Preparatory Meeting for International Symposium Held at TUFS

December 1, 2014

On Wednesday, November 27th, a preparatory meeting for an international symposium scheduled for next year was held at the Agora Global building at TUFS. Thirty embassy officials from 19 countries attended the gathering.
The international symposium will take place three times next year, aiming at strengthening the relationships between TUFS and those 19 countries, and promoting the cultures of Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries. Two TUFS departments, Spanish Studies and Portuguese Studies, will organize this international assembly with support from embassies in Tokyo and related organizations and companies.
The first symposium will be held from May 29th to 31st in 2016, titled “Mesticagens” (a Portuguese word meaning “Blending”). Leading experts on history, literature, linguistics, and cultural anthropology will take part in the symposium. They will talk about the different phenomena observed in cross-cultural exchanges, via lectures, presentations, exhibitions, and screenings. The second symposium, titled “Literature” will be in June, and the third one “Spanish and Portuguese” will be in November.
His Excellency Mr. Erick Michel SAAVEDRA Mendizabal from Bolivia, Her Excellency Ms.Martha Lidia ZELAYANDIA Cisneros from El Salvador, and embassy representatives from Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries were among the participants. The meeting started off with TUFS President Tateishi’s speech. They discussed the cooperative framework for the symposium. Along with faculty members, TUFS students volunteered to help set up the venue and assist the guests.
The list of participanting embassies and institutions (Alphabet order):
Embassies in Tokyo:
Argentina, Angola, Uruguay, Venezuela, El Salvador, Cuba, Colombia, Spain, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Panama, East Timor, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Portugal, Honduras, Mexico, and Mozambique
Officials from institutions:
Instituto Cervantes(Spain), Camões Institute(Portugal), and Central Bank of Brazil