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May 2, 2012

[SSJ: 7435] GIVING BACK TO JAPAN 2: Community Leaders Report, May 16

From: David H. Slater
Date: 2012/05/2

Here is an event that you might be interested in.
Mayors from 5 Tohoku townships and various NPOs will give a report on the current state of recovery and rebuilding. It is a chance to get more information and meet others still in the effort.

There is open registration through Tohoku Planning Forum (more information here: http://tpf2.net/forum).

GIVING BACK TO JAPAN 2: Community Leaders Report
Date: Wednesday, May 16th 2012
Time: Doors open: 17:00, Event start 17:30 to 20:30
Venue: Hitotsubashi Memorial Hall 2F, National Center for Sciences Building, 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo http://www.ics.hit-u.ac.jp/campus/directions-maps
Language: Japanese with simultaneous translation Entrance : Free. Contributions to reconstruction focused charities welcomed.
Registration: Open through the Tohoku Planning Forum Please email to: info@tpf2.net Website information and event flyer: http://tpf2.net/forum

Through the efforts of 16 different foreign Chambers of Commerce, led by the Netherlands Chamber, and the support of very generous sponsors, Tohoku Planning Forum has organized a meeting where five mayors from the affected areas will come to Tokyo and talk to us directly. The event will also go out live on Ustream.

This event will be marketed through each Chamber route as well as through TPF2. If you are a chamber member, then please feel free to register through them. If you are a TPF2 participant please register by responding to info@tpf2.net

The speakers will be the following mayors:
. Kimiaki Toda, Mayor of Ofunato
. Kiichi Numazaki, Mayor of Yamada
. Hidetoshi Watanabe, Mayor of Aizu Misato . Tsuneaki Iguchi, Mayor of Iwanuma . Yoshiaki Suda, Mayor of Onagawa

Also attending will be a number of NPOs that are active in the area.
We hope that we will be able to learn more about their activities, face-to-face, during the networking reception after the talk with the Mayors.

Television and radio presenter Peter Barakan will guide a discussion about communities rebuilding processes and ongoing needs, as well as allowing the elected officials to present their suggestions for ways in which individuals and organizations can help their communities toward their goal, followed by a buffet and networking opportunity.

During the past 12 months, a great deal of progress has been made in terms of relieving people's immediate needs, yet years of reconstruction stretch ahead in Tohoku. And while the Government of Japan is of necessity first addressing major infrastructural needs, the view from the region's cities and towns is understandably more focused on the minutiae of repairing the social fabric of communities that have literally been torn asunder.

--
David H. Slater, Ph.D.
Faculty of Liberal Arts
Sophia University, Tokyo

Approved by ssjmod at 11:39 AM