Media Releases

Japan relief event with expert speakers & Japanese performers at the University of Toronto

March 28, 2011

TORONTO, ON – Join us for an evening of pre­sen­ta­tions by experts to update us on the relief efforts in Japan; there will also be per­for­mances by Japan­ese-Cana­di­an musi­cians and dancers.  The event will raise mon­ey for the Cana­di­an Red Cross, Japan­ese Earth­quake Relief Fund and Ashina­ga, (www.ashinaga.org/e/), a Japan­ese-based char­i­ty pro­vid­ing edu­ca­tion and sup­port for trau­ma­tized and dis­placed chil­dren in Japan.

The evening begins with remarks by Mr. Masaya Otsu­ka, Direc­tor Japan Infor­ma­tion Cen­tre, of the Con­sulate Gen­er­al of Japan. Fol­low­ing this, Mr. John Saun­ders, Direc­tor of Dis­as­ter Man­age­ment in Ontario, Red Cross will update the relief effort in Japan. Ms. Kristin Kobayashi, a pre­sen­ter and an eye­wit­ness to the Japan earth­quake, says “My expe­ri­ences as a Japan­ese-Cana­di­an in Tokyo dur­ing the earth­quake gave me a unique insight into the essence of the Japan­ese spir­it.”

The artists for the event are con­fi­dent that their per­for­mances will con­tribute to aware­ness and restora­tion. Rachel Mer­cer, a cel­list, says, “Bach’s music helps us pon­der the fragili­ty of human­i­ty.” The YAKUDO Drum­mers offer, “You don’t just hear our drums with your ears, you feel it with­in your body, like a heart­beat.  We hope our per­for­mance can keep the hearts of those in Japan beat­ing strong.”

What: OISE/UT Woodsworth stu­dent-orga­nized Japan Earth­quake & Tsuna­mi Relief Event.

Where: Kruger Hall, Woodsworth Col­lege, 119 St. George St. (south of Bloor St.)

When: Thurs. March 31, 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm (Remarks from 7 to 8 pm, each talk fol­lowed by a brief Q&A ses­sion.)

Speak­ers:

•    Mr. Masaya Otsu­ka, Direc­tor Japan Infor­ma­tion Cen­tre, Con­sul, Con­sulate Gen­er­al of Japan

•    Mr. John Saun­ders, Direc­tor of Dis­as­ter Man­age­ment in Ontario, Red Cross (exper­tise in the Japan­ese sit­u­a­tion)

•    Ms. Kristin Kobayashi, eye­wit­ness to the Japan­ese earth­quake, artist and com­mu­ni­ty activist.
(Note: Mr. John Saun­ders and Ms. Kristin Kobayashi will be avail­able for one-on-one inter­views fol­low­ing the for­mal pre­sen­ta­tion.)

Per­form­ers:

Rachel Mer­cer, Cel­list

http://www.rachelmercercellist.com/index.html

Ayame-Kai Dance Troupe

YAKUDO Drum­mers

http://www.yakudo.com/

For more infor­ma­tion, event poster and/or pho­tographs of indi­vid­ual per­form­ers, please con­tact:

David Gold­berg, Event Co-ordi­na­tor. d.goldberg@utoronto.ca, cell: 416–357-1172

 

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