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	Date & Time : 18:00 - 19:40 Thursday, September 13, 2007 Venue : ACROS Fukuoka Symphony Hall Number of Participants : 1,100    Honored with the presence of Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Akishino, and with 1,100 participants including citizens and foreign students in Fukuoka, the award ceremony for the 18th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes was held at the ACROS Fukuoka Symphony Hall. Ms. Agnes Chan served as a Master of Ceremony.    In the first part, each of four laureates was welcomed on stage with a round of applause from the audience after which the video collage showing their achievements was displayed on a screen. The greetings from the organizer was made, followed by an address from His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino, and then by the prize juryfs summary on the selection process. The medals and the certificates were subsequently presented to the laureates. Each laureate gave a short speech expressing their joy of receiving the prize and their thoughts on Asian culture, as well as a message to people in Fukuoka. The loudest round of applause went to them when they received the flower bouquets from the students from Fukuoka International School. An extra touch was also added with the female students from the department of Asian Studies, Chikushi Jogakuen University, who were dressed up in kimono and served as the escorts for the laureates.    In a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, the second part began with a dialogue between the four laureates and Ms. Agnes Chan. A congratulatory message was then delivered by Mr. and Mrs. Kitamura representing the citizens of Fukuoka. The ceremony concluded with a splendid live performance by gSamulnori,h headed by Kim Duk-soo, who is one of the Art and Culture Prize laureates. The audience was swept off their feet as they were drawn into the captivating world of bursting sounds and rhythms.
	Thoughts from India    A Message to Japan, to the World, and to the Future
	Grand Prize Laureate Ashis Nandy Date & Time : 13:00 - 15:00 Saturday, September 15, 2007 Venue : ACROS Fukuoka Event Hall Number of Participants : 300 Speakers : Ashis Nandy, Grand Prize Laureate Haga Yoshiko, Committee for Education of Child Sexual Awareness and Wellbeing Ohji Toshiaki (Coordinator), Professor, College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University In his keynote speech, Professor Ashis Nandy expressed his view that all cultures should show mutual respect with regards to the distinctiveness of cultures, and only such respect can keep open a wide enough range of options for the future generations. He also warned against the present situation that had forced standardization of popular cultures. An activity report was then made by Ms. Haga, an NGO activist who had made efforts for child education and protection of children from sexual exploitation in Mumbai, India. Lively exchange of views took place among all the participants.
	The Foundation and Development of Thai States in Antiquity    A Glimpse of Life in the Ancient Cities of Thailand Academic Prize Laureate Srisakra Vallibhotama Date & Time : 16:00 - 18:00 Saturday, September 15, 2007 Venue : ACROS Fukuoka Event Hall Number of Participants : 240 Speaker : Srisakra Vallibhotama, Academic Prize Laureate Ishii Yoneo, Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University Ito Toshikatsu, Professor, Faculty of Letters, Aichi University Nitta Eiji (Coordinator), Professor, Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University In his keynote lecture, Professor Srisakra argued that although Dvaravati had long been regarded as the early kingdom of ancient Thailand, it was merely a city state (harbor city) and there was no single centralized dominant state at that time. An active exchange of views between the panelists ensued, focusing on several specific aspects including the trading networks between harbor and inland areas of ancient Thailand. The lecture attracted many participants by presenting Thai history in an entirely new light.
	Artist Talk:     Carving Wood, Speaking Spirit Arts and Culture Prize Laureate Ju Ming Date & Time : 13:30 - 15:30 Sunday, September 16, 2007 Venue : Sculpture Lounge, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Number of Participants : 120 Speaker : Ju Ming, Arts and Culture Prize Laureate Coordinator : Yasunaga Kouichi, Advisor, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum In front of an extra large picture panel of his Taichi Series located in Juming Museum, the sculptor talked about his life - how he created his own distinctive art, not by learning from others but through his ascetic trainings. His words that "learning is easy" was a little unexpected. "Discarding is rather more difficult. If you cannot remove any influences of others, that is the art of someone else." The seats arranged among his impressive sculptures in the FAAM's lounge were nearly full. Many questions were raised one after another from the audience who were inspired by Ju Ming's ceaseless creative energy. It was Ju Ming himself that was also impressed by the high level of artistic interest of Fukuoka citizens.
	Traditional Korean Music in Progress:    A World of Bursting Sounds and Rhythms Arts and Culture Prize Laureate Kim Duk-soo Date & Time : 16:30 - 18:30 Sunday, September 16, 2007 Venue : IMS Hall Number of Participants : 320 Performer : Kim Duk-soo Samulnori Coordinator : Fujii Tomoaki, Director, International Institute for Culture Kim Duk-soo and his four gSamulnorih members successfully gave an energetic performance with bursting sounds and rhythms by using four types of Korean traditional percussions (Changgu, Puk, Kwaenggwari, and Ching). It was followed by a talk session between Kim Duk-soo and the coordinator FUJII Tomoaki, including the introduction of the four percussions by Kim Duk-soo. A beautiful Korean traditional dance was also performed by his wife, Kim Ri Hee. The audience was all fascinated by their dynamic stage with various types of performance including Pankut (a type of acrobatic musical performance).  Shuyukan High School  Date : Friday, September 14, 2007 Visitor : Ashis Nandy Number of Students : 100 About a hundred students from 10th to 12th grades gathered at an after-school special lecture by Prof. Nandy. A student served as the MC, in English. After his short lecture, he received many questions and comments from the students. These ranged over various current affairs including the egap societyf problems entangled with Indian Caste system, environmental problems associated with rapidly growing countries such as China and India. It was apparent that Prof. Nandy was impressed by the insightful questions from the teenagers in Fukuoka. In this way, the hour-long session passed as quickly as it began.      Kasumigaoka High School  Date : Friday, September 14, 2007 Visitor : Srisakra Vallibhotama Number of Students : 80 Prof. Srisakrafs lecture was held for English course students and one of them served as the MC. At the beginning, a brief introduction of their school and Japanese culture was given by the students, with the presentations all conducted in English in a welcoming atmosphere. Prof. Srisakra then began a lecture about ancient civilization in northeastern Thailand. Showing a number of pictures of historic remains and citing interesting myths related to them, he stressed the importance of learning history. gTo understand the people you must know their history. And history surely continues to our present society.h The lecture was followed by many questions from the students. His lecture gave a rare opportunity for the students to open their eyes to the broad Asian region.    Maidashi Elementary School  Date : Friday, September 14, 2007 Visitor : Ju Ming Number of Students : 50 Ju Ming's special program was held with a concept of "Art with Everyday Materials." 50 children in 5th grade worked on their original face craft with various common materials such as sponges, plastic bottles, and pieces of wood. They were told to use whatever they wanted and there was no right way to create art. It was quite different from their regular art classes where the teacher gives specific instructions. Although the children looked a little unsure of themselves at the start, they gradually let their creativity flow by bending, cutting, and scraping the materials in any way they liked. The students in the design course of Kyushu High School were also present, and provided assistance to the children. Ju Ming watched contentedly as each craft gradually took on different faces through the childrenfs touch.    Shikata Elementary School  Date : Friday, September 14, 2007 Visitor : Kim Duk-soo Number of Students : 550 Kim Duk-soo and his four Samulnori members, playing traditional Korean percussions, received a warm welcome as soon as they entered the gymnasium, where the entire school anticipated their arrival. Throughout the performance, all the children were completely overwhelmed by their powerful sounds and rhythm. The explanation of the four types of percussions also perked their curiosity since it was conducted through a pop quiz. Under Kim Duk-soo's direction, everyone then enjoyed dancing to the different rhythms. After the last acrobatic performance that earned the loudest cheer, the children rushed in for their handshake. The event gave a great opportunity for the children, who will lead the future generation, to focus on the traditional culture of our nearest neighbor.       Copyright(C)2009 FUKUOKA ASIAN CULTURE PRIZE All Rights Reserved