Ambassador remarks
Press coverage
Songs performed: Sukiyaki
(I look up when I walk) and
Grendizer
Poster
Flyer
The Embassy of Japan in Jordan in cooperation with the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Jordan (UJ), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Office of King Abdullah II Fund for Development and Career Counseling at the UJ organized the fourth Japan Festival on 24 and 25 November 2009 at the campus of the University of Jordan.
The two-day event, which was held under the Patronage of H.E. Professor Ahmad Majdoubeh, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, aimed at introducing Jordanian students to the various aspects of authentic Japanese culture.
The first day kicked off at 9:00am, on Tuesday 24 Nov., with the screening of three Japanese film classics which have become a symbol of Japanese pop culture. Tasogare Seibei (Twilight Samurai), Neko no Ongaeshi (The Cat-Returning Favor), and Suwingu Gāruzu (Swing Girls).
On Wednesday 25 Nov., several interactive aspects of Japanese Culture were displayed. Demonstrations of Martial Arts, Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement), Yukata and Happi (traditional Japanese clothing), Origami (traditional Japanese art of paper folding) Shodo (Japanese calligraphy) as well as displaying Japanese traditional toys were held at the main activity hall of the Deanship of Student Affairs.
The Embassy of
Japan in Jordan has a long history of collaboration with the University of
Jordan.
Many
cultural and artistic activities have been held at the University and a
number of Japanese professors with various backgrounds have given lectures
at the University under several intellectual dialogue programs.
In
regard to language learning, Japanese language courses were first offered at
the University of Jordan in 1993 after which the embassy of Japan, under its
Cultural Grant Program, supplied the university’s language centre with
laboratories to help students study the Japanese language in a more
effective manner.
Also, the
Embassy of Japan, in cooperation with the university’s Faculty of Foreign
Languages, has been running an annual Japanese Language Speech Contest since
1997, giving students an opportunity to contemplate and examine their
speaking proficiency.
Moreover and under the Japanese Government Scholarship Scheme, an average of three University of Jordan students per year are granted scholarships to pursue their higher education in Japan.
It is also worth mentioning that earlier
this year, the University of Jordan and the Embassy of Japan have agreed to
establish a bachelor program in Japanese Language and Literature at the
university’s Asian Languages Department/ Faculty of Foreign Languages. At
present, talks are being held between the embassy and the Japan Foundation
to dispatch Japanese experts to teach at the new to be established program.