Something called “Global Festa Japan 2018” will be held on September 29th and 30th at the Odaiba Center Promenade in Tokyo. There will be films from the UNHCR 13th Annual Refugee Film Festival, a charity run, “talk shows” concerning various environmental issues, photo exhibits, musical performances, among many interesting and enjoyable events. NGOs representing numerous causes and issues will gather there, so it is an excellent chance for students who wish to take part in internships with domestic or international NGOs to see what’s available. Who knows…you might become inspired to change the world!
The 13th UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Refugee Film Festival will take place from September 7 – October 7, 2018 in Tokyo at Odaiba Center Promenade and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Tokyo, in addition to screenings in Nagoya and Sapporo.
With serious refugee crises happening around the world, the UNHCR Refugee Film Festival, which is held in Japan each autumn, is more relevant than ever. The films on the festival’s program include dramas and documentaries dealing with refugees from such diverse countries as Lebanon, Myanmar, Iraq, and Syria. Some of the films focus on how the refugees adjust to their places of refuge and cope with day to day challenges.
From 26 May to 21 June a film festival of European films, called “EU Film Days, will be held in Tokyo at the National Film Archive of Japan (NFAJ). See fascinating films from Estonia, Finland, The Netherlands, Hungary, Sweden, and Lithuania, among other European countries. All of the films have Japanese subtitles and some of them have English subtitles as well. EVENT: EU Film Days WHEN:From 26 May to 21 June WHERE: National Film Archive of Japan (NFAJ)CLICK HERE for directions LANGUAGE: The films have Japanese subtitles; some have English subtitles as well. TARGET AUDIENCE: Film fans and lovers of Europe
The distinguished speaker, Ms. Harumi Torii, established the non-profit organization Kids Earth Fund (KEF) in 1988 from one drawing. A thoughtful drawing by her son reminded her that children with pure hearts are key in making the world a better place.
KEF supports children’s creative expression through art workshops and lets their vast imagination flourish. With their slogan, “Kids Helping Kids,” children in all kinds of situations continue to save and support each other. This NPO has held over 2,000 art workshops in 46 nations, as well as over 3,000 exhibitions.
Ms. Torii will speak about the importance of art for healing the hearts and minds of children, especially those who have gone through hardships in their lives. She believes in the tremendous power of children’s creativity.
Ms. Torii won a Women Innovation of the Year Award in 2016 and Kids Earth Fund has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year.
EVENT: Lecture: Let’s color the earth with children’s art WHEN:Tuesday, June 12, 2018; From 1:20 PM – 2:50 PM WHERE: 1135教室 TARGET AUDIENCE: All IE Students and any other interested parties
This newsletter describes workshops that “Kids Earth Home” have carried out in Croatia, Palestine, and Turkey.
The Tokyo International Players invite you to enjoy their production of the musical “Tommy” (by Pete Townshend and directed by Jonah Hagans) from May 17th-20th at Nakano Pocket Square「THE POCKET」. There will be five performances in total over four days.
Description of the play
“After witnessing an accidental murder, young Tommy loses the ability to see, hear and speak. His family struggles to raise him until they discover an unexpected skill that will propel him to fame, fortune, and ultimately into a religious figurehead. Populated with colorful characters and a large ensemble, this rock and roll musical ride is thrilling and uplifting, and at times, dark and disturbing.”
EVENT: “Tommy” Directed by Jonah Hagans WHEN:May 17th-20th WHERE: Nakano Pocket Square (Click HERE for a map)
The Tokyo International Players (TIP) was founded in 1896. Its members have mainly been made up of talent from the Tokyo foreign community, but Japanese cast members and supporting staff have also played key roles.
The organization, 100% volunteer-run, provides quality English-language entertainment for international audiences. Over its long history, many active members have appeared in professional theatre in Japan and abroad.
TIP is always looking for new on-stage talent, directors, designers, and backstage crew, as well as people to support their various front-of-house, fundraising, and promotional activities. They consider enthusiasm, energy, and a fun-loving nature to be more important than experience.
A summer study tour is being organized by AGU’s School of International Politics, Economics, and Communication (SIPEC) in Portland, Oregon (USA) and hosted by SIIC (Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication).
This is a great opportunity for students to learn more about intercultural communication and about American culture. In addition to lectures by the distinguished scholar, Dr. John Condon, visits to local attractions, businesses, and families will be arranged. The study trip will last for two weeks, Aug 24 ~ Sept 6 2018.
EVENT: Portland Seminar @ Portland Oregon, USA EXPLANATION SESSION: During lunch period on May 17th PERIOD OF TRIP:2018年 8月24日(金)～9月6日(木) 14日間 WHERE: Portland Oregon, USA TARGET AUDIENCE: Students who already have a strong ability to communicate in English will get the most out of this program.
Prof. Junichi Miyazawa of AGU’s School of Cultural and Creative Studies has announced the opportunity to see a special screening of a film that his students provided the subtitles for. It was one of the films shown at the UNHCR Refugee Film Festival, “The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe.” It will be shown at Aogaku’s Astudio from 2 PM this coming Saturday, November 11.
EVENT: Free Screening of “The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe” WHEN:Saturday, Nov 11, 2017; From 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM [doors open at 1:30 PM] WHERE: 青山学院アスタジオ 地下ホール（東京メトロ表参道駅から徒歩5分) TARGET AUDIENCE: Anyone
Speaker: Ms. Linda Ohama Topic: A talk on the documentary: TOHOKU NO SHINGETSU Location:Aoyama Campus, 本多記念国際会議場 Building 17, 6th Floor, Honda Auditorium Date:Tuesday, November 21, 2017 Time: 1:20 PM to 2:50 PM (3rd period)
Ms. Linda Ohama is an award-winning Japanese-Canadian filmmaker who produced and directed the film Obachan’s Garden. She will speak about the creation of her latest documentary film “Tohoku no Shingetsu” (“New Moon Over Tohoku”), which concerns the experiences of people in Tohoku who were affected by the earthquake/ tsunami/ nuclear disaster of March 11, 2011 and its aftermath. You may view one of Linda Ohama’s previous films, Obachan’s Garden, in its entirety at the website of the National Film Board of Canada.
One of our teachers, Paul Howl, has done us proud by directing the play “Blackbird,” by David Harrower. Performed at the Trance Mission Theater in Sangubashi from September 22nd to 24th, “Blackbird” is a challenging play about a controversial and sensitive topic, childhood sexual exploitation. Gini Benson and Anton Percic offered compelling portrayals of the main characters, 27-year-old Una and 55-year-old Ray, who engaged in an illicit relationship with Una 15 years before when she was a 12-year-old girl. The somewhat disjointed dialog, and the necessity for fine-tuned emotional nuance, would have proven difficult for any actor or director, but the action of the play was executed in a riveting, adroit, and compassionate manner thanks to the skills of all involved.
Much to the credit of those responsible for the play, an announcement was made at its outset that the subject matter of the performance might trigger the traumatic memories of viewers, so TELL’s resources were highlighted in the event that that should turn out to be the case for some participants. In the lobby, resources from TELL were made available.
There will be a Special Lecture for all IE classes on bullying and cyberbullying by representatives of TELL at 3rd period (from 13:20) on Tuesday May 30th. As the presentation room is large, any interested party may feel free to attend the lecture even if they do not have an IE class to bring with them.
We strongly encourage all Tuesday Core and IE Seminar teachers to bring their classes to this event. Those who have classes concurrent with the lecture include Chris Parham, Arno F., Mark Gray, Jacob Schnickel, Hamilton Armstrong, Paul Harper, Deborah Bollinger, Loren Bundt, Paul Howl, Will Zhanje, and Joseph Dias. Help your students prepare for the talk by referring them to these resources on bullying offered by TELL.
EVENT: Lecture and workshop on effective ways to stop bullying TITLE: Confronting Bullying WHERE: Aoyama Gakuin University (Aoyama Campus): Building 17, Room 311 WHEN:Tuesday 30 May 2017; from 3rd period (from 13:20 – 14:50) SPEAKERS: Vickie Skorji (TELL Lifeline Director) and Najwa Waheed Naohara (TELL Outreach Coordinator)
Please have your students go DIRECTLY to the lecture room. It is disruptive to the speaker when streams of students arrive while a talk is in progress.
We have a large venue for this talk, so please pass the word to people in other departments and, if you happen to be teaching a class for another department at the time of this lecture, and would like to attend with your students, you may do so. Please let me know though so I can make certain that we have the capacity.
Speaker Introductions
Vickie Skorji
TELL Lifeline Director
Mrs Vickie Skorji completed her Bachelor of Behavioral Sciences with honors from La Trobe University, Australia in 1995, and a Masters in Counseling from Monash University in Australia. She has specialist training in neuropsychology and Acquired Brain Injury in both hospital and rehabilitation settings. Prior to moving to Hong Kong & Tokyo she managed an Acquired Brain Injury Support Service in Australia, supporting families and individuals with a variety of neurological conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke and migraine. She has developed and run carer education training courses, carer weekend retreats and published a resource book for carers of people with neurological conditions or Acquired Brain Injury. She has developed and given both workplace and community presentations on carer needs, stress management and stroke prevention. More recently her interests and presentations have included cultural adjustment, adolescent issues in Japan, work life balance and suicide prevention.
Najwa Waheed Naohara
Outreach Coordinator at TELL
She oversees various outreach programs such as the TELL Exceptional Parenting Program, TELL Lifeline School Awareness Program and TELL Anti-Bullying Program. She has given anti-bullying workshops at various international schools in the Tokyo area.
General Background on Bullying
What is bullying?
Bullying can take many different forms—physical, verbal, or emotional—and can be direct or indirect. It involves unwanted aggressive behavior toward an individual that involves a power imbalance, whether real or perceived. Cyberbullying involves the use of cell phones, instant messaging, email, chat rooms, or social networking sites to harass, threaten, or intimidate. Whatever the form, the intent is to make someone else feel bad. Sadly, most children worldwide will experience some form of bullying while at school; and for many, it’s ongoing.
What are the negative effects of bullying?
Bullying is associated with such negative consequences as low self-esteem, school absenteeism, a drop in grades, mental health issues, and even suicide. A recent U.S. meta analysis of 491 bullying studies found a significant correlation between bullying and thoughts of suicide, along with suicide attempts—and it is stronger in youth (according to Gini and Espelage, 2014).
How is cyberbullying different from conventional bullying?
Unlike conventional bullying, cyberbullying can happen 24/7. Messages and images can be posted anonymously and instantly distributed to a wide audience. It can be difficult to trace the source, and even harder to delete inappropriate or harassing content once posted.
How serious is the cyberbullying problem in Japan?
In 2013, the Japanese Education Ministry reported nearly 200,000 cases of school bullying. Of these, nearly 1,000 were reported to the police, and 196 suicides occurred. Cyberbullying made up 4.7 percent of all reported cases, a 12-percent increase from 2012. The government also reported that, on average, students aged 10-17 spent 107 minutes per day on mobile devices, and more than two hours a day online. Nara University clinical psychologist Tokuhiro Ikejima says, “In Japan, bullying tends to happen between very close friends, and the situation is often worsened because bystanders do not try to intervene. The bullying often takes the form of social exclusion rather than violence.”
What are some legal measures to stop bullying?
Countries across the world are hurrying to combat cyberbullying. In June 2013, Japan’s National Diet enacted an anti-bullying bill to prevent increasingly serious cases in reaction to a string of incidents that led to suicides and murder. As of April 1, 2015, Aichi Prefecture introduced a law banning the use of smartphones and mobile devices after 9 pm for children aged 6-15 years. The curfew aims to discourage children from spending an unhealthy amount of time on electronic devices, as well as reducing online bullying. However, laws are only one part of the equation; bullying is an issue that needs attention from the whole community.
