Regional Fellow meeting, Vienna 2023

Former fellows from Austria, Belarus, Benelux, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Sweden, and Switzerland were invited to the meeting.
With talks from the following 3 speakers, the talks fuelled an exchange of ideas, prompting engaging discussions and fostering intellectual dialogue from the attendees

1. Prof. Dr. Wolfram Manzenreiter, Head of Department, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna.
2. Prof. Dr. Ina Hein, Vice Dean Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna.
3. Dr. Yuka Kadoi, Elise Richter Programme / Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Department of Art History, University of Vienna.

Regional Fellow Meeting, London 2022

It was a special meeting for two reasons. First, it was two years ago since the last Regional Fellow meeting had been held and secondly, 2022 marks the 35th anniversary of the Foundation’s existence.
Held at University College London, alumni Fellows from the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden were invited to attend.
Guests listened to three lectures:
Epidemiology of ageing and dementia, London-Osaka-Guangzhou by Prof. Eric Brunner
Ancient Egypt in Japan: UCL and the Kyoto University Museum by Dr. Anna Garnett
“Fragments of memory”, where artist Bouke de Vries talked to guests about his bronze sculpture which stands in the Japanese garden at University College London

Regional Fellow Meeting, Kyoto 2019

Together with the Center for African Area Studies at Kyoto University, the Alumni Fellow meeting was held in Kyoto in November 2019.
Prof. Masayoshi Shigeta, Director of the Center for African Area Studies was our gracious host.
The first lecture was given by Prof. Takeshi Furuichi, from the Primate Research Institute. His lecture was about "Evolution of Humans from Bonobos" - an endangered species of great ape.
Dr. Noriko Itoh gave the second lecture on Wild chimpanzees and their surrounding environment at Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.
Dr. Itoh is one of the first recipients of the newly formed Canon Foundation in Europe-Kyoto University Japan-Africa Programme. More info on this Programme will follow in our 2020 e-bulletin.

Regional Fellow Meeting, Lisbon 2018

Alumni Fellows from south Europe were invited to the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal last November. An interesting afternoon with two lectures on historical links between Japan and Portugal.
Willem van Gulik, in the first lecture, talked about “The Japanese Encounter with Portugal and Spain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries as viewed in the arts of Japan at the time”.
The second lecture was given by Alexandra Curvelo and Ana Fernandes Pinto from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University. Their title, “Interactions between Christian missionaries and Buddhist sects in Momoyama, Japan”, was the result of an extensive project which they had both collaborated on.

Regional Fellow Meeting, Warsaw, Poland 2017

In co-operation with the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Warsaw, this year’s meeting was held at the University of Warsaw library. We were honoured that Alumni Canon Foundation Fellow Prof. Katarzyna Cwiertka agreed to give a lecture at the meeting. During the lecture, guests were invited to participate in a Japanese tea ceremony served by the students of Japanese Studies at the University.

Regional Fellow Meeting Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2016

Canon Fellows and invited guests enjoyed a private tour by Mr. Menno Fitski in the Rijksmuseum, Holland’s famous national museum dedicated to arts and history.

Regional Fellow Meeting Manchester, England 2015

Fellows from the UK and Ireland were invited to attend this year’s Regional Fellow meeting. Also Fellows who had just completed their Fellowship were also invited. The meeting took place in Manchester, UK on 20 November, 2015 in co-operation with the University of Manchester and the Manchester Business School.

Regional Fellow Meeting Paris, France 2014

Hosted at the Fondation France-Japon at the L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris (l’EHESS), the audience was made up of alumni Fellows from southern Europe. The meeting examined the theme of “The future of Japanese studies”.

Regional Fellow Meeting Vilnius, Lithuania 2013

Alumni Fellows from Eastern Europe were invited. Held at Vilnius University and in co-operation with the Center of Oriental Studies with 2013 Canon Fellow, Dr. Ramūnas Motiekaits gave a lecture on “Comparative philosophy and aesthetics” followed by a music recital on his Japanese shakuhachi flute.

Regional Fellow Meeting The Hague, the Netherlands 2012

Alumni Fellows from the Benelux joined in the special celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Canon Foundation. In honour of the occasion, His Excellency Professor Hisashi Owada, Judge and former President of the International Court of Justice at the Peace Palace, gave a lecture on “The EU-Japan Partnership in the new age of globalization”. This was the final lecture in the Invited Lecture series which was established in 2007.