Report on the 48th General Assembly of Meguro UNESCO Association
丂
丂The general assembly started at 1:30 p.m. on May 26 (Sat.) at Moriya
Kyoiku Kaikan attended by 50 members (with 285 letters of attorney) and
many guests. Ms. Mayumi Aoki, a youth member, declared the meeting open,
led silent prayers for the members who had passed away last year. Then,
congratulatory addresses were given by the guests and the proceedings of
the General Assembly commenced.
Items
1丂Reports on the activities, closing accounts, auditing of FY 2000.
2丂Election of new officials and directors on the board.
3丂Newly elected chairperson's speech and recommendation of a honorable
member (Ms. Fuku Okami).
4丂Deliberations on activities and the budget for FY 2001.
5丂Revision of the Association rules.
丂
丂All the items mentioned above were approved and passed as proposed, and
the proceedings were closed with a speech by Mr. Shigeo Tajima. Following
the meeting, Mr. Hiroshi Tooyama reported his experience at the World Youth
Encounter for UNESCO Clubs & Associations which was held in Spain.
Then, a tea party was held with a toast by Mr. Eiji Hattori and the attendants
spent an enjoyable time until 4:30.
丂We would like to extend our gratitude to the guests who spared time for
the meeting. The guests who attended the general assembly included Mr.
Nobuo Miyazawa (Chairperson of Meguro City Assembly), Ms. Toyoko Sakamaki
(the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan), Mr. Mikio Shohoji
and Mr. Yasuhiko Nakajima (Advisors of Meguro UNESCO), Mr. Keiichi Ninomiya
and Mr. Takamichi Suzuki (Councillors of Meguro City Assembly, members
of Meguro UNESCO) and others.
丂42 members are elected as directors of the board. Their terms are for
2 years, from FY2001 to 2002. Following is the new officials and the directors
in charge of committees.
丂
仢President: Ms. Reiko Kato
仢Vice President: Mr. Yukio Okusawa, Ms. Takeko Hashimoto, Mr. Yasuo Hirata
仢Auditors: Mr. Shuzo Shiihashi, Mr. Souichiro Inoue
丂(Committee: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson)丂
仢Training Program Committee: Mr. Yoshio Shimizu, Ms. Shizuko Otaka
仢International Exchange Committee: Ms.Fumiko Miyazaki, Ms. Kimiko Shibutani
仢Youth Activity Committee: Mr. Takayuki Hashinaga, Mr. Hiroshi Tooyama
仢UNESCO School Administration Committee: Mr. Takashi Saito
仢 Japanese Language Education Committee:Ms. Keiko Kajitani, Ms. Shoko
Kiriyama and Mr.Yoshio Shimizu
仢 International Support Activity Committee: Ms. Junko Ashida
仢Scholarship Program Committee: Ms. Shoko Kiriyama
仢Cultural Activity Committee: Mr. Noboru Mochizuki, Ms. Yasuko Hamada
and Mr. Tomotaka Segawa
仢Public Relations Committee: Mr. Yukio Okusawa, Ms. Yukiko Katsuoka
仢Secretariat: (Chairperson) Ms. Takako Hashimoto (Members)Ms. Fumiko Harada,
Ms. Shizue Suzuki, Ms. Fumiko Miyazaki, Ms.Keiko Nakajima, Ms.Yukiko Katsuoka,
Ms.Sadako Harada, Ms.Kimiko Shibutani, Ms.Keiko Kajitani,
(some of the committees have vacancies for vice-chairpersons. Ordinary
members who have the丂commitment, not only the directors, are welcome to
apply.)
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丂Letters from Nepal (No.1) |
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丂丂Mr. and Mrs. Hirata departed for Nepal on April 3. The following is
an e-mail received from them.
丂
Dear Members of Meguro UNESCO Association,
丂How are you? It has been 2 months since we arrived in Nepal. We are now
living in Kathmandu where the skyline of the mountains is getting more
beautiful everyday. Living in this city is not very easy because of the
polluted air and water as well as the garbage problems. The water here
is not good for Japanese. We have to filter and boil the water befor we
drink. But don't worry! We are getting used to the water here and we no
longer have stomach ache. My job here is becoming busier, and for this
first letter, I would like to tell you about the "literacy situation"
of this country.
丂One of the senior volunteers from JICA told me the story about the children
in the area from Kathmandu. There were many children there, but no paper,
pencils or crayons for them. The volunteer thought what he could do, and
asked the children to get pieces of wood and rice straws. They enjoyed
creating art forms with the wood and straws, and this cultivated their
sense of art. I was impressed at the wonderful results from such basic
materials.丂The literacy rates in Nepal had been increased from 39.6% in
1991 to 46% in 1998. But still there is a big gap between men(54.32%) and
women(21.32%) and also between urban and rural areas. They have rights
to receive education, but parents do not owe a duty to have their children
educated. Also, the national government does not take effective measures.
People belonging to the higher social classes are eager to have good education
for their children, and many of them send them to private schools and the
children can read and write English even at the age of 10. Now there are
more schools here built by the financial support from foreign countries,
but still they are facing difficulties getting teachers and preparing enough
teaching materials. More support for the maintenance costs is needed. I
strongly encourage you to visit this country as a study tour to see the
actual situation.
That's all for today.丂Namaste!丂Yasuo Hirata
丂P.S. Early this morning, we were surprised to receive the news that the
King had been killed last night. JICA
advised us not to go out.丂丂June 2, 3:19 p.m. Japanese Time