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laurentius
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Helsinki, Finland
Jun 2001
time: 07:37
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quote:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invites young Europeans for a two-week study tour of Japan in 2 groups to take place in November 2005. Applicants are expected to contribute to future Japan-European relations.
The object of the tour is, in the short term, to inspire an interest in Japan by touching upon many aspects of Japan (i.e Japanese politics, economy, culture, society etc.). It is hoped that in the longer term, the applicants’ understanding of Japan will help to strengthen future ties between Japan and European countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will bear the expenses necessary for the programme i.e. air fares to and from Japan, transportation in Japan, accommodation and meals |
http://www.fi.emb-japan.go.jp/fi/St...Tour%202005.htm (Finland)
Anyone else applying besides me? If this is the first time you hear about it and would like to apply, hurry up since the deadline is 12th August.
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laurentius
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Helsinki, Finland
Jun 2001
time: 07:37
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Yeah it seems like Italy had it a bit early.
Heres my short essay wich only barely fits one side of A4. It might need a better ending and a little editing. What do you think?
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Ways to promote Japanese culture in Finland and Finnish culture in Japan.
Finland and Japan complete each other in rather unique way. Finland along with its small population has vast quantities of uninhabited, rugged terrain and is almost completely covered in forests. Japan on the other hand has huge population, but comparatively small amount of land to live on. Despite these different settings both people have surprisingly lot in common. With determination both countries rose fairly quickly to modern industrial success stories. The similarities in work ethics and code of honour are clearly visible. In the future we are both facing the same challenges with ageing population and keeping our economies competitive. Again both countries seem to have thought alike and are relying on high technology, innovation and robotics.
There is a lot of potential to promote Japanese culture in Finland. I have noticed a huge boom in the interest about everything Japanese among the teenagers and young adults. The interest might have been sparked by the arrival of Manga and Anime cartoons to Finland. More and more people are getting bitten by the Japan-bug and nowadays it is hard to find 13-25 year old person who has not heard of either Manga or Anime. And it is not just the cartoons, J-pop, J-rock and Japanese movies are increasingly popular too. The trend is upwards. A new magazine called “Anime” was launched earlier this year and despite its name it also includes reports about Japanese culture and customs. There have been organised events like the Kirsikankukkacon/Sakuracon - convention with lectures about anime, Japanese language, Japanese art, history, and exhibitions on Japanese outfits and much more. It was held in Turku and it proved to be huge success with thousands of visitors coming all over Finland. Another example of Japanese-Finnish cultural exchange is the Helsinki Collision, launched this spring it is group of talented young people from the University of Art and Design who are organising guerrilla fashion shows and other events in both Tokyo and Helsinki. These are examples of some of the more spontaneous phenomenona. Supporting these activities, strengthening and widening peoples’ scopes of interest would definitely have profound impact on my generation. Ikebana and Japanese calligraphy courses are also being organised by private associations. There is definitely something that touches not only the young but a growing number of middle-aged and elderly Finns in traditional Japanese tranquility, culture of silence and the cuisine. There are many other elements in Finnish and Japanese culture that our people would find familiar. We even both enjoy eating raw fish. Perhaps a bigger exposition about Japanese culture from all of its aspects would be the logical next step in promoting Japanese culture further.
Ways to promote Finnish culture in Japan could include classical music concerts featuring Finnish music and composers. Organising a joint designer and architectural exhibition in Japan as we both seem to have a thing for clean shapes and clear lines. There are also many talented Finnish cartoonists, whose works could transfer something from Finnish way of life to the Japanese people if translated. A series of informative cartoon strips drawn by a Finnish cartoonist about Finnish culture to Japanese people and co-operation between our state TV&Radio networks and programme exchanges could prove a fast and effective way to spark interest in Finnish culture.
I strongly believe that from all the EU nationalities Finns have culturally the most in common with Japanese and we should strengthen each others cultural as well as economic ties. Increasing teacher and student exchange could pave way for this kind of further understanding and cultural transition. Finnish people hold Japanese in great respect and I believe this feeling is being shared by the Japanese people. To know each others culture is an excellent way of learning from each other.
Links: http://sakura.animeunioni.org/ http://www.helsinkicollision.com/
EDIT: polishing it a bit
EDIT#54 Done for the night
Last edited by laurentius on 12-08-2005 at 01:23
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09-08-2005 20:54
SO upset
ah italy strikes again
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