BRIT XII Fukuoka/Pusan Conference reaches a successful conclusion
2012/11/17
The BRIT XII Conference was held in Fukuoka and Pusan from the 13-16 November 2012.
On the opening day of the conference, following a talk given by the President of Hokkaido University, Hiroshi SAEKI, the organizer of the conference and head of our Global COE program, Akihiro IWASHITA, gave a speech entitled “BRIT XII: Challenges and Perspectives”. In it, he emphasized the lack of prior border research centered on Eurasia and East Asia and the consequent importance of this first BRIT to be held in East Asia. The Fukuoka International Conference Center hosted a keynote lecture by Professor Kang Sang-Jung and a roundtable involving students of both Kyushu and Dongseo Universities. Following two days of intensive discussions in Fukuoka, the participants departed Hakata Port on a jetfoil for the border island of Tsushima, listening to a talk from the Mayor of Tsushima and being taken on a tour of the island from south to north, before departing by sea and arriving in Korea via the port of Pusan. While a special feature of BRIT Conferences is that they incorporate at least two locations in two different countries, that the border was crossed by boat on this occasion was particularly significant for the border specialists in attendance.
In Pusan, discussions continued at the brand-new Centum Campus through the cooperation of Dongseo University. In the closing address given by Dongseo University President, Jekuk Chang, he expressed his belief that the continuation of cross-border exchange and the encouragement of border research would aid in the resolution of political issues between Japan and Korea as well as larger problems in south-east Asia. This was a fitting note on which to end four days of intensive discussion. The combined Fukuoka/Pusan Conference had seen over 180 researchers engage in two roundtables and over forty sessions, but more than anything it was a significant opportunity for participants from Eurasia and East Asia, particularly Japan, the Russian Far East, China, Singapore, Thailand and India, to get involved, which with the participation of nationalities from 47 countries and over 220 people made this the most diverse BRIT yet. With this we can say that that aims of Hokkaido University’s Global COE “Reshaping Japan’s Border Studies” program to fill in the East Asian gap in border research have been more than fulfilled.
On the opening day of the conference, following a talk given by the President of Hokkaido University, Hiroshi SAEKI, the organizer of the conference and head of our Global COE program, Akihiro IWASHITA, gave a speech entitled “BRIT XII: Challenges and Perspectives”. In it, he emphasized the lack of prior border research centered on Eurasia and East Asia and the consequent importance of this first BRIT to be held in East Asia. The Fukuoka International Conference Center hosted a keynote lecture by Professor Kang Sang-Jung and a roundtable involving students of both Kyushu and Dongseo Universities. Following two days of intensive discussions in Fukuoka, the participants departed Hakata Port on a jetfoil for the border island of Tsushima, listening to a talk from the Mayor of Tsushima and being taken on a tour of the island from south to north, before departing by sea and arriving in Korea via the port of Pusan. While a special feature of BRIT Conferences is that they incorporate at least two locations in two different countries, that the border was crossed by boat on this occasion was particularly significant for the border specialists in attendance. In Pusan, discussions continued at the brand-new Centum Campus through the cooperation of Dongseo University. In the closing address given by Dongseo University President, Jekuk Chang, he expressed his belief that the continuation of cross-border exchange and the encouragement of border research would aid in the resolution of political issues between Japan and Korea as well as larger problems in south-east Asia. This was a fitting note on which to end four days of intensive discussion. The combined Fukuoka/Pusan Conference had seen over 180 researchers engage in two roundtables and over forty sessions, but more than anything it was a significant opportunity for participants from Eurasia and East Asia, particularly Japan, the Russian Far East, China, Singapore, Thailand and India, to get involved, which with the participation of nationalities from 47 countries and over 220 people made this the most diverse BRIT yet. With this we can say that that aims of Hokkaido University’s Global COE “Reshaping Japan’s Border Studies” program to fill in the East Asian gap in border research have been more than fulfilled.
