News Archive
April 2009
Dr Raj Desai presented the second annual Philip David Gray Memorial Lecture in Economics on 27 April 2009 at Stewart's Melville College in Edinburgh. As well as being a distinguished economist and academic, Dr Desai was a close friend of David's and was best man at David's wedding in 1997. Dr. Desai is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the Brookings Institution and Associate Professor of International Development in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He spoke about the current economic crisis and its relationship to international development. His clear and lucid explanation, beautifully illustrated, was greatly appreciated by all who attended.
February 2009
Two students at the University of Hue have been awarded the first PDG Trust University Fees Scholarships. NGUYEN Van Bang and LE Hang Thi will have their fees paid for the duration of their undergraduate programme, beginning with the second semester of the 2008-09 academic session. Bang and Hang were chosen from a total of 20 applicants, based on academic performance, financial need and the potential of the award to contribute to Vietnamese development with respect to the alleviation of poverty. Given our current Trust resources, we intend to offer at least two new scholarships each year. Of course, with your help, we could increase this number!
May 2008
Muffy Calder, O.B.E, Professor in the Computing Science Department at the University of Glasgow, is making a sponsored run of the Scottish West Highland Way from 13 to 17 May with all donations going to the Trust. Please consider sponsoring her and encouraging her on her 100 mile trip.
The trust is now registered with JustGiving.com. If you wish to make a donation or organise a sponsored event, please go to
http://www.justgiving.com/pdgtrust/
March 2008
Mr Rohland's lecture at Stewarts Melville College was a great success, attended by economics students at the school plus trustees and invited guests. Stephanie Burns, Hwad of Econmonics at Stewart's Melville College, said
"In the week following the lecture we discussed many of the interesting points on Vietnam which Mr Rohland raised. I thinkyou would have been impressed with how many of the facts and figures the pupils absorbed fromsuch an information packed event. I firmly believe the exeprience will stay with them for a long time. They have since attepted to relate new economic theory discussed in class to Vietnam and pupils frequently come into the classroom to let me know of some new fact they've learned about the World Bank."
January 2008
Happy New Year to everyone! The Trust is pleased to announce that the first Philip David Gray Memorial Lecture in Economics will be held from 3 to 4 pm on Monday 3 March 2008 at Stewarts Melville College, Edinburgh. If you are interested in attending,please contact us.
December 2007
Spring 2008 will see the first Philip David Gray Memorial Lecture in Economics given at Stewarts Melville College, Phil's secondary school in Edinburgh, by Mr Klaus Rohland, country director for the World Bank in Russia and Phil's previous 'boss' in Vietnam. Due to limited space in the school hall, attendance at this talk will be by invitation only. It is expected to take place in early March. If you would like to be invited, please contact us via email to be put on the invitation list.
This coming Spring will also see the first essay prize in economics at the school. We hope that the winning entry will be available to be published on this website. The prize will be £40.
September 2007
We are providing our first studentship, assisting a student from Vietnam to pursue a Master's Degree in Public Policy at Strathclyde University during the academic year 2007 - 2008. May we introduce Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh. She arrived at the end of August and has settled in very quickly. The trust bought her plane tickets and is providing a grant for living expenses. Funds for this grant have been raised through the wonderful efforts of Irene Stevens, lecturer in social work at Strathclyde, and Binh's sponsor.
Binh comes from Hue and was working with street children projects in Hanoi when she met Irene. Irene came out to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on a project to set up recognised on-the-job qualifications and training for people working with street children through government and private programmes in Vietnam.
January 2007
We made a donation to Blue Dragon to support their work with street children. We are funding 2 children to stay in school for a year and also providing some general funds to support their overall work. We hope to continue working with this group.
December 2006
We made our first donation in Vietnam to Operation Smile. This is a charity that performs cleft palate corrective operations. We funded 3 operations for their next visit to Hanoi. Phil had done fund raising for this charity while he was in Hanoi and we wanted to continue his interest and support.
10 September 2005
The Philip David Gray Memorial Trust for Vietnam has been formally established as a Scottish charity with Inland Revenue approval and registered with the Scottish Charities Commission. We're now able to accept donations and, for UK taxpayers, offer Gift Aid status.
2 December 2005
We are pleased to announce that the Trust is now eligible to receive grants from Charities Aid Foundation America. This provides a method for US taxpayers to make tax efficient donations to us. To find out how to do this, go to Donation.