers Elementary School in Southeast Washington. With underwriting from IBM, the group created a special play project and a “Polish Summer Camp” from June 25 to July 17, which also included Randle Highlands Elementary. Artistic Director Hanna Bondarewska created the program, which turned into a very colorful learning adventure that would surely delight any first lady. Close to 30 very excited sixth-graders and their parents traveled up 16th Street to the handsome Polish Embassy to present “Poland the Beautiful, an Imaginary Flight.” This colorful and educational play about a sleeping bear not only impressed Mrs. Kaczynska but also WPAS, which heralded this Polish partnership as one of the best and most inventive in their 33 years of doing the Embassy Adoption Program. The Embassy Adoption Program provides teachers and students with the opportunity to increase their knowledge and appreciation of the culture, government and geography of other nations. Each year, schools and embassies are paired to share and participate in multicultural experiences. With the encouragement of Gwendolyn Payton, Anne Beers’s new principal, the Embassy Adoption Program was re-instated at the elementary school this year. This presentation was the grand finale to a year in which the children learned about Poland’s history and culture. One of the most successful segments was having the students learn which Poles made major contributions to the world, including scholar Nicolaus Copernicus, scientist Marie Curie and the legendary composer Frédéric Chopin. Along with the play, Polish artist Inna Slutskaya nurtured the artistic skills of the students as they created tiled artwork, portraits, cityscapes and puppets. During her visit with the children, Poland’s first lady was presented with the Children’s Heart Award, a unique decoration given by children that was presented to Pope John Paul II in 1997. “Of course,” Hanna Reiter said, “we are hoping that our imaginary trip to Poland will one day become a reality for these children who learned so much about our country.” Children from the Anne Beers Elementary School—which joined with the Polish Embassy at part of the Embassy Adoption Program—performed a show called “Poland the Beautiful, an Imaginary Flight” for Polish first lady Maria Kaczynska, pictured center, with Artistic Director Hanna Bondarewska to her left and wife of the Polish ambassador Hanna Reiter to her right. Front page: From left, Polish first lady Maria Kaczynska, wife of the Polish ambassador Hanna Reiter, and Artistic Director Hanna Bondarewska attend a program by children from the Anne Beers Elementary School to celebrate the Polish Embassy’s participation in the Embassy Adoption Program. Photos: Embassy of Poland Are We Melting Away? On World Environment Day on June 5, Norway and the Arctic city of Tromsø in northern Norway presented one of the main celebrations around the globe with a daylong conference in D.C. titled “Melting Ice – A Hot Topic?” World Environment Day explored the effects that climate change has on polar ecosystems and communities—not to mention the world, as the impacts of melting ice will reach far beyond the Arctic, affecting global climate, sea level, biodiversity, and human social and economic systems. Throughout the day at the D.C. headquarters of the National Geographic, environmental issues were given a human face as participants discussed how critical communities are changing their attitudes toward environmental issues. The conference featured U.S. polar explorer and environmentalist Will Steger, who recently returned from the expedition “Global Warming 101” in Arctic Canada, as well as Norwegian polar explorer and educator Liv Arnesen. Other participants included Executive Vice President of the National Geographic Society Terry Garcia; Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the U.N. Environmental Programme Bill Mansfield, and Norwegian Ambassador Knut Vollebaek. In addition to panels on political and technological solutions to climate change, the U.N. Environmental Programme (UNEP) released the “Global Outlook for Ice and Snow” report, an analysis of the changes in ice- and snow-covered regions that highlights the consequences of global warming for the world community. The afternoon-long conference also included scenes from the new National Geographic film “Ice Bear,” which was photographed in Svalbard, Norway, and documented how animals in the Arctic regions are affected by global warming. From left, Alexis Kelle of Christiania Vodka, Norwegian Ambassador Knut Vollebaek, and Beate Juliussen of the Finnmark Tourist Board celebrate World Environment Day. Thrilling Farewell for Rock ‘n’ Roll Ambassador As the undisputed rock ‘n’ roll ambassador in Washington, Hungary’s András Simonyi and his lovely wife Nada have begun preparations to leave diplomacy for the private sector next month. During one of the popular couple’s many farewell receptions, Simonyi took the opportunity as ambassador to officially talk about his favorite subject: “soft power” and the influence of American rock ‘n’ roll on his life. In an evening planned to introduce Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Washington audiences at the ambassador's residence, the ambassador praised Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), along with musicians Steve Winwood and Jeffrey “Skunk” Baxter, in discussing how rock music inspired Hungary’s freedom fighters on the streets of Budapest in 1956. “The thrill of my life is watching my country grow up as a democracy,” said the emotional Simonyi, who credits Western influences such as rock ‘n’ roll as among the crucial factors that led to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. When Simonyi was a teenager in Budapest, American radio was banned in Hungary, but he and many other students found surreptitious ways to listen to Radio Free Europe and Voice of America, in the process discovering that daily human life didn’t have to be so controlled. As you may know, this guitar-playing ambassador dreamed of playing in a successful rock ‘n’ roll band, and his dream came true while he served as ambassador to the United States. With several other high-ranking U.S. officials who also love their guitars, he created The Coalition of the Willing band, which over the past four years, has successfully performed in Washington and New York. Ambassador Simonyi attributes much of the band’s critical success to its most famous member, Jeffrey “Skunk” Baxter (former member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers and now a U.S. security expert), who was at the celebration and was hailed by the ambassador “as someone who could pick up any tool to promote freedom and democracy.” “Thank you, Skunk,” said the emotional Simonyi. “It’s been a thrill.” Jeffrey “Skunk” Baxter came out to toast fellow Coalition of the Willing band mate and outgoing Ambassador of Hungary András Simonyi (front page) at one of the guitar-playing envoy’s many farewell receptions. Photos: Embassy of Hungary / Gene Carl Feldman THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT P.O. Box 1345 Wheaton, MD 20915-1345 Tel 301.933.3552 Fax 301.949.0065 www.washingtondiplomat.com