With powerful sound of jang-go, a traditional Korean drum, the exchange salon started with Mrs. Kato’s words of welcome. This event took place in a lunchroom at Gohongi Elementary School. 53 people filled the bright spacious room with 9 tables, 3-4 people seated at each. We had to run to a nearby room to get more chairs for those without.

The salon was planned and operated by 4 friendship members who attended Japanese Language Course at Meguro UNESCO Association and who are also members of the International Exchange Committee. They were Yun Kyung Sook, Seo Young Hwa, Park Eun Kyung and Kim Ea Kyung.

We, the members of the Exchange Activity Committee were so delighted to know that the friendship members started their own activity all by themselves. That has been our long time wish.

With the rhythm of jang-go, we enjoyed singing Korean songs such as Arirang and other well-known songs. Also, we learned Korean culture from their explanations, played a Korean game called “yut”. We endeavoured to know how to read the Korean Hangul alphabet, and tried to write our names. Some of the Japanese members of UNESCO’s Korean Language classes asked some questions in Korean.

For more than 3 and a half hours, we really enjoyed the event. This success was brought from the perfect preparation and every effort made by the 4 Korean members. They prepared posters, videotapes and musical instruments, and they practiced jang-go in a park, so that they won’t bother neighbors. Above all, what impressed us most was their beautiful hanboks, traditional Korean costumes. For the attendants who wished to try them on, they were generous enough to bring their precious hanboks that were used for their wedding. One of the attendants, a 3rd grade girl of the Gohongi Elementary School, seemed so happy when she had her photo taken wearing one of the hanboks.
　Which country will be the next? We are all looking forward to having another chance to know a country and its culture. We welcome everybody for the opportunity then!
(Oct 4, Chairperson of the Exchange Activity Committee, Yukiko Katsuoka)

　　　　　　　Terakoya Movement　　　　　- an essay about the literacy classes observed

We welcomed Ms. Miyoko Tashiro who, having just returned from India on Sep. 4, had come to share her experiences observing Terakoyas in India. She visited Terakoyas in some deprived　villages of Karnataka state in which Bangalore, a Silicon Valley-like IT industry town, is also located. This was an 8-hour ride from Goa in southwest India. Ms. Tashiro spoke of the lives of learners at the Terakoya, where they study from 7-9 pm, and explained how poverty prevented them from attending normal schooling. Her examples included:

* A 12 year-old boy’s work of digging a canal 20 km away from home. He also weeds fields in order to add a meagre income to the family.  * A 13 year-old boy, who recently lost his father, earns about 450 yen per day working on farms and helps his mother support a family of five.  * A 16 year-old girl tries to help her family by learning hand sewing and the sewing machine.

In disadvantaged areas, people cannot live unless all family members earn something. A boy mentioned that he preferred studying to working but had to help support the household economy. They can find time to go to Terakoya only at night.

The Terakoya movement aims to improve people’s living standard through not only literacy education, but also vocational education. The vocational skills training include making candles and chalk, and practical training such as repairing machines and bikes, and welding. This training is provided for 15-18 year-old youths. The Terakoya movement also has activities to support mothers become independent and help each other.

Ms. Tashiro took part in the opening ceremony of a new Terakoya. The Terakoya is a splendid brick-built building with a solid floor and has a library, a cooking room with cooking equipment, and toilets. The equipment is certainly not gorgeous but far better than people had expected. The whole village took part in the ceremony. Ms. Tashiro walked around with others for more than an hour under the burning sun, wearing full sari.

The 30 participants watched a 10-minute video of the things she saw.

Ms. Miyoko Tashiro is giving lectures of Terakoya movement at schools all over the country, between her singing engagements. She sang ‘Satoubiki-batake’ for us at the end of this lecture, praying for world peace.              UNESCO lecture report written by Yoshio Shimizu

　

　

　

　

The 2003 UNESCO Activities Study Meeting of Kanto Block took place in Nikko, a city designated as 'world heritage' in 1997, on Sep. 12-13. There were approximately 140 participants, with six from the Meguro UNESCO: Ms Kato, Mr. Okusawa, Ms Harada, Mr. Saito, Ms Otaka and myself.

The Meguro group left the Tobu-Asakusa station early in the morning and arrived at the Tobu-Nikko after a 2 hour-journey across the green Kanto plain. The Study Meeting, which took place at the general auditorium of Nikko city, was a unique meeting in the sense that it tried to consider relations between people and nature in the past and present in front of a world heritage, including 9 buildings that are national treasures, 44 items of important cultural property, and 50 hectares of forest.　

The introduction started with the video of a TBS program 'World Heritage; Shrine and Temple of Nikko,' followed by two experts explaining the significance of the shrines and temples of Nikko as well as the reasons why they were selected as World Heritage. The speakers explained that the aborigines had worshiped the mountains in Nikko, Saint Shodo opened a Buddhist temple in 766, and a shrine was built for the first Tokugawa Shogun Ieyasu. This symbolized the Trinity of traditional Japanese mind 'nature, gods, and Buddha.'

The participants were then divided into three groups and engaged in field trips. The Meguro group belonged to the 'shrine and temple study' group and visited background artifacts of the shrine, which are normally not open to the public, and listened to untold stories of the shrine and temple.

The next morning, based on what we learned on the previous day, we discussed eagerly how to protect the nature and cultural assets of Nikko from being damaged by unfettered tourism. The study meeting officially ended then.

In the afternoon, however, in a special program 'chatting by youths in Nikko', the youth, college students and high school pupils in the Tochigi Prefecture made reports and held discussions. At first, those who had overseas experiences reported on 'UNESCO study tour,' 'volunteer activities,' 'exchange between Asian students,' and 'overseas studies,' among others. They were divided into more than 10 small groups, each consisting of about 10 people, engaging in discussion of current problems. The unique character of this meeting was that although the majority of the participants were not members of UNESCO Associations, it was conducted under the leadership of UNESCO youth, including Mr. Shimeno of Ichikawa UNESCO in cooperation with students of the International Department of Utsunomiya University. Thus it resulted in a good PR effect for UNESCO activities and solicitation to the UNESCO associations.

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