At the Executive Committee meeting held on October 13, a report on the state of budget execution was made as usual, followed by a report on the publication of the outcome of the Graduate Student Workshop, entitled “Spinning from Fieldwork -- Process of Discovery and Analysis,” which was held on October 30-31 last year, organized mainly by graduate students from ASAFAS. The outcome is scheduled to be published in the near future by NTT Publishing Co., Ltd. under the title of Fieldwork: Process of Discovery and Analysis.

This was followed by a report by Professor HIRAMATSU Kozo, chairperson of the Working Group of the International Symposium, “Coexistence with Nature in a ‘Glocalizing’ World: Field Science Perspectives,” to be held on November 23-24 this year in Bangkok, on the state of progress since the last meeting. Specifically, he reported on preparations for the Proceedings, registration of participants and preparations for the study tour to Laos and Myanmar after the Symposium. The website for the Symposium (http://www.asafas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kusymp/) has been frequently updated, and now carries not only the Aim and Program of the Symposium, but also a considerable number of abstracts from the presentations. In addition, registration can be done through the website.

In relation to the symposium, Dr. TAKADA Akira, who is in charge of preparations for the International Symposium to be held in the final year of the Program, presented a concrete program proposal including the theme of each session and candidates for presenters. The Working Group of the symposium will be working to select the presenters and concretize the details of the program. It was also confirmed that the website will be actively used to publicize the symposium, in cooperation with the Program’s Public Relations Section, as is being done for the symposium to be held in Bangkok.

The Public Relations Section then reported that policies in relation to copyrights and the protection of personal information, etc. would be put on the website in the near future and that streaming video delivery had been launched. There are now five videos available, showing music and dances filmed in Ethiopia and Bali, and it is expected that this number will increase as part of the outcomes of the research and education of the 21st COE Program.

Among the agenda items, a final decision was made on the graduate students to be dispatched to field stations in the latter half of FY2005. The recruitment began on July 21, and screening was carried out by the Field Station Division. A total of 12 graduate students will be dispatched to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

In addition, Prof. ADACHI Akira, who has served as the head of the field station of South Asia, will be replaced by Associate Prof. FUJIKURA Tatsuro, who took up a post at ASAFAS in July this year. (Sugishima)