“The 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival” Pre-Event: Global Next Generation Project
March 27, 2011. Ryukyu Shimpo
The “Global Next Generation Project,” the pre-event of the 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival, was held in the hall of University of the Ryukyus on March 26.
During the event, local Okinawan students who have experienced exchanges with people of Okinawan descent residing abroad or with people from other countries, reported on their experiences and talked about establishing a network with the increasing number of Okinawans or people of Okinawan descent who live overseas.
The event was designed to enhance the potential of the 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival scheduled for October.
The students and working people who participated, approximately 100 in total, decided to hold further study sessions roughly once a month from now in an attempt to stimulate discussion in the time leading up to the Festival itself.
The students spoke of the benefits of their experiences going on study trips to countries such as the United States, China and South Korea, saying things such as “I would like to travel around the world and learn many things so I can contribute to Okinawa,” and “I realized the importance of human relationships.” In the small-group discussions that followed, some suggested that there is a need for a place for young people to connect with people from other countries.
Reporting on her experiences during a study trip to the United States, Miki Miyagi, a sophomore student of University of the Ryukyus, said, “Not just adults, but us young people also need to try to contribute to Okinawa’s relationship with the outside world,” and continued, saying that, “It is important for us to have exchange experiences in the Uchinanchu Festival, but we must then work hard to keep those relationships going.”
(English Translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey）
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