Kansai Gaidai University
ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAM
50th ANNIVERSARY
1st HOMECOMING EVENT
The first Asian Studies Program Homecoming Day Celebration, at Kansai Gaidai University, on Saturday, 27th of June 2023, was a legendary turnout.
The academic gathering boasted 100 alumni, family, friends, and around 290 students parJcipaJng in the Asian Studies Program as of 2023.
Some of the homecoming event highlights included the morning ceremony and recepJon, with an impressive gourmet food buffet display for the CompleJon Ceremony of Asian Studies Program exchange students.
The homecoming celebraJon began at 1:00 pm, where a one-hour presentaJon, in the TANIMOTO HALL at the GOTENYAMA CAMPUS
GLOBAL TOWN, was hosted by Chancellor Eiko Tanimoto, President of the Board of Trustees, the legendary Professor Stephen Zurcher, Dean of the Asian Studies Program, and the inspiraJonal Asian Studies alumnus Michael Shearer, Head of Region, Pacific, TRICARE Overseas Program, InternaEonal SOS, and with a closing Jazz extravaganza performed by Kansai Gaidai alumna Yuko Kawabata and her band.
Despite the assembly being held on-site, many overseas residents parJcipated virtually online.
The networking and liaising, an invaluable opportunity to make new contacts uJlizing LinkedIn's social media pla[orm as a primary medium of maintaining contact, launched at 2:00 pm. In a\endance were Asian Studies program students and alumni daJng back decades, residing in Japan and from across the world.
The assembly focused on encouraging exisJng alumni to make new contacts by meeJng their peers and current Asian Studies Program students.
Kansai Gaidai alumna Aurora Mizutani, the author of “Japan for Tourists” and “Easy Japan”, was pleased to meet fellow alumna attendee Japanese Translator/Interpreter and Business Consultant Kina Jackson. Kina Jackson is a supporter of Vegan Osaka, a Canadian female-owned plant-based food production enterprise, specialising in artisanal mock meats and cheeses.
The Kansai Gaidai University Asian Studies Program was established in 1972. During the last five decades, KGU has welcomed nearly 20,000 students and, because of its historical substance, the overtone of this Asian Studies Program founding homecoming gathering is of momentous importance for the academic sector.
ParJcularly rewarding was the gia bag that alumni students were presented with, as they collected their personalised name tags. Distributed for idenJficaJon purposes and proof of associaJon with the university, the name tags proved an excellent tool for starJng conversaJons, discussions, and networking.
Amongst other goodies included in the alumni student gia bag were staJonary boasJng the university logo, a box of local sweet pastries, an Asian Studies Program catalogue, the homecoming event program, and the magnum opus, an enamelled circular Lapel Badge bearing the university name and crest.
“The Badge of the Kansai Gaidai University” is an everlasJng memento idenJfying alumni and indicaJng their belonging and support for the faculty.
The convenJon culminated with Japanese cultural demonstraJons, a rickshaw tour around Gotenyama Campus, and a tour of the Nakamiya Campus.
Video footage of Kansai Gaidai University Asian Studies Program 50th Anniversary 1st Homecoming Event is available on YouTube click HERE
7 “The Badge of the Kansai Gaidai University”, and personalised alumni name tag