ASEANpedia Exhibition - Welcome to Southeast Asia!
I visited the "ASEANpedia Exhibition - Welcome to Southeast Asia!" held at the Japan ASEAN Center, an international institution, from August 5th (Saturday) to 6th (Sunday), 2023.
The venue, Japan ASEAN Center, is located near Onarimon Station, where you can see Tokyo Tower. I made a mistake in setting my transfer instructions from home and ended up walking from Shimbashi Station. It was quite hot for a 15-minute walk in summer, so if possible, I recommend going from Onarimon Station.
Japan ASEAN Center is an international organization established in 1981 through an agreement between ASEAN member state governments and the Japanese government. It usually provides information on business cooperation with ASEAN countries, as well as hosting webinars and events.
I often see posts about it on Instagram. They are also known for campaigns like the Golden Bridge Project on social media.
This year is the "50th Anniversary of Japan ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation," so events are being held during this summer vacation period to commemorate it.
"Golden Friendship, Golden Opportunities"
The catchphrase for the 50th anniversary of Japan ASEAN friendship and cooperation is "Shining Friendship, Shining Opportunities" (in English, Golden Friendship, Golden Opportunities).
Particularly, it emphasizes the human-to-human friendship and cooperation with ASEAN countries.
At this exhibition, there were programs that allowed you to feel the "human" aspect, such as interactions with event supporters who are students from ASEAN countries, dance performances from Cambodia and Vietnam, and opportunities to experience ethnic costumes from various countries.
Additionally, the original bag I received at the venue had many drawings of "people."
Making Badge Pins and Experiencing Ethnic Costumes
I attended during the lunch break between events, so for the first few tens of minutes, I was the only visitor. I had hoped to secretly participate among the kids, but the staff from the center and the event supporters who were international students approached me, so I decided to join the whole program.
First was making badge pins. Using original stamps with designs of famous buildings and plants from ASEAN countries, colorful paper, pens, and such, you could design your own badge pins.
As part of the Can Badge Toy Generation, it brought back a lot of nostalgic feelings for me.
Since I had heard someone I know went to Malaysia to see Rafflesia, I used the Rafflesia stamp. In reality, a fresh smile like this probably wouldn't happen up close, but it ended up looking like a cheerful boy's face.
The ASEANJAPAN50 hashtag design sticker is also gender-neutral and cool.
Additionally, at the ethnic costume experience corner, I got to try on the recommended Vietnamese costume (Ao Dai?) from an event supporter who was with me. Even though many were children's sizes, they specially chose one for adults.
I was wearing it over my clothes, so the clothes underneath were slightly visible. But being able to experience it like this without a complete change of clothes is easy and fun.
Moreover, it wasn't just about experiencing the costume; they even let me wear the hat. It's a bit hard to see, but the hat also had designs on it and looked stylish.
Abundant Exhibits!
By the way, just because it's called "ASEANpedia Exhibition," it doesn't mean that only experience events were held. For example, there were panels on the walls discussing topics like profiles of ASEAN member countries and the relationship between Japan and ASEAN.
I could also directly hear introductions about their own countries from the event supporters.
Since some of the event supporters were studying in English courses at university, I unexpectedly got to speak some English.
I wouldn't want my 10-year passport to be almost empty while welcoming the mood, so while I'm in Malaysia, I definitely want to create opportunities to visit neighboring countries.
I also wanted to visit the hometown of the event supporter I met this time.
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