Holding of Global Festa Japan 2008

September 26, 2008

1. ‘Global Festa Japan 2008’ will be held on October 4 (Sat) and 5 (Sun) in Tokyo (Hibiya Park) co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC)(specified nonprofit corporation).
    
2. This event, originally titled ‘International Cooperation Festival,’ is considered the largest event on international cooperation in Japan and has been held every year for the last 18 years.  The name of the event was changed to the ‘Global Festa Japan’ in 2005 to encourage the young generation and those who are not really familiar with international cooperation to join in.
    
3. The theme this year is ‘Messages for our Earth – We are Global Citizens,’ which aims to rouse the interest of not only those who are interested in international cooperation but those who are relatively less interested in such cooperation, in particular, younger people in their twenties or thirties.
    
4. There will be many related events such as the seminar, ‘Let’s talk about international cooperation” intended to make people think about how to participate in international cooperation/ODA with Ms. Aiko Doden of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) as Moderator and other panelists including Ms. Misako Konno, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, on October 4 (Sat), a talk & live show by Ms. Ai Kawashima, an artist, and a talk show by Ms. Kurara Chibana on October 5 (Sun).
    
5. More than 250 groups concerned with international cooperation including government agencies, NGOs, international organizations, and embassies, will participate in the event.  A tent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will have a space presenting a TV program ‘CHIKYU Supporter,’ programs such as ‘Declaration for My International Cooperation,’ which invites the participants to declare that they will do what they can for international cooperation, and talk sessions by the MOFA officials.