Vice President Taku Shinohara and Mark��ta Bruna Gebhartov�� visit Prague

November 11, 2024

Vice-President Taku Shinohara and Associate Professor Mark��ta Bruna Gebhartov�� visited Prague, Czech Republic, from October 15 to 17, 2024, to attend the Gratias Agit Award Ceremony and related events.

On Tuesday, October 15, they met Dr. Martin Tirala, the head of the Institute of Asian Studies of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague, and Dr. Jan S?kora, the head of Japanese Studies, to discuss the possible introduction of a dual degree program for the students of TUFS and Charles University. On Wednesday, October 16, the Gratias Agit laureates were guided through the State Rooms of Prague Castle, most of which are usually closed to the public. In the evening, they enjoyed a modern interpretation of Bed?ich Smetana��s famous opera Bartered Bride in the National Theater.

On Thursday, October 17, the laureates were received by the Director of Communications of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the State rooms of Czern��n Palace, the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a magnifique baroque palace. They were guided through the palace, the state rooms, the historical office of Edvard Bene? (long time foreign minister of Czechoslovakia in the interwar period, then president), the apartment of Jan Masaryk (son of the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tom��? Garrigue Masaryk, and foreign minister after World War II who fell from the window of the room into the courtyard and died of unknown causes shortly after the communists took over the government), and so on. The Gratias Agit 2024 award ceremony started in the Great Hall of the Czern��n Palace at 11:00. Professor Jacque Rupnik and nine others and two organizations, including TUFS, were awarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr. Jan Lipavsk?, for the promotion of the Czech culture abroad. The award ceremony was followed by a reception held in the state rooms of Czern��n palace. In the meantime, Vice President Shinohara and Associate Professor Mark��ta Bruna Gebhartov�� gave interviews to Radio Prague and the daily newspaper Den��k N. After the official ceremony and reception, they met with the Japanese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Mr. Kansuke Nagaoka, at his residence, together with Professor Petra Kanasugi and Professor David L��bus from the Japanese Department of the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University to discuss the current educational exchange between Charles University and TUFS, and its possible future development.

(Taku Shinohara): I am very happy to receive the Gratias Agit Award on behalf of all the colleagues who have been engaged in education and research activities about Czech culture, language and history, as well as on behalf of all the students and all the graduates who are now working in various fields. During the ceremony I also felt deeply proud of the respective contributions of each of the 28 educational departments of language and culture of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.