20th Anniversary Fundraising

English-Speaking Union of Japan (ESUJ) 20th Anniversary Fundrasing

 

Report on the English-Speaking Union of Japan (ESUJ) 20th Anniversary Fundrasing Campaign

(Letter form Chairman Emeritus Hanabusa, Chairman Emeritus Matsudaira and Chairman Numata)
 
To the Members and Friends of the English-Speaking Union of Japan
                             
April 2018　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Dear Sir/Madame,
 
We trust that all goes well with you in this spring season.
 
We are happy to report to you that the English-Speaking Union (ESUJ) 20^th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign, launched for 10 months since June 2017 for the purpose of implementing the 20^th Anniversary commemorative events, was concluded with total donations amounting to 2.27 million yen, exceeding the target of 2 million yen. We would like to express our sincerest appreciation to you for your generous support, which enabled the smooth and highly successful implementation of all the commemorative events.
 
The details of the donations and the outlines of the events implemented with the help of the donations are given below.
 

1. Outlines of the ESUJ 20^th Anniversary Commemorative Events

 (1) ESUJ Debating Competition 2017
A special debate competition combining the university competition (held 19 times in the past) and adult competition (held 15 times in the past) was held at the National Olympics Youth Memorial Center on October 7^th and 8^th. 23 university teams and 9 adult teams participated. In the Grand Final, the adult team Keio Reunions won the debate over the Tokyo Institute of Technology team on the motion  “Assuming that the technology exists, this House would allow prospective parents to genetically modify fetuses to create their ‘ideal child’”. Four top debaters from British universities such as Oxford and Cambridge dispatched from the English-Speaking Union headquarters in Britain took part as judges and also held workshops and a model debate.

(Support: TV TOKYO Corporation, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, EMT Corporation, CANON INC., Canon Marketing Japan Inc., ANA Holdings Inc., ALC PRESS INC, Foundation of Global Life Learning Center
Cooperation: Yomiuri Shimbun, Central Japan Railway Company)
 
After the preliminary rounds on Saturday the 7^th, a reception was held in commemoration of the 20^th year of debating competitions. 70 students and 67 adults (veterans, judges and staff of past university competitions, etc.) enjoyed their reunion and reaffirmed the practical benefits of their parliamentary debate experiences as they pursue their careers in the real world.

(2) Public Speaking and Debate Seminar in Kitakyushu
The British team of debaters was dispatched to Fukuoka City to take part in the seminar on public speaking and debate in English for the benefit of those high school and university students, teachers, working adults and others who are interested in English language communication in the Kyushu area. The seminar was held with the support of the Nishi-Nippon City Bank, Ltd. the Fukuoka Japan - British Society and Kyushu University English Speaking Society, and was attended by more than 150 people. Following the presentations by Mr. Sadaaki Numata, ESUJ Chairman, and Mrs. Makiko Okada, ESUJ Executive Director, the British team gave a demonstration debate, which was greatly appreciated by the audience as a stimulating real-life example of high quality debate.

(3) Open Symposium
The ESUJ 20^th Anniversary Symposium was held on the theme “Using English to meet challenges in the world” on October 10^th at the International House of Japan, attended by 150 people from ESUJ, and the diplomatic, media, business, education and other circles. The keynote speech by Mr. Yasushi, Akashi, ESUJ Vice-Chairman and former UN Under-Secretary General, was followed by a dynamic discussion by the panelists with active experiences in various international fields (H.E. Ms. Simona Leskovar, Ambassador of Slovenia to Japan, Mr. Jamie Gibbings, Director, English Language Services, British Council, Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Professor Emeritus, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Mr. M. James Kondo, Co-Chairman, Silicon Valley Japan Platform, and Ms. Aiko Doden, Special Affairs Commentator, Senior Commentator, NHK). Their useful suggestions and recommendations not just on the English language proficiency required for global communication but also on the mindset and psychological factors were greatly appreciated by the audience.
100 people attended the commemorative reception held following the symposium.

(Grant: Tokyo Club
Cooperation: International House of Japan.
Support: TV Tokyo Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Canon Inc., Canon Marketing Japan Inc., Yomiuri Shimbun, the British Council, the Foundation of Global Life Learning Center, ALC Press Inc., and Central Japan Railway Company.)
 
(4) Publication of Commemorative Booklet
In October, we published a commemorative booklet entitled “ESUJ: Its Evolution over the past 20 years”. It traced ESUJ’s footsteps in playing its important role to foster global communicators in Japan through  promoting parliamentary debate, providing a place for learning and interaction across generations and professions, and introducing diverse Japanese opinions abroad. We intend to use the booklet to pass on the legacy of the past 20 years to the next generation and also to make our activities better known to the people outside ESUJ.
 

2. Donations

As shown below, the donations in total amounted to 2.27 million yen, exceeding the target of 2 million yen.  
 

	Corporate	Individual	Total
Donors	5	92	97
Amount（yen）	370,000	1,900,000	2,270,000

 

Amount（yen）	300,000	Above 150,000	100,000	50,000	Above 30,000	20,000	15,000	10,000	Below 10,000	Total
Donors	1	1	6	3	7	11	3	52	13	97
Total（yen）	300,000	155,000	600,000	150,000	215,000	220,000	45,000	520,000	65,000	2,270,000

Thanks to your generous contributions, we were able to complete the memorable undertaking of the 20^th anniversary events with great success, despite the harsh financial condition of declining income due to the changing economic environment and the aging of members. We would like to reiterate our thanks to you for having thus enabled us to mark a fresh start for ESUJ’s new era. We would also like to appeal to you for your continuing support and cooperation.

 Yours sincerely,
 
Masamichi Hanabusa
Emeritus Chairman

Tsunetada Matsudaira
Emeritus Chairman
 
Sadaaki Numata
Chairman         

 

English-Speaking Union of Japan (ESUJ) 20th Anniversary Fundrasing

We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for all your understanding and cooperation to ESUJ’s activities for 20 years. Your contribution would be greatly appreciated.
 


＜Letter from Chairman Emeritus Hanabusa, Chairman Emeritus Matsudaira, and Chariman Numat＞　　　
To the Members and Friends of the English-Speaking Union of Japan
                               
June 2017
 
Dear Sir / Madame,

  We trust that all goes well with you. We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for all your understanding and cooperation to ESUJ’s activities.
 
  Allow us to take this opportunity to keep you up-to-date on the salient features of ESUJ’s programs.
 
     More than 1,700 people have taken part to date in our flagship programs, the university and adults debate competitions, since their inception. The former contestants are actively making use of their debate experience in business, media, government, education and other sectors.
     
    The "Japan in Their Own Word (JITOW)” column on the ESUJ website, designed to introduce diverse opinions that exist in Japan in both English and Japanese, has posted a cumulative total of 500 articles since its inauguration as of the end of March 2017.

     We renewed the ESUJ website in July 2016, and have been trying actively to enrich lectures and other programs that appeal to ordinary members.
 
     This autumn, ESUJ is celebrating its 20^th anniversary of its establishment.
As commemorative events, we plan

1. to host a special debate competition, which will combine the university and adults competitions that have hitherto been held separately, on October 7^th and 8^th, as a culmination of ESUJ’s efforts to host these competitions over the past two decades,
    
2. to hold an open symposium at the International House of Japan on October 10^th, with Mr. Yasushi Akashi, ESUJ Vice-Chairman and former U.N. Under-Secretary General as the keynote speaker and prominent panelists from the diplomatic corps, the academic community, global business and the media, on the communication skills and qualities required on the global scene, and to hold a commemorative reception following the symposium, and
    
3. to publish a commemorative booklet tracing the 20-year history of ESUJ.

 
Through these events, we would like to gain ideas as to how best we can review and enrich our programs for the future, while taking advantage of our relative strength in such areas as fostering global communicators among the young.

　　 At the same time, such factors as the changing economic environment for business and the aging of the members have led to the decline of income from membership fees and sponsorships, posing to us the serious task of consolidating and stabilizing ESUJ’s financial basis.
 
　   At this important juncture of the 20^th anniversary of ESUJ’s establishment, we would like to appeal to our members and friends to give donations in accordance with the outline set forth in the attached document, for the purpose of implementing the 20^th anniversary commemorative events, sustaining and developing ESUJ’s future activities and consolidating and expanding its financial basis. We would be very grateful for your understanding and cooperation.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Masamichi Hanabusa
Emeritus Chairman

Tsunetada Matsudaira
Emeritus Chairman
 
Sadaaki Numata
Chairman         
 

 

Outline of 20^th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign

1. Target total amount: 2 million yen
    
2. Fundraising Organization: The English-Speaking Union of Japan (ESUJ), General Incorporated Association
    
3. Objective of the campaign: To raise funds to carry out ESUJ’s 20^th anniversary commemorative events and to sustain and enrich its programs
    
4. Period: June 2017~March 31, 2018 (Tentative)
    
5. Donations: *5,000 yen per donation unit. (If possible, 2 units would be welcome.)
   (Please note that any amount of donation would be gratefully accepted regardless of the aforementioned donation unit.)
    
6. Method of payment:

  　　     　

7. Other

  (1) The names of the donors will be noted with appreciation on the ESUJ website.
  (2) Donations to ESUJ will not be tax-deductible.

  (3) The commemorative booklet “ESUJ’s 20 Years” will be presented to the donors.

  (4) If you make the contribution by September 25^th (Monday), you will be invited to the
        reception following the first day of the 20^th Anniversary Special Debate Competition
        at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center on October 7^th (Saturday).  
       Click here for Reception info.  

   8. For inquiries, please contact.