For information about the U3A Asia Pacific Alliance
International Conference in Kathmandu in October 2014 -
please see http://u3a-nepalinternationalconference2014.org
It's not too late to book a place...

Issue number one hundred and sixty-four (September 2014) from the WorldU3A Service, sent on the first of every month to U3A members anywhere in the world.

Feel free to copy any or all of this information in your newsletters.
 Please send items of possible interest to the editor, Tom Holloway.

Climate Study Groups: A discussion of 'fracking' and related subjects will be held under the auspices of U3A Forum on the Open University teleconferencing facilities this Sunday 7th September at 9am UK time.

Places are limited to 20, so check availability now by clicking here >>>

Astronomy/Sci/Tech Groups: Available in German and English, this excellent website for serious students of space technology has up-to-the minute information on current developments and discoveries.

Their coverage of the exciting attempt to land on Comet 67P/T-G by Rosetta/Philae is especially good, in fact more detailed than the news given out on the European Space Agency website.

The August/September newsletter of U3A Queensland is available here and two items caught your editor's eye.

The first is an article "Peace of Mind" about the Queensland 'Caring Caller' service. An excellent example of how U3A members can reach out and add value to their community.

The second was an interesting step-by-step description by Ray Bricknell of U3A Brisbane of the process used by U3A Brisbane to purchase their own property. Ray - previously a professional Property Development Manager - is happy to advise others hoping to do the same.

U3A Thailand are pleased to announce their new website - now available here

Messages of encouragement and support would be welcomed by them - and the address to write to is Wirathep.P@chula.ac.th

Art History Groups: Published by the highly praised Khan Academy, the "Smart History Website" is the leading open educational resource for art history. "We make high-quality introductory art history content freely available to anyone, anywhere. Smarthistory is a platform for the discipline where art historians contribute in their areas of expertise and learners come from across the globe. We offer more than 600 videos and hundreds of articles and these are being translated into dozens of languages.

It also includes a section where you can find information -- both technical and pedagogical -- about how we've created our videos, so that you can create your own. We also include one case study, from the Portland Art Museum, where they created Smarthistory-style conversational videos in collaborations between museum curators, docents and educators."


The above bold statement is made by a website which claims to have tried all available free courses. The list it presents is certainly large, but clearly leans heavily on other lists of 'free' courseware, such as The Khan Academy and Udacity. Emptor caveat! (or perhaps Studio cavete!).


The August 2014 issue of the U3A Delhi Seniors monthly newsletter containing an important report on the election of M R Rangaswami of U3A Bengalaru as Acting Chairperson of the Indian Society of Universities of the Third Age. The full details can be found here >>>

WorldU3A extends hearty congratulations to Shri J R Gupta (on the right), President of U3A Delhi Senior Citizens and Chairperson of the Confederation of Senior Citizens of Delhi, for the Life Time Achievement Award recently conferred upon him in recognition of his many years of service for the cause and care of elderly citizens.


U3A Online: A complete GEMs Archive - Rick Swindell's newsletter - pdf printouts of all prior editions can be found at www.u3aonline.org.au

Do you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter in future? Ask them to email tom@worldu3a.org with a request and they will be put on the list. This webpage may be printed onto both sides of an A4 page and distributed to those with no Internet.