CNSST Jay Acton Kiwi-Dragon Cultural Exchange Scholarship

Jay Acton Kiwi-Dragon Cultural Exchange Scholarship 

About the Scholarship

CNSST Jay Acton Kiwi-Dragon Cultural Exchange Scholarship (hereafter: JA KD Scholarship) was initiated and is administered by CNSST Foundation (CNSST).

The purpose of the scholarship is to provide the opportunity of a trip to China to young local Kiwis who are not are not of Chinese descent and whose family circumstances could not otherwise afford it.

The scholarship is funded by CNSST through its organized fundraising events.

Scholarship Coverage

The aim of the JA KD Scholarship is to provide an opportunity for local students to gain an understanding of or enrich their knowledge of Chinese culture so as to have a positive impact to the development of their social and cultural values on their life journey.

The scholarship covers:

• At least 10 hours of Chinese language learning and a cultural learning programme in New Zealand before departure;
• A cultural experience trip to China lasting usually 10 days with full financial cover of the round-trip air ticket, travel insurance, visa application fees and some other associated costs
• All food and accommodation costs in China, transportation and tuition fees for a series of Chinese cultural programmes and activities in China
• Incidental travel costs for certain essential items, e.g. luggage

Please note: the scholarship excludes all spending on personal items or items unspecified above.

Scholarship Eligibility Criteria & Application Process

To be eligible, the applicant needs to show:

• They are between 13 – 18 years of age, are in good health and of good character, and
• Evidence of NZ citizenship/residency, and
• They are not of Chinese descent, and
• Aspiration to learn Chinese language or culture, and
• Evidence of good academic achievement at school, or
• Evidence of active participation in social or cultural activities, or
• Evidence of positive contribution to local community, and
• Evidence on a low household income (e.g. WINZ or community services card)

Additional Requirements:

• All successful Scholarship recipients may be required to give a speech at the CNSST Fundraising Gala Dinner
• All successful Scholarship recipients are required to submit a written reflection on their Chinese cultural experience and what they have learned through the programme’s activities after returning to NZ
• Some Scholarship recipients may be invited to share their experience with other local youth at CNSST events
• Some or all the Scholarship recipients will be asked to allow use of their written reflections on their experience for CNSST’s promotional purposes or to attend in person CNSST events to relate their experience first-hand

Important:

• Application deadline: For 2024/25 still to be advised
• CNSST’s panel will review each application and invite suitable candidates for
  an interview and will make a final decision on selection
• Successful candidates will be informed respectively by the panel within 5 working days
• CNSST reserves the discretion to make any amendments to the application process and reserves the right of final selection of candidates.

Disclaimer: CNSST Board reserves the discretion to change, amend, modify, suspend, continue or terminate all or any part of the programmes on an individual case basis or in general, and at any time without notice.

The application form can be downloaded from here.