Dear Sir/Madam of myJICA

The Embassy of Japan will organize the “Furoshiki” workshop.

“Furoshiki” is a piece of multi-purpose cloth used in various aspects of the Japanese everyday life such as gift-wrapping, bundling up an object for carrying, hanging on the wall for decorative purposes, etc. Although the use of “Furoshiki” faded away in the mid-70s, it has regained popularity due to renewed interest in its reusability for the sake of environmental protection. With the revival of “furoshiki”, its use is not only limited to substituting plastic bags but also for gift-wrapping, as table coverings or interior decoration all over Japan.

In this upcoming workshop, we will introduce some easy skills to use “furoshiki” for wrapping and as carrying bags. “Furoshiki” looks a lot like the “Batik” in Malaysia, so with the same techniques, you could easily adopt this eco-friendly approach into the Malaysian life!
Details of the workshop are as follows:

Date & Time: 21st November 2010 (Sunday), 14:30-16:00
Venue: Conference Room 2 (upstairs),
The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
Admission: Free
Attention:
1. Participants are required to bring their own cloth – a piece of batik, approx. 70 cm² or slightly larger.
2. For registration purposes, kindly submit name, mobile phone number and e-mail address or fax number to the following contacts. Registration deadline is 15th November 2010. Participation is subject to availability on a first come first served basis.

For more details, please do not hesitate to contact either of the following:

Ms. Jane (Japan Information Service, Embassy of Japan) Time: 8:30-12:00, 13:30-16:00
Tel: 03-2177-2741, Email: singyii.wong@kl.mofa.go.jp

http://www.my.emb-japan.go.jp/English/JIS/culturalevents/Furoshiki.html

(You can see the samples of “Furoshiki”.)

myJICA will organise a cycling program “Kayuhan Kesihatan Putrajaya” as below:-

Date: 12.12.2010
Time: 6.30am (Registration). 7.30am: Flag-off
Venue: Parcel E, Putrajaya
Route: Putrajaya
Distance: 50km
VIP: Minister of Health

How to find myJICA on facebook? http://www.facebook.com/JICA.Alumni
Thwn, click “Like” to be fan of myJICA.

See you there.

What is JICA

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is one of the Japanese Governmental agencies which is responsible for Technical Cooperation inder Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme. The technical cooperation is aimed at transferring Japan’s advanced technology and knowledge to support developing countries’ social-economic development.

JICA in Malaysia

The Government of Japan has been extending its technical cooperation to Malaysia since 1954, before opening of JICA’s JICV office in 1966. JICa’s performance in Malaysia since 1954 is shown in the table below:

JICA Alumni Associations … What Are They?

Since 1945, Japan has been the host to a total of over 130,000 participants in Japan. All of these ex-participants have been active in a variesty of fields upon return to their home countries.

The first alumni association was organized in the Philippines in 1967. The association was formed to work at keeping closer contact with Japan, to get to know Japan better and to build a link between ex-participants even after returning to their home country. Since this original association in the Philippines, several others have been formed in several other countries. As of June 1999, the total reached 79 associations in 73 different countries.

These alumni associations are acting as a bridge in the promotion of friendship between participants’ countries and Japan as well as between ex-participants themselves. This is made possible in part by the cooperation of JICA overseas offices and Japanese embassies.

Alumni associations also make contributions to JICA enabling the implementation of more effective cooperation programs including the training program for overseas participants.

Membership

All ex-participants are to be eligible for membership in countries where an alumni association has already been established. Those who have been home from Japan for a long period of time or those who just returned home are especially recommended to apply for membership in the alumni association.

What Do Alumni Do?

Even though each alumni is different, a general idea of what alumni does can be seen below:

General Activities:

1. Operation of alumni association: holding of an annual general meeting, executive committee
2. Information source for members: published bulletin, etc.
3. Encourage friendship among members: parties, trips, sport activities, recreation
4. Encourage deeper understanding of Japan: films, Japanese lannguage classes, occasions to introduce and to learn Japanese culture

Cooperation with JICA

1. Orientation for participants prior to leaving for Japan
2. Revision of ex-participant directory
3. Organization of seminars on technology with JICA

Cooperation with JICA experts and JOCV volunteers