Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite
(Knighthood of the National Order of Merit)
Awarded by the Government of France

Acceptance Speech by Alison Murray

December 13, 2005 

Your Excellency, Ambassador de Monteferrand, Your Excellency Ambassador Zepter, Your Excellencies, Ambassadors of the many European national Embassies present this evening, Professor Shimada, EBC Chairman Collasse, Distinguished Guests, 

I am extremely honoured to receive such a prestigious award for my work in the field of EU-Japan relations. My gratitude is beyond words --- well almost!  Those of you who know how much I love to talk, will be disappointed to learn that I do have a few words to say.  But you will be pleased to know that I do not like long acceptance speeches, at least not very long acceptance speeches.. 

When I returned to the office from my summer vacation this year, I found a letter from Ambassador de Montferrand of the French Embassy waiting on my desk.  It was dated June 14 and I immediately assumed it was an invitation to this year’s Bastille Day celebrations.  You can imagine my surprise when I read that I was to be decorated by the French Government with this wonderful medal for furthering EU-Japan relations.  An Australian woman married to a Taiwan Chinese living in Japan – an extraordinary recognition I am sure you will all agree!!!  Well, it is not quite as strange as it sounds. My maternal grandmother was French – her name was Aimée Sabine.  Her parents took her to Australia where she married a first generation Irishman. My father’s parents were both from the U.K. – they went to Australia to start a new life.  So you can see that I really am a European.  It’s just that I have an Australian accent!!!!   

All this aside, my initial reaction was to think it was a huge mistake and that the award was for EBC Chairman, Richard Collasse.  But then I remembered that he has received one of these already.  

Then the truth hit me.  The award was not for me, but for the organization I represent.  I believe the award more precisely recognizes the role of the European Business Council (EBC) in Japan, rather than my own efforts and I am delighted that such a significant member state of the EU and stakeholder of the EBC has given public recognition to the EBC through this decoration.  

Having come to this realization, I was then faced with a new dilemma.  If the decoration is not for me, but for the constituency of the EBC, then what should I do with this medal.  I toyed with the idea of circulating it to each member of the EBC in turn – the number of committee members is roughly equal to the number of days in a year.  But with the cumulative daily “bike-bin” costs amounting to around a million yen or more, that scheme would likely tilt our finances into the red.  So I decided that on behalf of all of you, I will keep it………..Forever!!!! 

Obviously, spearheading a collective award of this significance, I owe a great vote of thanks to all the people who have collectively defined my work and my life.  First and foremost, I need to thank EBC Chairman, Mr. Richard Collasse.  Those of you who know him well, will understand that in his presence, what otherwise seems absolutely impossible, becomes extremely possible.  That’s the effect he has on your outlook.  That’s why he is such an extraordinary leader of the EBC.  Richard, it is thanks to you that I have often been able to reflect on one or other of the EBC’s activities and wondered with our limited resources, how the heck we managed to achieve that?.  You have shown us all by example how to excel. 

I also need to thank all the stakeholders of the EBC – the chamber presidents, the other members of the Board of Governors, the Executive Operating Board members and the Chamber Directors.  All of these people are already deeply involved in the activities of their own national chambers, yet they still find the energy and dedication to oversee the EBC and provide balanced guidance and support.   

I also owe a huge vote of thanks to the EBC Committee Chairmen and all of the committee members – they are at the frontline of the EBC.  They give up a huge amount of time to discuss and prioritise their concerns and make our job of presenting recommendations to the Japanese government a whole lot easier.  

I don’t work in the EBC Secretariat alone.  I am supported brilliantly by Jakob Edberg, the EBC’s Policy Director.  He is a wonderful lobbyist and has placed the EBC several notches higher on the public recognition scoreboard.  Our communications manager, Yoko Hijikuro, has provided loyal and skilful support for the past 5 years.  I would also like to thank Casey Sedgman, our previous policy director, who crafted what has become our hallmark publication, the annual EBC White Paper, and left his mark on the EBC.  

I also must thank our political partners – firstly our colleagues at the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan.  Ambassador Zepter and all the other members of your team – Michael Reiterer, Peter Van Den Heuvel, Thomas Naecke, Paolo Caridi and everyone else at the Delegation – a big thank you for your wisdom and guidance, which have kept us running on track in the correct gear in the right direction. I also want to thank the national European Embassies, all of whom give us fantastic support and advice.  

Since this award is in recognition of EU-Japan relations, I also owe a big vote of thanks to all of the EBC’s Japanese interlocutors - our Japanese friends.  We do not see eye-to-eye on all of our recommendations to the Japanese government, but our suggestions for improving the business and investment environment have always been received with courtesy and government doors are always open for discussion on the issues that are of concern to us.  

On a personal level, I have been very lucky to have the support, patience and perseverance of my husband Kenneth, who has made me a stronger and better person.  I have frequently drawn upon his tough Chinese no-negotiation stance in discussions with the office landlord, the printer and the like.!!!  Unfortunately, my daughter Victoria is taking law exams in Australia this week and cannot be with me tonight.  She also has shaped my life and stimulated me to try and serve as a model for her as she undergoes the transition to young adulthood.  Her support in checking the EBC accounts, filing and doing all kinds of tedious tasks for the EBC during her vacations has also contributed enormously to my work. 

I would like to take this opportunity to particularly thank the Government of France, the Embassy of France and the French Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Japan for their continuous support of the EBC’s efforts to improve the business and investment environment for European companies in Japan.   

In conclusion, I would like to recall one of my favorite quotes – from Robert Kennedy.  He said “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts, will be written the history of this generation.”  I believe this is an excellent principle for all of us in the EBC and it is in the spirit of these words that I most humbly accept this decoration on behalf of everyone in the EBC and all of our collaborators. 

Your Excellency, Ambassador de Montferrand, please accept my deepest thanks and appreciation for bestowing this great honour upon me and the EBC. 

Merci. Thank you. 

Alison Murray
Executive Director
European Business Council in Japan