2010-08-12T03:01:17Z Our Future is in the Hands of Children tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4 Movable Type Copyright (c) 2010, kumakinoko 2010-08-12T03:01:17Z 2010-08-06T02:55:53Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.796 2010-08-06T02:55:53Z

Hello Everybody! "Atsui desune" (Very hot, isn't it?), has become a common...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter Hello Everybody!

"Atsui desune" (Very hot, isn't it?), has become a common greeting here in Japan lately. Here in Kyoto, the daily temperature hits over 35 degree (centigrade). My apartment has two air conditioners, but they suddenly broke last Saturday at the beginning of a 3 day holiday. So I couldn't get hold of the managment company until Tuesday, and I tried to bear it. My apartment is located on the top floor of a 5 story building, and it is a corner room. Yes, it sounds nice, except for in the summer. All the heat from the flat roof and walls really boil the unit. On Tuesday, I felt sick with headache and my body temperature was high, the doctor warned me not to sleep or stay in the unit until the air conditioners were fixed, then gave me an IV shot to rehydrate me... So until Friday, I ended up commuting from my Mom's house in Osaka. I hear that not just Japan, but many countries are having an extremely hot summer. I hope everyone is taking good care of their health drinking water and avoiding the heat. I think Bario was a heaven, as the morning and evening temperatures were lower than 20 degree.

Tokyo operation is now run by YoyoPan Club.

]]> I am very impressed by the amount of discussions that are happening through this group. Members keep up and new sleds appear frequently. I pop up once in a while, to give me a better understanding of what is going on, where they have problems, and what Pangaea HQ can do to support them. I am learning a lot about the Internet community through Yoyopan.

Ms. Yoshimi Nakagawa joined as an intern, and she will do so until next March. She majored in Law in university, and was a vice chair for students clubs at university. So she has been helping to set legal documents and rule books for us. This helps us greatly, as none of us were strong in that domain, but had to understand, and we ended up studying books with unfamiliar legal vocabularies.

This month, I will be in Japan for the entire month. This is very unusual, but I am happy to be able to focus on R & D.

Well, I would like to introduce a Pangaea Ring writer for this month, Kenkichi Shimooka known as Woophin who is one of the Pangaea volunters. He originally started to engage in Pangaea as an FL at Kyoto and now is actively engaging in the Tokyo activity as a Yoyopan member.

Yumi

]]> 2010-08-12T02:54:11Z 2010-08-06T02:45:24Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.795 2010-08-06T02:45:24Z

I would like to introduce a Pangaea ring writer for this month, Kenkichi S...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter I would like to introduce a Pangaea ring writer for this month, Kenkichi Shimooka known as Woophin who is one of the Pangaea volunters. He originally started to engage in Pangaea as an FL at Kyoto and now is actively engaging in the Tokyo activity as a Yoyopan member.

]]>
My name is Kenkichi Shimooka. I am called "Woophin" in Pangaea.
I happened to know about Pangaea by chance. I used to volunteer to teach how to operate a computer at a children's hospital of Kyoto University Hospital on my days off work. A representative doctor of the children's hospital asked me if I knew about Pangaea.
I actually had just learned about them, because a few days before that day I found a flyer for Pangaea which was titled, "Let's talk with children all around the world using Pictogram".
I said that I knew about it and it sounded interesting! The doctor said Pangaea was planning to do an event here, but he was worried about how to cope with a matter of compliance in order to invite an organization from outside. I persuaded them to start the first event because I also wanted to join the activity.

On that year, Pangaea was researching whether they can provide some events to a field of children's hospitals. I was also interested in it very much, so I joined the Pangaea event which was held in Kyoto University Hospital. Furthermore, I was invited to some regular Pangaea events as well. I realized that I learned a lot of things through participating with them as a facilitator.
I never imagined that one flyer which I found in Kyoto could have changed my life, and even after I moved to Tokyo, I still have opportunities to work with them as a volunteer member. I find it's worth doing it. I get as excited when I participate in Pangaea activities as the children do.

Kenkichi Shimooka
President
ref Inc.

]]> 2010-07-13T03:55:45Z 2010-07-09T03:48:49Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.788 2010-07-09T03:48:49Z

Terima kasih. ("Thank you" in Malay.) I am writing this News Letter as I ...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter Terima kasih. ("Thank you" in Malay.)

I am writing this News Letter as I just left Bario a couple of hours ago, after 5 days in the village. This was my second trip to Bario, and longest stay. The place we stayed this time was located near Bario community hall, where we were going to have the first webcam activity connecting with Kyoto University. The owner of the house we stayed in, we called him Uncle Shep, is a great carpenter in Bario. He built his house with trees from the jungle all by himself in 18 months. Carvings shown on the walls are very lovely. His wife cooks amazing local food with wild boars and antelopes which they caught right by this lodgings with their dogs. Of course it is not a heavenly bed or bath tub, but the beauty of Bario is right in front of my bedroom. Early mornings and late evenings, there are low clouds approaching Bario from surrounding mountains. On some evenings, you see lightning in the clouds in the distance which give very magical views. Time feels much slower, but this may be the natural sense of time.

]]> UNIMAS, TTC, SMK Bario, Pangaea Activity has been successfully operated. We had 19 youths in Bario and had a great day.

Koetsuna, our icebreaking activity, was a great success. When I visited Bario for the first time, I was impressed by how well behaved the youths are. With Koetsuna, you must have loud voice to win. So I ran practice with them. They were a bit unsure at first that it was OK to scream. When I assure them that yes, it was ok, they were all terrific, and won over the Kyoto Team. During our Webcam, the internet went down, and we had to restart, which was quite stressful for everyone. But they were very patient to wait and wanted to say 'Konnichiwa' to Japanese children.

I have met a father of a child who just happened to transfer to school in Bario from far away. He said his son disliked his previous school and stopped going to school at around junior high school. Then they learned about this school in Bario where we run activities. Many children live in boarding houses. His son now studies and lives there. The father was worried and came to visit him to see how his son was doing after a week. His son's reply was it is fine. The father smiled at me with shyness, and told me that he can now go home and tell his family that his son is good now. Things like this happen in every country I realized. I hope his son also comes to join our activity, too.

I will now introduce Mr. Hong who volunteers as the technical leader in Korea. He is the Pangaea Ring Writer for this month. He came over to the Kyoto Office this May to take the technical training and now actively engages as the technical leader for Pangaea Activity.

Yumi

]]> 2010-07-13T03:38:08Z 2010-07-09T03:34:40Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.787 2010-07-09T03:34:40Z

I will now introduce Mr. Hong who volunteers as the technical leader in Ko...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter I will now introduce Mr. Hong who volunteers as the technical leader in Korea. He is the Pangaea Ring Writer for this month. He came over to the Kyoto Office this May to take the technical training and now actively engages as the technical leader for Pangaea Activity.

]]> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoung_Jun_Lee).
(* [MYCC] Mapo Youth Culture Center: The youth center in Mapo, Seoul)

When I first received an e-mail from Professor Lee to meet Toshi, I didn't know anything about Pangaea. Professor Lee told me that Mr. Toshi needed a technical help with his work and I just thought it would be helping him with his computer work in Korea. But when I first heard about Pangaea project from Toshi, I was surprised to know about such a great activity. I had an experience of volunteering in my university club and army. But having volunteer with children was first time with me.

After meeting with Toshi and Yumi, they invited me to Japan for technical staff education and experience Pangaea activity in Kyoto University. At May, I visited Kyoto for 5 days. I learned about a Pangaea project, technical issues, and webcam systems. It was a great moment to know that children from other country can communicate each other even though they don't know the language of each other. In Kyoto University activity, I learned that all children are same despite of their nationality and cultural difference. They were same as children in Korea and other country. Those knowing made my think change a lot.

My first activity in MYCC was great. It was fabulous time to know other facilitators and children. At the beginning, children were hostile to Japanese children. They said to the facilitators that they were not willing to have a Webcam Activity with them. But since they played a game and communicate with Japanese children, their view of looking at other country's children changed. They finally realized that they are not different at all.

I thank Toshi and Yumi for giving me a chance of participate in a global activity and I look forward that all children from a world experience Pangaea project.

Sung Woo, Hong
Master Course student
Management Information System
Kyung Hee University

]]> 2010-07-13T03:39:20Z 2010-06-26T11:11:36Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.779 2010-06-26T11:11:36Z

The first Webcam Activities were performed between Kyoto university and Ma...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 1. Activity Report The first Webcam Activities were performed between Kyoto university and Malaysia Bario today. Bario got in touch with Kyoto by use of a satellite circuit at the activity site in the interior of the Malaysian Borneo island.
A rehearsal took place the day before, so we already knew that the Internet connection was unstable and it failed several times during the activity. But the children understood the net situation of Bario, and remained focused and concentrated on the screen.

There were 2 items on the Menu, "koetsuna" and "Nazoren".
When we played "koetsuna" everyone yelled " Pangaea! "
After that, we played "Nazoren" which was more relaxed and everyone enjoyed. "Nazoren" is the association game in which Machine translation is used. While the teams were thinking, the activity was enjoyed.
Nazoren put it into effect the use of a system of Machine translation in Language Grid Toolbox of "Language Grid Project".



I was surprised this time.
]]>
One of the returning Staff volunteers reported to me at the end of the activity that "it was neat to see that there was a child who had participated many times in Pangaea activities, who was taking care of the new and younger participant's".
It's not only an international exchange, but the feeling that one also sympathizes with the person sitting next to oneself needs is brought up. That's pangaea.

If you have an interest in what we are doing here at Pangaea and would like to participate in activities in any way, please contact us.

Takekazu Hanada
Administaration Manager

]]> 2010-07-01T03:47:01Z 2010-06-07T03:30:55Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.775 2010-06-07T03:30:55Z

Hello Everybody! This month started with Golden Week in Japan, which is th...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter Hello Everybody!

This month started with Golden Week in Japan, which is the longest holiday. I visited Vietnam and met people whom I hope will work on our new project. I have spoken at two universities, Meiji Gakuin University and Kyoto University of Art and Design. One was with 300 students, taking a course about being a social entrepreneur, and the other was with a dozen students who are studying a children's art program. I was asked to speak about Pangaea, and I enjoyed doing so very much. Kyoto University of Art and Design is located near Kyoto University, near our regular activity location. I would very much like to see these art major students join as facilitators, and also hope to recruit some design volunteers to renew our Pictons, pictogram designs.

We had a trainee from Seoul last month, Mr. Hong. I wrote in last months newsletter about Mr. Hong. It was his first visit to Japan,
]]>
I was watching an NHK program called Mission. It was about Cambodia. Then I saw Robib school, which Toshi and I visited 9 years ago when we were doing a feasibility study for our project, now known as Pangaea. Thero who drove us from Phnon Phen to Robib, on muddy roads, in the rainy season, was on the program. My friend, Bernard Krisher told me about his program which was starting at schools in Cambodia and also starting a distance medical service using the Internet. He told us it is a must to visit Robib, and we took his advice. It was the most inspiring experience. When the Internet is available, and communities learn the benefits of it, they can start marketing their own products directly, which provides necessary money to better community infrastructure, water, and sewage. The lesson Ilearned was, when there are lines of ICT, make the best use of it. After the program, I wrote Bernie an email, and we promised to have lunch together when I go to Tokyo next time, which should be soon.

Now, I introduce Prof. Norazila Abd Aziz at University Malaysia Sarawak, as a Pangaea Ring writer for this month.. She participates in the activity held at University Malaysia Sarawak as the researcher.

Yumi

]]> 2010-07-01T03:47:24Z 2010-06-07T03:23:11Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.774 2010-06-07T03:23:11Z

I introduce Prof. Norazila Abd Aziz at University Malaysia Sarawak. She pa...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter I introduce Prof. Norazila Abd Aziz at University Malaysia Sarawak. She participates in the activity held at University Malaysia Sarawak as the researcher.
]]> the language spoken by the Kelabit people at the Bario Highlands, Sarawak.

My name is Norazila Abd Aziz and I am a member of COERI(Centre of Excellence for Rural Informatics)'s Education Team, which have been given this wonderful opportunity to oversee the running of the Pangaea program in Sarawak.
Other members of this team are Fitri Suraya Mohamad (Head Coordinator for Pangaea Sarawak) and Soubakeavathi Rethinasamy (Head of the COERI's Education team). This year our Pangaean family has increased in number. We now have 30 school children and 34 facilitators at our Pangaea @ UNIMAS site and 20 school children and 20 facilitators at our Pangaea @ Bario site. We are proud to announce that our Bario site is the first remote location running this program. Bringing Pangaea to a remote site like Bario was indeed an excellent move as it provides the kids here with the invaluable opportunity to learn about the lives of children from different parts of the world.

To date, we have successfully run three Pangaea activity days at UNIMAS, one of them was the Webcam activity on the 6th of February with Mie University in Japan, and two activity days at Bario. The Webcam activity for our Bario kids is coming up in June and everyone is very excited about the event. I can't wait to see the reactions of the Bario kids when they take part in the exciting activities lined up for them that day.

Last April the COERI's Education team had the pleasure of visiting the NPO Pangaea Headquarter at the Cocon Karasuma Building in Kyoto. One of our most resourceful Pangaea facilitators, Jennifer Wilfred, and our key technical support member, Adam Francis, were also part of the entourage. Although the weather was a bit chilly when we arrived, the atmosphere at the NPO Pangaea Headquarters was electrifying! A BIG thanks to Yum-san, Toshi-san, Take-san and Kimberly-san for making the visit memorable.

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! (means 'Thank you!' in Japanese)

Norazila Abd Aziz
Research Fellow
Centre of Excellence for Rural Informatics,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

]]> 2010-07-01T03:48:31Z 2010-05-06T04:23:03Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.768 2010-05-06T04:23:03Z

Hello Everybody! The month of April was a bit different this year, as we h...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter Hello Everybody!

The month of April was a bit different this year, as we had a mix of very cold and hot weather. The difference in temperature was about 18 degrees centigrade in one day. Despite such weather, we still enjoyed beautiful cherry blossoms, which Kyoto is very famous for. I am pleased to report to you this month that we have successfully started Pangaea Activity at Mapo Youth Culture Center (MYCC), in Seoul, Korea in mid April. With our great partner, Seoul UNESCO MIZY Center's Sophia, we were ready for this exciting occasion. I was quite surprised to see

]]> For MYCC, there were 80 applicants when the program opened, but only room for 25. It is nice to see children coming from many different locations. The children, of course, had a great time, and I found that there were four children who are very interested in Japanese, who can even write and read 'hiragana'!

One issue which we had to deal with was that there were no volunteers with a strong background in computers. Toshi trained two staff members, who must have been very tired after such a long day, to give them extra training on how to operate programs with PangaeaNet and community site, etc.

Prof. Kyoung Jun Lee, who helped Pangaea a great deal by starting the program in Kyung Hee University before we settled at MIZY Center, gave us a reply from UC Berkeley to recommend his Master student as Technical staff for Pangaea. This was a reply to our call for help in seeking a person who can run Webcam activities without Toshi. So we were able to meet Mr. Hong on the morning of our departure from Seoul. He said he had read our HP and was veryexcited. He has lived in Egypt and Malaysia, where his father's relocations took him. When we really need it, a road opens for us.

The UNIMAS team, from Malaysia, visited Pangaea HQ in April. We had meetings and enjoyed a traditional Japanese dinner. It was a day before our visit to Seoul, so I wished it could have been longer.

Kimberly, our intern from Guam, is in the office before and after her Japanese classes. She is very friendly and hardworking. I would like her to help me in operation of international activities.

Well, I introduce Ms. Saeko Tezuka, as known as Saechi, as a Pangaea Ring writer for this month. I met her when I enrolled in MIT Media Lab. She started to actively engage in Pangaea as a facilitator from last year.

Yumi

]]> 2010-07-01T03:49:08Z 2010-05-06T04:17:35Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.767 2010-05-06T04:17:35Z

I introduce Ms. Saeko Tezuka, as known as Saechi, as a Pangaea writer for ...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter I introduce Ms. Saeko Tezuka, as known as Saechi, as a Pangaea writer for this month. I met her when I enrolled in MIT Media Lab. She started to actively engage in Pangaea as a facilitator from last year.

]]> I am one of the Facilitators in Tokyo.

It's been quite some time since I first got to know Pangaea. I believe it was right after Pangaea had kicked off as a NPO. Yumi and Toshi, at that time, were working at the Media Lab, at MIT, in Boston, United States. I had the opportunity to visit the Lab through my work and they took very good care of me.I still remember when I first heard about the Pangaea project. It was at a fast food shop that we stopped at on our way to the suburbs of Boston.It is easy for me to vividly flash back to the scenery of the shop as well as my own self, deeply empathized with the story Yumi had shared with me. Soon after our meeting, Yumi and Toshi moved back to Tokyo and officially started the activities. As for me, it has taken much longer. It was not until last year, when my wish finally came true and I became a Facilitator for Pangaea activities. I believe the Tokyo branch is somewhat unique, compared with other branches, the number of which is expanding rapidly. We have many volunteer staffs who have been involved with Pangaea for a long time. In our branch, we hold lively discussions on what parts of Pangaea activities we need to keep as they are and what parts we wish to change. It is quite stimulating. Having the chance to work in the United States,where the cultural value was different from my own, allowed me to develop myself further as a person.

I have experienced both the difficulties as well as the joys of holding communications through that experience. I am therefore very much thrilled to imagine that Pangaea could bring about a completely new world for children in this era, when global communication has become so ordinary. At the moment, I work for a kitchen hardware manufacturer and I am a researcher of"The kitchen of the future". With regard to my work, I am very interested in "food culture". I hope that one day, I will be able to create a Pangaea activity through which the children of the world can share their ideas and experiences with "eating", as to what sort of things are common food in their area and what is not.

SAEKO TEZUKA
Cleanup Corporation
OISHII-KURASHI Living Laboratory

]]> 2010-07-01T03:49:31Z 2010-04-18T06:16:17Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.757 2010-04-18T06:16:17Z

Yesterday we did the first activity of Pangaea in a youth center which had...

yumi yumi@pangaean.org 8. General Yesterday we did the first activity of Pangaea in a youth center which had just opened in March in Mapo, Seoul. We expected 25 people, but 80 people gathered there.
Sophia from MIZY center acted as FL, and she was joined by 7 newly trained people. We had a great fun in the activity.
Especially Sophia's leadership was very successful in circle time. When I saw that the circle time was carried on with everyone communication with each other, I realized that Pangaea had been developing apart from the headquarters in Japan.
There were several children who were interested in learning Japanese. They spoke to us "Hello (Konnichiwa)" in Japanese. On a map which 5th grade student loved(='I Love Map'), a book was drawn and some Japanese characters (A, I, U, E, O etc.) were written on it.
On a fist day, as always, a new FL feels exhausted after an activity because they get so exited and haven’t gotten used to it, but it is a satisfactory tiredness.

]]> 2010-07-01T03:49:51Z 2010-04-05T10:33:03Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.754 2010-04-05T10:33:03Z

Hello, everyone! A series of facilitator training sessions were held here,...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter Hello, everyone!

A series of facilitator training sessions were held here, in Kyoto, this month. We had about 22 new facilitators from various universities in Kyoto attend. Also, we had a woman from Guam visit Kyoto hoping to become an intern at Pangaea HQ. She will be coming to Japan to study Japanese in April while she interns with us. It is nice to see someone so full of enthusiasm joining our team.

Mapo Youth Culture Center, in Seoul, will kick off their Pangaea program in mid-April. Toshi and I will
]]> Sophia, who believed that the program is good and spent time promoting Pangaea in Korea, we will be getting started there soon.

"Language Grid Toolbox", the Language Grid spin-off project, had a Press gathering at 'COCON KARASUMA', in the beginning of this month. We presented our project, utilizing "Toolbox" and facilitator training. There were two TV stations and many newspaper companies that attended. The Langrid project is truly amazing, as it almost completed the fourth year of research and development at NICT, operated by Kyoto University. Things are now ready to unfold, and we see great possibilities in our activities by utilizing this system. I think they are an example of Peace Engineering, too.

The February Webcam activity between UNIMAS, Malaysia and Mie University, was on the Sunday newspaper in Malaysia, and NHK broadcast it in Japan. The Borneo Post has written us up in their article, "Giving Peace a Chance". The word is spreading.

I introduce Mr. Daijiro Homma, the president of HONEST CO.,LTD. as the Pangaea Ring Writer for this month. He mentions importance to connect people via Pangaea by referring to his childhood experiences.

Yumi

]]> 2010-07-01T03:50:11Z 2010-04-05T10:10:39Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.753 2010-04-05T10:10:39Z

We introduce Mr. Daijiro Homma, the president of HONEST CO.,LTD. as the P...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter We introduce Mr. Daijiro Homma, the president of HONEST CO.,LTD. as the Pangaea Ring Writer for this month. He mentions importance to connect people via Pangaea by referring to his childhood experiences.

]]> Hello everybody.

I am Daijiro Homma. It's my first time to post my message on Pangaea Ring. HONEST CO.,LTD. the company where I work at the moment, provides the industries such as health, agriculture and entertainment with the computer technology services.

I first came to know Pangaea through Mr. Takasaki, Vice President of Pangaea. First of all, the name of the organization "Pangaea" left a huge impact on me. I was deeply touched by the sincerest passion that Ms. Mori, President and Mr. Takasaki, Vice President revealed through naming the organization "Pangaea" and I found it a truly beautiful name. Adding to that, I was very much impressed by its mission as well as its activities. It comes from the memories of the experiences that I had during my own childhood which drew out these feelings of mine toward Pangaea.

I spent 6 years, from 3 years old to 9 years old, living in Brazil and in the United States. As you probably know, Brazil and the United States are made up of multiethnic immigrants mainly from Europe. People who live in those countries have different cultural backgrounds and customs. I myself was raised in an environment where our family was the only "Japanese" there.
(Back in those days, in general, it was not easy for the Japanese to go overseas unless as immigrants.)

As a child, I was somewhat aware of my identity as Japanese, but the people around me were not really "foreigners" to me, then. I still hold this sense of feeling as I live my life to this date. As an adult, I am able to associate with people regardless of their nationality or ethnicity. I am truly grateful for my parents for having given me the opportunity to live in such an environment in the early stage of my life.

I do believe that Pangaea's goal is to provide, through their programs, many children with the opportunities just like the ones that I had in my childhood and let them have the similar feelings, which would allow them to grow up as those who can be naturally connected with the people around the world.

I also believe that the world peace will be achievable when the number of such people increases and they become the leaders of this world.
I hold up a hope for Pangaea's future course.

Daijiro Homma
Representative Director
HONEST CO.,LTD.

]]> 2010-07-01T03:50:30Z 2010-03-25T01:44:51Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.750 2010-03-25T01:44:51Z

Fitri, the facilitator leader in Malaysia, told us that Pangea was reporte...

yumi yumi@pangaean.org 8. General Fitri, the facilitator leader in Malaysia, told us that Pangea was reported in a newspaper.
I was so surprised that a long article with some color pictures was in the Borneo Post Sunday edition. In this article they referred to a situation of Malaysia as well.

The day I had an interview was a long but a fun day because we did the Webcam activity with some new facilitators. Some children also got together as new members for the first time. I appreciate that the Borneo Post wrote about us in great detail!
The article is on this site, so we are glad if you read it when you have time.

To Media Coverage

]]> 2010-07-01T03:50:55Z 2010-03-16T00:56:24Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.749 2010-03-16T00:56:24Z

Our Chief Administrative Officer Hana-pooh a.k.a. Hanada is now happily mar...

yumi yumi@pangaean.org 8. General Our Chief Administrative Officer Hana-pooh a.k.a. Hanada is now happily married! He had a history of not having girlfriends and even since joining Pangaea this has been the same, but at the beginning of this year, making a suddenly serious face he said “I have something I need to tell you...”, I wondered what it was and if I would be surprised, “I have a girlfriend!” was the suprising news. I, without thinking shouted “Yay! Good for you!”. Now I can definitely see 'nice guy'-type Hanada as young but, in truth he's in his late thirties, I wasn't worried as a nosey boss, I wanted to repeat that he'd tried hard with the opportunity, a “Well done!” kind of feeling. His other half is a wonderful lady who has been helping out as a volunteer at Pangaea Kyoto in the back office. She is slightly younger than Hana-pooh, but I honestly think what a splendid, level headed and what's more, kind person she is. It seems that they started dating about in December (Whether this is true or not I don't know though...), so this was a super lightning wedding. All of a sudden these two, (along with a puppy), have started a new life living together. Everyone, if you meet Hana-pooh please give him your congratulations. To the two of them! All the best in your life ahead! 2010-07-01T03:51:33Z 2010-03-04T02:25:51Z tag:www.pangaean.org,2010:/blog/english/4.742 2010-03-04T02:25:51Z

Hello, everyone! Flying from Kansai Airport to Kuala Lumpur, to Kuching, t...

kumakinoko http://www.pangaean.org/ info@pangaean.org 3. Newsletter Hello, everyone!

Flying from Kansai Airport to Kuala Lumpur, to Kuching, to Miri, and finally to Bario, it was quite a long travel. Planes got smaller as we transit, and the plane from Miri to Bario was twin engine Otter which felt quite full with 14 people on board. We heard about the bad weather but we were blessed with great sunshine without turbulences. ]]>
I probably won't be able to reach school if I have to walk 15 days. So many children stay in school dormitories and go home on weekend if travel is not so long, on semester ends if schools are fairly far, on year end if schools are very far. It is bit unimaginable for Japanese to have children in boarding school when children are so young, but there are no options as a school in Kelabit is very very limited.

e-Bario project started with the great mission almost 10 years ago with UNIMAS (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) and COERI(Centre of Excellence for Rural Informatics) passion. As they started Pangaea last Feb. 09, they and TTC (Telecommunication Technology Committee) had minds to start Pangaea in this remote village. I was quite worried about bumpy roads with mud and bugs before I left Japan, but compared to Cambodia trip in '02 which put us in the 4 wheel vehicle for more than 6 hours on very bumpy roads, it was a piece of cake. Also very dusty road which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kenya took us near Kisumu, with greens of lands and Bario rice harvesting season, air seemed very nice.

Bario children probably wondered that what Pangaea is, and seeing projectors, and computers, videos of Pangaea clips, they looked and seemed to get very curious. Facilitators consisted of teachers at Bario school, gate securitiesy, gardeners, PTAs, and all sorts. They enjoyed training so much and at the end, they all broke into laughs as people introduced by Tako Introduction. They did wonderful work as Fs as we had our kick-off activity. I have to mention that F called Anis, who I think was PTA was amazingly talented artist! His Pangaea house was very nice as he knows how to use crayons. Children knew that there is something going on as they saw adults drawing something and all seemed very happy on the day before kick-off. Seventeen boys and girls got together and please check Pangaea blog for a photo.
PangaeaBlog:February 01, 2010 Starting Bario!

Well, then after Bario, we traveled back to Kuching and run two facilitator training sessions, and that put Malaysia facilitators this year to be over fifty people. Students seem to get interested in Pangaea, and they all come with very enthusiastic eyes. What a reward! Then on Saturday, we connected UNIMAS and Mie University for webcam. Children participated in UNIMAS were 32 as they wanted to have 40, but I had to ask them to make 32 as Mie will have 24 or 25. So it did ended up the largest number of children participated in webcam for one session. I was MC for both sides, and boy! It was a tough day at work. We used Toolbox (Machine translation) of language grid as tools for webcam menu, and 100% of Malaysia participants said "Yes! We like Toolbox and like to use." So I guess children are more open to new technologies than many adults.

Well, I think I am going bit too long, and say good bye for now!

This month Pangaea Ring writer is Gary, from the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. He helped us a lot to open Bario in this January and he is keen to enhance interaction among children not only internationally but also locally, within Malaysia.


Yumi


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