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Aug 2005 INDEX *Reports* -Yumi, Chief Executive Director's monthly note -Toshi, Chief Techinical Director's monthly note -What's up in Pangaea's Playground? (Activity report) ----------------------------------- Yumi's monthly note ----------------------------------- Pangaea will connect children in Seoul, Korea and Shibuya, Japan in August. I visited Seoul with Toshi for the second time in July to prepare for the activity. We've met with Sonokong, the toy company in Korea who has been so generous to help Pangaea launch in Korea, and Kyoung Jun whom I have met at ICE workshop in Kyoto. After the trip to Korea, I then flew to Nairobi, Kenya. It has been already two years since our first visit. This visit was long waited. Great meetings with Jane and Paul who will be steering force for launching Pangaea in Africa. We started early and on some nights, we talked about our strategy. We were able to set the first Pangaea activity location to hold regular activities in Nairobi from next spring. I was able to spend time with children in Nairobi, and made Pangaea Playing cards material with them. One thing I noticed was that there is a significant difference in parent-child relationship between Japanese and Kenyan children. Children in Kenya, those I have seen, really help house chores without complaining. They seem to be very sincere doing these tasks. There are roles for them in family, and this helps children to realize the importance of their existences in family. One day, I brought things to make sandwich for lunch. Children seem to like them a lot! As I spend times with children, they first were wondering who this strange middle age woman who is not their teacher nor parent is, they got used to me, and started to behave very honestly and without shyness. Birth for new Pangaea researchers! Oh, I was interviewed by Radio Station in Nairobi. 4 million listeners! In Africa, Radio is still the most powerful media for public. Since then, I have received emails from Africa. During this trip, I was without Toshi. It was very difficult to do many demo and doing mini activities. But it were good hardships to experience as many of those who will be conducting Pangaea activities in Africa, Asia, and South America will face the same problem. So I ask for this big challenge to Tech Staff to accommodate someone like me. I am visiting Rome, Amsterdam, Vienna, then I fly back to Japan for 3 days. I will visit Seoul to do activity with Yoobin in mid August. So everyone, please wait. We are getting ready to launch in your country very soon! Yumi ----------------------------------- Toshi's monthly note ----------------------------------- It's very hot summer here in Japan this year and this high temperature boosts up NPO Pangaea progress greatly everyday! First, I would like to report about a music activity project. The project is run by splendid people such as Keiichi Suzuki, Manabu Tanaka, and Ryota Kuwakubo. Mr. Suzuki is leading a long-lasting famous music band in Japan called 'moonriders.' He gives a musical point of view. Mr.Tanaka is a toy consultant and he gives a point of view from "playing with children." And Ryota Kuwakubo is a award-winning device artist and gives an advice from a gadget's point of view. Setting to feel a "bond" over a distant gap as a policy, the project has launched since more than a year ago. Then finally we came to accomplish the first prototype of a music gadget for the Pangaea music activity. I appreciate much for a brilliant work by Mr.Kuwakubo who is responsible for this device production. Even in a short amount of time, he accomplished the perfect gadget that has no glitch in both software and hardware without delivery delay. Also, its exterior design is made very cute with awareness of a children's viewpoint. I cannot help but pause to realize his passion and professionalism. In July, children played with these prototypes at the activity. Based on feedback from them, we would like to improve the device and move towards completion. I am going to update this in detail in the newsletter time to time. ---------------- - Keiichi Suzuki's official Webpage http://www.keiichisuzuki.com - Ryouta Kuwakubo's official Webpage http://www.vector-scan.com ---------------- In the beginning of July, we had Pangaea Technical Workshop for Pangaea technical volunteers. Ms. Inaba was one of the participants at this workshop. She joined Pangaea as a technical volunteer last year and she left Japan to the US to work in Massatusetts Institute of Technology as a researcher. She completed her work in MIT and came back to Japan last month. And she is now participating in a Pangaea activity again. She is communicating very well with children without losing her touch after a year absence. As a new technical volunteer she joins in Pangaea, I feel like a circle of Pangaea is widening. This month, we welcomed a new member, Ms.Yamada who is a junior student of the International Christian University in Japan, as the internship. She is going to work at Pangaea for about a month as an internship student. She says that her interest is in a Pangaea's way of communication through pictograms as she is majoring in linguistics, so we offer her work related to linguistics such as a data analysis and an academic research on a pictogram communicator in addition to a secretariat work. We wish her to absorb many things at Pangaea and to apply what she has learned at the college life. By the way, a final debrief session of the IPA that I am involved in will be held on 13th August at Tamachi, Tokyo. ---------------- http://www.ipa.go.jp/english/humandev/third.html ---------------- I am going to give a presentation on "Pictogram Knowledge-base with Semantic Wrapper by XML Topic Maps." I'll talk about semantic pictogram dictionary system as well as a prototype of pictogram email software. The session is open to the public, so if you are interested, please come to see it. Thank you for reading this letter so far. Please take care of yourself and I hope you will join the Pangaea activity together soon! ----------------------------------- What's up in Pangaea's Playground? (Activity report by Seiji) ----------------------------------- All the Pangaea activities that were planned before summer vacations have finished. August has come. This month is also a closure for NPO Pangaea. -July's to August's activities July, there was nothing new. However, the activities were something that reconfirms us to feel "bond" that NPO Pangaea appreciates the most together with participants and staffs. As usual, the activities are combined with children's playground. Participants seem to get used to the activities. The time in activities passes slowly. Even though a play is same, once you are aware of communication, Just then, you'll notice many other things. "Does it get through to them even though we do not share the same culture?" "Does it get through to them even though we do not speak the same language?" In August, participants in Shibuya-ward are going to communicate through the Internet with participants in Korea who has already tried to make Pangaea cards. By making cards in which themes are already set, Children carry down their usual life to participants in Korea. Then, they will see how much they can communicate and pass along their questions and comments through pictorial symbols. In this activity, we will have powerful staffs who are fluent in both languages, Japanese and Korean, in both places. The day will be a perfect chance for a research! This is how a new step is taken in the August activities for 20th October, a Universal Children's Day. In August, activities are held on 6, 20 and 21. We are always waiting for you to join us. Please feel free to contact us. Seiji Mukai nonbiri@panggaean.org ****************************************************** Please check for details at Pangaea homepage. Non Profit Organization PANGAEA: http://www.pangaean.org/ For inquiries, e-mail: info*pangaean.org (Please change "*" to "@".) [Registration/Termination of Subscription] This e-newsletter is delivered to *Registered Pangaea activity supporting members *Pangaea advisors *Pangaea fellows *Registered Pangaea volunteer staff *Anyone who supports Pangaea activity and has contacted to Pangaea President Ms. Mori/Vice-President Mr. Takasaki If you wish to change your e-mail address or to terminate, please contact us from the following site: http://www.pangaean.org/common/english/newsletter/change.html ****************************************************** Non Profit Organization PANGAEA TS building 4F, 2-14-3 Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0047, Japan TEL: +81-3-5298-1551 / FAX: +81-3-5298-1552 E-mail:info*pangaean.org (Please change "*" to "@".) Copyright (c) 2003-2004 NPO PANGAEA. All Rights Reserved. ****************************************************** |