| Mr.Michio Harada, our 4th President, was well acquainted with knowledge of religion, philosophy, and library science. Before joining us, he worked as a board member of the Okura Study Institute of Spiritual Culture, a professor at Toyo University, and a department head at the National Diet Library. When he assumed our presidency he was teaching German and ethics as a professor at Kokushikan University and Tokyo Jogakkan Women's University. He taught German by singing German songs. He was said to have been very popular among the students. On the basis of preceding 14 years history of Meguro UNESCO Association, Prof. Harada was like a fresh breeze to the Association because he encouraged the youth, women in particular, to join it. The 1973 record shows that we had total membership of 135 with 77 men and 58 women. Despite the increase compared with the previous years, it is still less than one fourth of the 2002 figures.* During Prof. Harada’s presidency, the Association celebrated its 15th and 20th anniversaries. A small party was held to celebrate the 15th anniversary, where a plate made by Yousei Itaka was given to each member of the Association and the people concerned. Under the joint auspices of Meguro Board of Education and our Association, the UNESCO university lectures started in 1969 and lasted for 5 years. The lectures were given on 40 occasions, encompassing such topics as national characteristics of different nations, the educational system and situation, environmental problems of big cities, life, and cultures. They showed movies and slides, displayed folk articles, and were well received by the audiences. On top of these lectures, there were health lectures on such topics as pollution, mosquitoes and people, and parasites in Japan. Also there were culture courses, courses for youth, and lecture meetings. The frequencies as well as the extent of these activities were outstanding. In particular, a speech by Prince Mikasa on "the Indus civilization" was very impressive. It took place at Moriya Education Hall on a rainy afternoon in 1973 and drew a big audience, who listened attentively to the speech.** Meguro UNESCO Association was given a citation from the Minister of Education in 1970 for its continuous and fruitful activities in the field of education. The citation letter is displayed on the wall of our office. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Meguro UNESCO Association, a ceremony was held at the Meguro Citizens Hall and Mr. Taichi Sasaoka, a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Education at that time, gave a speech entitled 'Encouraging International Understanding.' After the speech Mr. Eiichi Asabuki and Ms. Sonoko Hirosawa played the marimba to let the audience enjoy and relax. Many guests attended the reception party, including Mrs. Rose, 1st President of Colorado UNESCO Club, whose contribution to the creation of the United Nations University was well known. Mr. Takeshi Hirabayashi, who was the youth leader at that time, acted as the master of ceremony. Receiving subsidy from the Meguro Board of Education, the "20 years of Meguro UNESCO Association" was published. In and around the year of the 20th anniversary, Meguro UNESCO activated its international exchange program. In 1971 I joined a voyage on the Youth Boat run by the Cabinet of the government as a group leader. In 1972 Mr. Kuniaki Yamashita participated in the World Youth Conference as a representative of the UNESCO Youth Association of Japan. In 1974 Ms. Akemi Katsuta visited France under the international youth exchange program sponsored by the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan. We started soliciting young foreign people to participate in our activities. In the same year, we invited people working with the National Commissions for UNESCO in Asia and took them to Japanese festivals, the Moriya Library headed then by Mr. Yasuo Hirata, and other domestic associations. The UNESCO School was suspended in 1971. But in 1973 Meguro UNESCO reopened its youth activity by starting a camp for children. During this period, we started new projects. On top of the language classes for the public opened in 1959 under the joint auspices of the Meguro Board of Education and Meguro UNESCO, Meguro UNESCO introduced "in-service training" for the members to acquire language ability and broaden international understanding in 1972. Ms. Elenor de Judge was selected as a lecturer of English. This first "in-service class" was so successful that it developed into 10 classes of English, French, Chinese, Italian, and Korean languages for the members at the present. There were three more new activities. First of all, publication of Meguro UNESCO Short News started in 1973. Secondly, 1st UNESCO charity concert was held. The people most involved were Yoko Urata, Joergen Fog, and Christian Zadelock. Thirdly, Meguro UNESCO started its aid program. The total of \142,000 out of revenue from the 1st charity concert was donated to Bangladesh through the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan. It was indeed a period of fresh breezes. |