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.

1　Reports on the activities, closing accounts, auditing of FY 2000.

2　Election of new officials and directors on the board.

3　Newly elected chairperson's speech and recommendation of a honorable member (Ms. Fuku Okami).

4　Deliberations on activities and the budget for FY 2001.

5　Revision of the Association rules.

　

　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.

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　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.

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　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.

　

◎President: Ms. Reiko Kato

◎Vice President: Mr. Yukio Okusawa, Ms. Takeko Hashimoto, Mr. Yasuo Hirata

◎Auditors: Mr. Shuzo Shiihashi, Mr. Souichiro Inoue

　(Committee: Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson)　

◎Training Program Committee: Mr. Yoshio Shimizu, Ms. Shizuko Otaka

◎International Exchange Committee: Ms.Fumiko Miyazaki, Ms. Kimiko Shibutani

◎Youth Activity Committee: Mr. Takayuki Hashinaga, Mr. Hiroshi Tooyama

◎UNESCO School Administration Committee: Mr. Takashi Saito

◎ Japanese Language Education Committee:Ms. Keiko Kajitani, Ms. Shoko Kiriyama and Mr.Yoshio Shimizu

◎ International Support Activity Committee: Ms. Junko Ashida

◎Scholarship Program Committee: Ms. Shoko Kiriyama

◎Cultural Activity Committee: Mr. Noboru Mochizuki, Ms. Yasuko Hamada and Mr. Tomotaka Segawa

◎Public Relations Committee: Mr. Yukio Okusawa, Ms. Yukiko Katsuoka

◎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　commitment, not only the directors, are welcome to apply.)

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　　Mr. and Mrs. Hirata departed for Nepal on April 3. The following is an e-mail received from them.

　

Dear Members of Meguro UNESCO Association,

　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.

　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.　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.　Namaste!　Yasuo Hirata

　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.　　June 2, 3:19 p.m. Japanese Time

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