The academic community in Kyoto, known as the bosom of Japanese culture, is planning to hold an event commemorating the 50th year of restoration of the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan on November 3.
Various events have been held in both countries to commemorate Japan-Philippine Friendship Year.
Many government officials, business people, tourists, academicians and students, family members, and other kinds of people have visited to the Philippines from Japan for the last half a century. Many Filipinos have also been visiting Japan for the same period.
The relationship between these two countries has been advancing not only at the level of diplomacy and economic cooperation, but also in tourism, culture, and education. In addition, senior citizen immigrants to the Philippines have been increasing. And many Filipino-Japanese children have been born.
We propose an event to further develop our cross-cultural interchange and communication, as follows
Name:Philippine-Japan Friendship ForumCommon name:Pistahan sa Kyoto 2006Goal:To provide a venue for initiating interpersonal communications and cooperation among Filipino and Japanese communities and organizations in celebration of the 50th friendship anniversary between the Philippines and Japan.Date and time:3 November 2006, Friday (Japan’s National Holiday), 10am to 7pm.Venue:Campus Plaza Kyoto (7 minutes from northwest exit of JR Kyoto Station)Organizer:A secretariat will be formed with Tsuda and Yamamoto. See below for contacts.Entrance fee:700 yen for adults, 500 yen for college or high school students, free for junior high school students and under. Actual expenses for food and drinks will be charged separately.
A free program booklet will be distributed to all. Participating groups may place ads for the program. The “Ad fees” are to be announced.
Principal schedule (tentative) as follows:
Opening ceremony with Hon. Orlando Mercado as keynote speaker
Dr. Orlando Mercado is an educator, a distinguished public servant, the producer and host of the TV show “Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko,” a former Senator and Defense Secretary, and holder of a Ph.D. degree. As he is a popular figure in Philippine society, his message could provide inspiration to many people. His talk will be printed in English as well as Japanese on the program.
The lecture hall can hold about 300 participants.
Other plans (subject for more concrete proposals) as follows:
- Panel discussions by groups and NGOs (possible topics may include fair trade between these countries, development cooperation, immigrant laborers to Japan, groups concerned on international marriage/family, cross-cultural communication between Filipino students in Japan and Japanese students, etc.).
- Cultural presentations like skits, music, dance, fashion show, or concert.
- Programs for showing movies and videos
- Exhibitions of photos, products, or posters
- Booths for food and drinks
- Day-care center in a Japanese-style room within the same building. We ask for several volunteers to set up and run the day-care service.
We cordially invite everyone from not only Kyoto but also other cities, to participate in this people-to-people event. For inquiries and proposals, please contact the below.
We look forward to your participation.
Maraming salamat po! Arigatoogozaimasu!
For Inquiries:
Professor Mamoru Tsuda
Osaka University of Foreign Studies
Tel./Fax. 072-730-5273
E-mail: mtsuda@osaka-gaidai.ad.jp
And/or
Atty. Ivy Pascua
Research Student
Osaka University of Foreign Studies Graduate School of Integrated Studies of Language and Culture
E-mail: lianneivy@yahoo.com