About Dan

Dan speaks English (native), Japanese (professional), Mandarin (conversational), Czech (conversational). From 2006-7 Dan was self-taught in Japanese and after 18 months of learning and making Japanese friends in Melbourne volunteered as a sports teacher in Japan and taught classes in Japanese. In 2009 Dan went on exchange to the Czech Republic becoming conversational after three months and passing a subject taught in Czech (the other five subjects were taught in English) . Since October 2009, Dan has learnt Mandarin Chinese and spoken daily since the 1 Jan 2010. Dan has spoken at community events and SBS’s Mandarin program in Mandarin.
www.languageconnection.org.au/

In 2009, Dan Ednie founded Melbourne’s first Chinese and English language exchange, where Australians learning Mandarin could put their classroom learning to use and international students can improve their English. The group of language learners quickly became a social hub for learners and speakers of Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Japanese and English with four weekly events and two annual conferences. Today Language Connection has over a thousand subscribed members, has fifteen volunteers, reaches more than three thousand people annually and has operations in Melbourne and Japan with plans in place to run events in China and Taiwan in 2012.

Dan authored his first book “Nothing’s Impossible: The Alan Rea Story”, a biography of one of Australia’s commercial aviation pioneers, in 2009. In 2010 was an editor of the biography “Burtta Cheney: A Life in Golf”. He hopes to continue to write and publish, but primarily on language.
http://alanrea.wordpress.com/

Following his participation on the 23rd Ship the World Youth (2011), Dan founded SWY Microfinance, a lending group of ex-participants. Microfinance consists of lenders in developed countries offering low interest loans to small businesses in developing countries. The loan recipients are able to develop their business, improve the local economy and provide jobs. Lenders receive no interest, but receive their initial capital back, or can relend to the next project. In 2011 SWY Microfinance lent over US$5000 through 188 individual loan contributions. In 2012 the total amount lent is is projected to reach US$20,000.
http://www.kiva.org/team/ship_for_world_youth/
http://www.shipforworldyouth.org/

From 2005-2008, Dan was the Australian Foobag Champion. Footbag (Hacksack) is an athletic sport involving highly dextrous tricks with a small bean bag. Dan served as the Education Director on the International Footbag Players Association and published the e-book The Vasek Klouda Manual: How to Play Footbag in 2009. He finished 7th place at the World Championships in 2007, then 13th in 2009. He has appeared on Australia’s Got Talent (2007), Saturday Disney (2008) and a Subway Commercial (2009).
The Vasek Klouda Manual: http://www.freedomfootbags.com/shop/misc/the-vasek-klouda-manual-how-to-footbag-2/
Australia’s Got Talent: http://youtu.be/oUQ95aXd6UE/
http://youtu.be/3-8YbNYu2mE/
Saturday Disney: http://youtu.be/6coimbTZl6k/
Subway Commercial: http://youtu.be/bTQQ-jXL_oM/

Please contact Dan at dan dot ednie at gmail dot com for any inquiries. See his Full CV here.