Welcome to the World in Indiana!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T14:48:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

For 2011, there'll be a new Ethnic Hoosier.

Yep, this EH is bowing out after a decade in the role.

Watch this space for the debut posting by the next EH -- and, as always, Welcome to the World in Indiana!

(If you can't wait, email Marlon Alfonso, NCI president, and ask him when postings will return: president@nationalitiescouncil.org.)

Psst: don't forget to mark your calendars for the next International Festival! We'll be back at the Indiana State Fairgrounds 17-20 November 2011!

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The Perfect Holiday Gift!

2010-12-14T12:58:00.004-05:00

Have you been wondering what to get a friend or business associate for New Year's? What about a Nationalities Council of Indiana calendar for 2011!

It's filled with photos of the ethnic organizations that make up the council (and stage the annual International Festival in the Indiana State Fairgrounds).

If one of them represents your ethnic heritage, great! If not, it's a reminder of the world in Indiana!

Groups featured are:
January: Barangay Club of Indiana (Filipino)
February: ATA-IN (Turkish)
March: Italian Heritage Society of Indiana
April: Indiana Partners of the Americas (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
May: Estonian Society of Indianapolis
June: American Indian Center of Indiana (Native American)
July: Society for the Promotion of Persian Culture (Iranian)
August: Indiana State Association of Middle Eastern Teachers and Dancers
September: Indianapolis Latvian Community Center
October: Circle City Lodge of Sons of Norway
November: Czech and Slovak Society of Indiana
December: Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis

(Yes, there are more than 30 other groups -- those selected for the 2011 calendar were drawn in a lottery!)

There are a few calendars left for holiday giving! Just send a check for $12 (payable to the Nationalities Council of Indiana) to NCI, PO Box 1623, Indianapolis, IN 46206, and we'll wing one out to you -- or to whomever you'd prefer it be delivered! If you enclose a gift card, we'll send that on as well.

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Language Training Center Highlighted

2010-12-13T14:46:00.004-05:00

The Language Training Center in Indianapolis, which offers language and culture training, interpretation and translation services, was featured in the Indianapolis Business Journal. It's owned by Martin George, a former director of the English as a Second Language program at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

He has, according to the IBJ "found himself in high demand among some of the world’s biggest athletes and sports properties, from basketball star Yao Ming and IndyCar Series drivers to the NCAA and LPGA."

Read more here.

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Cummins Expands in Turkey

2010-12-09T16:54:00.003-05:00

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced that it will break ground in early 2011 on a multi-phased manufacturing site at the Aegean Free Trade Zone in Izmir, Turkey. The company plans to first build a filtration manufacturing plant and follow with a facility to produce alternators for its power generation business.

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Foreign Language Study Gains in Indiana

2010-12-08T23:03:00.003-05:00

A report by the Modern Language Association of America notes that Indiana showed substantial gains in foreign language study at the university level between 2006 and 2009, specifically: 26.7%.

The MLA has gathered and analyzed data on undergraduate and graduate course enrollments in languages other than English in United States colleges and universities since 1958.

Nationwide, course enrollments in languages other than English reached a new high in 2009.

According to the MLA, "In terms of ranking, Spanish, French, and German lead as the three most studied languages, followed by American Sign Language (ASL), fourth in the survey since 2006. Italian, Japanese, and Chinese come next, in the same sequence they have occupied since 1998. Arabic has jumped two positions since 2006 to eighth, now ahead of Latin and Russian, but, with enrollments at 35,083, it is closer in numbers to Latin (32,606) than to Chinese (60,976). Enrollments in courses in Korean have overtaken those in Modern Hebrew, to rank after Portuguese as the fourteenth most commonly studied language in 2009."

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Religious Violence: Myth or Global Reality?

2010-12-07T20:08:00.004-05:00

Conventional wisdom in the west suggests that religion is to blame for many of the world’s violent conflicts. Theologian and historian William Cavanaugh (pictured) will challenge this assumption by exploring western ideas about religion, secularism, and power to discuss the idea that religion is to blame for many of the world's violent conflicts during a 7 p.m. presentation 26 January in Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis.

The event is presented by the Seminar on Religion and World Civilization at Butler.

Cavanaugh is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., where his research and teaching focus on the intersection of violence and religion. He is the author of The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict (2009).

Respondents will be Margaretha Geertsema and Lawrence Gerstein. Geertsema is an assistant professor of journalism at Butler University. Her research draws on studies of globalization, media, culture, sociology, and gender. Gerstein is a professor of psychology at Ball State University and director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Ball State. He is president of the International Tibet Independence Movement.

(Photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

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ISU Officials Travel to Qatar

2010-12-06T19:45:00.005-05:00

Three Indiana State University officials will be part of activities this week at the World Innovation Summit for Education in Qatar, reports Inside INdiana Business.

President Emeritus Lloyd Benjamin III, Associate Director for International Affair El-Houcin Chaqra and Professor Karen Liu will be among 1,000 education, corporate, political and social leaders participating in the three-day event.

The summit, sponsored by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, brings together 1,000 prominent education, corporate, political and social leaders. The Qatar Foundation invited Benjamin, Chaqra and Liu to participate in the summit and is paying their travel expenses.

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Zimbabwean Dinner

2010-12-04T16:25:00.003-05:00

A night of authentic Zimbabwean food, dance, and music is scheduled for 5-10 p.m. 11 December in the Indiana Interchurch Center, 1100 West 42nd Street, Indianapolis. Admission is $25.

Seating is limited to 120; reservations can be made online. The event is hosted by the International Interfaith Initiative. Information, email.

Proceeds benefit the Healing Friends Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization that offers microfinance opportunities and support to families in the African nation.

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Festival Award Winners Announced

2010-12-03T16:58:00.007-05:00

Here are the award winners for this year's International Festival, hosted by the Nationalities Council of Indiana.

Cultural Booths of NCI Group Members are judged in the following four categories:

1. THEME: Include in cultural booth historical, geographical, culinary, social or educational aspects of the particular culture. 2010 theme: Food for Thought - Tradition, Culture and Cuisine.
2. EDUCATIONAL VALUE: Provide relevant information about the culture.
3. CREATIVITY: Demonstrate an effective and enjoyable method to attract visitors.
4. QUALITY: Overall excellence. Examples would be people in native costumes and friendly approach to visitors.

First and second place winners for theme:
Society for Promotion of Persian Culture and Swedish American Order of VASA

First and second place winners for educational value:
Sons of Norway and German Heritage Society

First and second place winners for creativity:
Korean American Women’s Association and Hungarian Club of Indianapolis

First and second place winners for quality:
Camp Mabuhay (Filipino) and Swiss Club of Central Indiana

In addition, the Best Overall Cultural Booth, recipient of “The Betty” trophy for 2010:
Taiwanese American Association of Indianapolis

Food Booths of NCI Group Members are evaluated for quality and authenticity of ethnic food, appearance and sanitary conditions and overall assessment.
First Place: Indonesian Association of Indianapolis
Second Place: German American Klub

Finally (but not insignificantly), the NCI's Volunteer Service award (also known as “The Steve” trophy) is presented to the individual(s) who have demonstrated commitment to the goals of NCI and have actively worked toward their achievement. This year, for the first time, three volunteers were honored:
Josef Laposa and Frances Russell (pictured), and Charles Lindgren (deceased).

Mark your calendars for next year's festival, to be held 17-20 November.

(Photo courtesy of Ming Russell)

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IU Expands Agreements with German Universities

2010-12-02T22:25:00.003-05:00

More than 60 years after its legendary 11th president, Herman B Wells (pictured), helped establish a "free university" in post-World War II Berlin, Indiana University announced today that it has renewed and expanded cooperative agreements with that institution as well as another of Germany's leading research universities.

While leading a university delegation to Germany, IU President Michael A. McRobbie signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Free University of Berlin, renewing a half-century of relations with that city's largest research university and expanding the partnership into new areas of cooperation -- including faculty exchanges, joint workshops and enhanced academic collaborations.

IU's partnership with the Free University of Berlin, which Wells helped found in 1948, is the university's longest-running exchange partnership, delivering German students to Bloomington and IU students to Berlin for graduate study and research.

McRobbie also signed an MOU with the University of Freiburg, one of Germany's oldest and most prestigious universities, founded in 1457.

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Indiana Tech to Recruit in China

2010-12-01T22:33:00.002-05:00

As part of efforts to increase international enrollment, Indiana Tech reports it has entered an agreement with the Foundation for International Education to recruit students from China.

The Foundation for International Education (FIE) will recruit transfer students who have completed three years of post-secondary education in China and wish to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Indiana Tech, 1600 East Washington Boulevard, Fort Wayne, Indiana. FIE also will help identify qualified high school graduates with a similar interest, as well as potential partner universities for Indiana Tech. Under the terms of the agreement, FIE will be Indiana Tech’s sole representative in China for an initial, renewable period of 18 months.

Indiana Tech plans to recruit international students from a variety of countries by establishing articulation partnerships with colleges, developing recruitment agency agreements, and arranging exchange agreements with higher education institutions abroad. Such exchange agreements are intended to increase the university’s international enrollment, while also creating more study abroad opportunities for Indiana Tech students.

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Hans Wagemaker to Discuss International Education Assessments

2010-11-29T19:44:00.004-05:00

The head of the organization that administers two of the world's largest education assessment exams will speak on the the challenges of designing an accurate test to understand how students learn across the globe during a presentation Wednesday (1 December) at Indiana University Bloomington.

Hans Wagemaker (pictured), executive director of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), will talk about international education assessments during an Education Policy Chat presented by the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP). His presentation, titled "IEA's Assessment Strategy: Measuring Change and Changing Measures," starts at 2 p.m. in the Dogwood Room at the Indiana Memorial Union.

Following Wagemaker's presentation, audience members will be able to ask questions. The CEEP Policy Chat is free and open to the public.

The IEA created and administers the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends in International Math and Science Survey (TIMSS), which collect data from more than 60 countries to assess student learning. Education researchers formed the IEA in the late 1950s in an effort to gather information about which countries performed best so that educators could adopt best practices across the globe.

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More Views of the 2010 International Festival

2010-11-28T21:22:00.007-05:00

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year's International Festival, to be held November 17-20, 2011, in the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis!

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Immigrant Success

2010-11-24T15:33:00.008-05:00

Your Ethnic Hoosier usually avoids policy, but this comment from Thomas Friedman's column in today's New York Times needs to be shared. As we in the Nationalities Council of Indiana know, the United States is constantly renewed --and improved -- by its immigrants. This says it all:

"Last week, the 32 winners of Rhodes Scholarships for 2011 were announced — America’s top college grads. Here are half the names on that list: Mark Jia, Aakash Shah, Zujaja Tauqeer, Tracy Yang, William Zeng, Daniel Lage, Ye Jin Kang, Baltazar Zavala, Esther Uduehi, Prerna Nadathur, Priya Sury, Anna Alekeyeva, Fatima Sabar, Renugan Raidoo, Jennifer Lai, Varun Sivaram."

Yes, Indiana's winner is Esther O. Uduehi (pictured, at left) of Evansville. Her parents emigrated from Nigeria. A senior at Indiana University, Bloomington, she majors in biochemistry and mathematics. She was also a visiting student at Oxford. A Wells Scholar, Presidential Intern and Senator Richard Lugar Scholar, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, she is president of the IU Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students. She has won several awards for her research in organic chemistry, and has participated in a U.S.-Russia global health care study program and done research at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Esther plans to do the D.Phil. in chemistry at Oxford.

(Photo courtesy of Indiana University Bloomington)

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This Weekend: Indy's International Festival

2010-11-19T23:13:00.003-05:00

Yes, the annual International Festival is underway in the West Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis. It's open today (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and tomorrow (noon to 6 p.m.). Come join the fun!

(Photos taken Friday, 19 November, by Susan McKee)

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Today! The International Festival Starts Today!

2010-11-18T00:35:00.004-05:00

School buses will be lined up along the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds this morning for the opening of the International Festival in Indianapolis!

Today's just for student groups, but the festival opens to the public tomorrow through Sunday. There's lots more information online.

Y'all come!

Indy's International Festival is This Weekend!

2010-11-16T18:28:00.003-05:00

This year's International Festival opens for student groups on Thursday, and for the general public Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check the website for details!

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It's International Festival Time!

2010-11-15T09:21:00.002-05:00

Make plans to head to the Indiana State Fairgrounds this weekend for Indy's International Festival! It's open to the public Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For details, go online. Don't miss it!

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International Education Week

2010-11-14T17:00:00.002-05:00

In celebration of International Education Week, program directors will be promoting their study abroad programs at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

An information table will be on the second floor of Cavanaugh Hall on the IUPUI campus from 15-18 November, where students can find out more information about programs traveling to India, China, France, Germany, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Greece, Canada and many more.

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Indianapolis Firm Receives International Honor

2010-11-13T16:47:00.002-05:00

Indianapolis-based global engineering consulting and design firm RW Armstrong has received the United Arab Emirates' Interior Design of the Year award, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The company was honored for designing the approximately $27 million Environment Agency headquarters in Abu Dhabi. RW Armstrong has more than 600 employees in 17 offices in the United States, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Egypt and Libya.

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International Education Week at DePauw

2010-11-12T22:01:00.004-05:00

DePauw University, Greencastle, will celebrate International Education Week 15-20 November with events that feature the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide, reports the DePauw News Bureau.

The week culminates with the International Bazaar. DePauw’s 240 international students, representing 41 countries, will share their culinary specialties, in addition to performing cultural songs and dances. The Bazaar begins at 5:30 p.m. 20 November in the ballroom of the Memorial Student Union Building on campus. Admission is $3 per person, and the bazaar is open to the public.

A detailed schedule of events is online.

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education.

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Santa Claus Christmas Store Hosting M.I. Hummel Demonstration

2010-11-11T13:29:00.004-05:00

The Santa Claus Christmas Store, 33 North Kringle Place, Santa Claus, is hosting a M.I. Hummel demonstration featuring Master Artist Ulrich Tendera from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 28 November.

Born in Wiesenfeld, Germany, Ulrich Tendera started his career at the age of 17 when he began an apprenticeship as a ceramic painter.

M.I. Hummel is best known for the collectibles depicting Bavarian country children (such as those pictured) as drawn by Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel.

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Burmese Refugee Event in Indy

2010-11-10T17:03:00.003-05:00

(IUPUI = Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis)

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Ball State Assists Kandahar University

2010-11-09T20:32:00.002-05:00

A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State will allow Ball State University to help Kandahar University in Afghanistan develop curricula emphasizing free market principles and entrepreneurship within its new College of Economics, reports the BSU news bureau.

The two-year grant enables faculty members from Ball State's Center for Entrepreneurship to work with members of Kandahar's economics department in creating entrepreneurial courses that will lead to an expertise in entrepreneurship, business development and economic development.

Additionally, faculty from Ball State's Intensive English Institute will work with Kandahar University to improve the English language proficiency of its faculty and students.

Members of Ball State's Career Center also will assist Kandahar University with the creation of its own career development center, which will serve as another method of integrating the university with the business world and give students more opportunities for internships and employment.

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Unintentional Intolerance

2010-11-08T15:24:00.005-05:00

Steve Robbins (pictured) will discuss "Unintentional Intolerance: What Nice People Need to Know" during a 3 p.m. event 17 November in 93 Auditorium at Eli Lilly and Company's corporate headquarters in Indianapolis.

Dr. Robbins, a diversity expert, notes that "cognitive flexibility and behavioral adaptability are necessary for navigating a 21st century world". A reception follows his presentation.

The event is sponsored by Lilly India Network, Eli Lilly Asian Network, Chinese Culture Network at Lilly, Middle Eastern Network at Lilly and the Asian-American Alliance of Indiana. For reservations, please send an email; deadline is 8 November.

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IU Projects Receive Funding to Study Water Use

2010-11-07T14:25:00.004-05:00

The National Science Foundation has allotted an Indiana University-led research project in Zambia, according to the IU News Bureau.

IU Bloomington geographers Tom Evans and Scott Robeson will be studying farmers' interactions with their local environments and how they survive periods of drought through different types of coping strategies. Their work is being conducted in Zambia, where drought frequently causes food shortages and future climate variability may have dramatic impacts on human welfare. The title of the project is "Spatial Resilience of Agriculturalists to Coupled Ecological and Hydrological Variability in Rural Zambia."

According to the NSF, the foundation is funding seven awards under its Environment, Society and Economics (ESE) umbrella to foster collaboration among geoscientists and social scientists to address crucial issues for the environment, society and the economy -- and how the three affect each other. The awards will factor valuation of "ecosystem services" into economic activities in a way that provides critically important information about land and water use.

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Charles Beeker Recognized by Armenian Scientists

2010-11-06T20:48:00.004-04:00

Charles Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Indiana University Bloomington, has been honored by the National Academy of Sciences for the Republic of Armenia (NASRA) for his archaeological work with the Armenian-owned 1699 Quedagh Merchant, Captain Kidd's shipwreck discovered in the Dominican Republic.

Indiana University research on the Quedagh Merchant is funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development, under the Living Museums in the Sea project, which will establish the Captain Kidd shipwreck as an Underwater Preserve, protecting the archaeological and associated biological resources as a sustainable tourism destination.

(Image of certificate courtesy of Indiana University)

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It's Almost International Festival Time in Indy!

2010-11-03T03:19:00.001-04:00

Plans are well underway for the next International Festival. It's set for 18-21 November in the West Pavilion of the Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis.

Hours for school groups and other student tours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both 18 and 19 November. The festival's open to the public from 2 to 9 p.m. 19 November, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 20 November and noon to 6 p.m. 21 November.

Come see the world without leaving home (and bring your appetite: there'll be authentic, traditional cuisine from around the globe).

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Fort Wayne Lauded for Immigrant Integration

2010-11-01T21:22:00.006-04:00

Recognizing that local governments play a central role in developing and implementing immigrant integration programs, a new report from the National League of Cities (NLC) showcases 20 city programs for promoting social cohesion within the community.

The report, Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration: 20 Cities, 20 Good Practices, is produced by NLC’s Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII) program and focuses on public safety, immigrant outreach, civic engagement and city services.

The 20 city programs featured in the report are:

· Fort Wayne Indiana (Hispanic Immigrant Liaison)
· Austin, Texas (Immigrant Outreach Program)
· Seattle, Washington (Latino Advisory Council)
· El Paso, Texas (Victim Services-Immigration)
· Durham, North Carolina (Mayor’s Hispanic Latino Initiative)
· Louisville, Kentucky (Office of International Affairs)
· Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs)
· Columbus, Ohio (New American Initiative)
· Chattanooga, Tennessee (HANDS Across Chattanooga)
· Skokie, Illinois (Immigrant Services)
· Los Angeles, California (Immigrant Integration Partnership)
· Boulder, Colo. (Immigrant Advisory Committee)
· Santa Clara Co./San Jose, Calif. (Immigrant Relations and Integration Services)
· Littleton, Colorado (Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative)
· San Francisco, California (Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs)
· New York City, New York (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)
· Washington, District of Columbia (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)
· Princeton, New Jersey (The Princeton Community ID Card)
· Richmond, Virginia (Hispanic Liaison Office)
· Houston, Texas (Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs)

“Immigrants strengthen our communities by bringing cultural and educational resources which help create economic opportunities. Local governments must provide necessary services to ensure a smooth transition for both the immigrants and the communities,” said Ricardo Gambetta (pictured), NLC’s manager for immigrant integration (and former Indianapolis resident). “Through this report, we hope that the 20 programs highlighted can be used as models for other successful integration programs.”

In addition to outlining these programs, the report also makes a number of suggestions for local, state and federal officials in how to better integrate the immigrant community. Examples of these suggestions include developing a nationwide strategy for immigrant integration; cooperating with municipal agencies; addressing local demographics, issues and challenges; establishing mayoral advisory boards and immigrant affairs offices; and recognizing immigrant contributions to the economy.

Compiled after several months of research, on-site visits, policy discussions and consultations with city officials, the programs featured in this report exemplify successful public-private partnerships, advisory initiatives and action-oriented programs to help immigrants successfully acclimate to their new homes.

As part of NLC’s Center for Research and Innovation, MAII promotes civic engagement and naturalization among immigrant communities. MAII is a resource for NLC members, fostering a knowledge-sharing network to help cities learn from the experiences of their counterparts across the country. The MAII project is supported by the Knight Foundation.

For more information on the Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration program, go online.

The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

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Russian Orthodox Music Performed in Indy

2010-10-31T14:02:00.003-04:00

The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir performs Sergei Rachmaninoff's Vespers on 6 and 7 November in two Indy churches.

Hear what has been called "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church" performed at 8 p.m. Saturday in downtown Indianapolis at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, and at 2:30 p.m. the next afternoon in the newly-constructed Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Carmel.

Tickets are available online.

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Notre Dame's Native American Initiatives

2010-10-29T19:32:00.004-04:00

Native American Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame notes several events scheduled for Native American Heritage Month in November.

Grammy Award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, and activist Bill Miller will discuss the present and future impact of Native Americans on American politics on campus at 3 p.m. 2 November, followed by a concert at 8 p.m.

Navajo filmmaker Norman Patrick Brown will visit the Indiana University South Bend campus between noon and 9 p.m. 9 November.

Grammy and Native American Music award winning artist Joanne Shenandoah performs at 5 p.m. in the Legends of Notre Dame, South Bend. She is a Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy.

For more information, go online.

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Daniels Off to China and Japan

2010-10-28T19:00:00.003-04:00

Governor Mitch Daniels will lead a delegation of Hoosier business leaders and elected officials on an economic development and jobs trip to China and Japan. This will be Daniels' second trip to China and fifth trip to Japan since 2005.

The governor will depart Indiana on 6 November, returning 17 November. He will travel in China from 7 to 13 November in Shanghai and Zhejiang (Indiana's Chinese sister-state), then go on to Japan from 14-17 November, where he will visit Nagoya and Tokyo.

(Photo of Hangzhou, China, courtesy of the governor's office -- from his 2009 trip)

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Negishi to Receive Japan's Order of Culture

2010-10-27T21:45:00.004-04:00

Dr. Ei-ichi Negishi (pictured), the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University, will receive Japan's highest distinction, the Order of Culture, on 3 November from the country's emperor.

It honors his contributions to Japan's cultural development through his work to create a method to build complex organic molecules necessary for numerous purposes, from pharmaceutical manufacturing to electronics. Negishi is a Japanese national and first moved to the United States in 1960.

Prof. Negishi was announced as a winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry on 6 October. The Order of Culture was established in 1937.

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Being Good in Life

2010-10-26T16:34:00.000-04:00

"About Family, of the Virgin Marshmallow and about Being Good in Life" is the provocative title of a lecture reflecting on anti-Semitism and anti-Islamism in contemporary German discourse from the literary perspective. This presentation by Esther Dischereit will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 1 November in Room 238 of the Campus Center at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. It's sponsored by the Max Kade German-American Center and the IUPUI German Program.

Dischereit, who is the Max Kade writer-in-residence at Oberlin College, will unfold thoughts on what it is like to be foreign or to be mainstream, challenging certainties about our personal origins. She counters desires to renew demarcations against the outsider, like the immigrant Muslim baker from Turkey with her shop in Berlin-Moabit. Her presentation ponders the ongoing debate about the relative higher or lower value of race, religion, genetics or other "targets".

Dischereit is a prolific and versatile Jewish-German writer. Her work challenges the repression that she feels characterizes German memory of the National Socialist past, bearing witness not to the Holocaust itself but to how it is both remembered and forgotten in twenty-first-century Germany. Her work addresses intergenerational discussions, themes of alienation and "otherness" in German society that include questions on minority and gender.

Her work covers a wide spectrum of genres: novels, stories and essays; poetry, plays, including radio plays; opera libretti and sound installations. She collaborates with composers and jazz musicians and founded the avant-garde project “WordMusicSpace/Sound-Concepts. A union activist and advocate for women, and later for art and culture with the German Trade Unions, she has played an increasingly prominent literary and cultural role in Germany since the 1980's.

Her fiction has earned her international acclaim and translation of several of her novels into English and Spanish. She was a fellow at the Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European and Jewish Studies and has lectured widely in the United States, Canada, Columbia and Israel. Esther Dischereit has won stipends from the Hessian Ministry for Science and Art, the Stiftung Preussische Seehandlung in Berlin, the Berlin Senate and the Erwin-Strassmann-Stiftung. A symposium about Esther Dischereit's work was held at the University of Wales, Swansea, in 2003, and she was writer-in-residence at Deutsches Haus, New York University, in 2004. In 2009 Esther won the Erich Fried Prize, the most prestigious literary prize awarded by Austria.

For more information, contact Claudia Grossmann, 317:274-3943. Visitor parking is available in the IUPUI Vermont Street Parking Garage.

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Purdue Investigates Causes of Haiti Quake

2010-10-25T16:28:00.002-04:00

Researchers at Purdue University have found that a previously unmapped fault was responsible for the devastating earthquake on 12 January in Haiti, and that the originally blamed fault remains ready to produce a large earthquake.

The team determined the earthquake's origin is a previously unmapped fault, which they named the Léogâne fault. The newly discovered fault runs almost parallel to the Enriquillo fault, which was originally thought to be the source of the earthquake.

The team analyzed data they recorded before the earthquake and new measurements taken after the event. Their work is detailed in a paper that will be published in the November issue of Nature Geosciences.

What's Next in Global Fashion?

2010-10-24T17:04:00.003-04:00

David Wolfe (pictured), global trend forecaster, will present a free, open-to-the-public lecture from 7-9 p.m. 2 November in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.

The event is sponsored by the 250-member Retail Studies Organization, a student group in IU's Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design. Wolfe is creative director of The Doneger Group in New York City.

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CTS Expanding Asian Facility

2010-10-23T14:55:00.002-04:00

Elkhart-based CTS Corporation says it plans to nearly double the capacity of a manufacturing site in Thailand, reports Inside INdiana Business. The company says the expansion of the facility near Bangkok should be completed by mid-2011.

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Science and Society in the 21st Century

2010-10-21T20:47:00.007-04:00

"Science and Society in the 21st Century" is the topic for a presentation by Sir Harry Kroto (pictured), who shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996.

He'll be speaking from 5:30-7 p.m. 10 November in Room CE450, Campus Center, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. Registration is online.

Kroto, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and holds an emeritus professorship at the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom, will discuss a necessary condition for creativity in the science and the arts -- a liberal/democratic sociopolitical environment.

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Localizando Food

2010-10-20T19:43:00.003-04:00

"Localizando Food", an innovative documentary and a stop-motion animation film, both created by local youth, explore the social implications of insufficient food choices.

Part of "Spirit & Place", the films showcase local projects challenging the status quo and changing the way Indianapolis eats. Dialogue with local filmmakers and residents, facilitated by youth, will follow the screening, set for 1 p.m. 7 November in the Indianapolis Art Center, 820 East 67th Street, Indianapolis.

It's presented by the Latino/a Youth Collective, Indianapolis Art Center, Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianap-olis Center for Urban and Multicultural Education, IUPUI Common Theme Project, IUPUI Multicultural Center, and the IUPUI Office of International Affairs.

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New ISO Music Director from Poland

2010-10-19T21:21:00.003-04:00

Conductor Krzysztof Urbański (pictured) becomes the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s seventh Music Director effective 1 September 2011, according to an announcement today by the ISO. At age 28, he is the youngest music director among major orchestras in the United States. Urbański will return to Indianapolis to conduct in concerts on 20 and 21 May, and will lead the ISO in its Opening Night Gala in September 2011.

In April of 2010, Urbański made his U.S. debut with the Indianapolis Symphony and returned for a second visit during Marsh Symphony on the Prairie in June. In September, the ISO’s search committee unanimously voted to appoint Mr. Urbański to the post, and the ISO musicians overwhelmingly supported the recommendation.

Urbański graduated from the Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw in 2007, and in the same year, was the unanimous First Prize Winner of the Prague Spring International Conducting Competition. He works regularly with all the major Polish orchestras, including Sinfonia Varsovia, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra and served as Assistant Conductor to the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra from 2007-2009.

Urbański, who was born in Pabianice, Poland, and his wife Joanna currently reside just outside Warsaw. He will become an Adjunct Professor of Music (Orchestral Conducting) at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music when his tenure with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra begins in 2011.

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Lilly to Close Singapore Center

2010-10-18T15:46:00.003-04:00

Eli Lilly and Company is closing a facility in Singapore, impacting approximately 130 employees, reports Inside INdiana Business The pharmaceutical manufacturer says some of the projects and capabilities will be shifted to Indianapolis.

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Sagamore's Indiana-Africa Connections Project

2010-10-17T08:59:00.003-04:00

Senator Richard G. Lugar (R.-Ind.) will speak at the Sagamore Institute on 21 October as part of the Indianapolis-based think tank's unveiling of its Indiana-Africa Connections Project. This database lists more than 250 Indiana individuals and organizations who regularly engage with sub-Saharan Africa. The event will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

Senator Lugar's experience as Ranking Member and former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and advocate for improving Africa's economy and health care makes him an ideal partner with Sagamore in showcasing Indiana's role as an important global citizen.

Through leadership on crucial legislation such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, PEPFAR, the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Tropical Rain Forest Conservation Act, and a heavy interest in energy and hunger security, Senator Lugar has shown time and again the need for a strong and healthy relationship between the United States and countries throughout the African continent.

Sagamore worked with University of Indianapolis graduate students to compile the database, which includes entries such as the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project, a farm that sends corn to South African countries, and The Institute for Affordable Transportation, an Indianapolis-based group that manufactures and distributes low-cost utility vehicles to individuals in developing countries. (NOTE: such groups also are listed on the Nationalities Council's international links pages.)

Sagamore Institute is an Indianapolis-based nonpartisan research group that brings policymakers and practitioners together to turn ideas into action.

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Heartland Film Festival Runs Through 23 October

2010-10-16T12:48:00.004-04:00

Heartland, the annual 10-day celebration of international film, includes movies from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan (and the United States).

For more information, including a schedule, go online.

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Lilly to Unveil Several Studies in Canada

2010-10-15T16:06:00.003-04:00

According to Inside INdiana Business, Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company will present 14 studies involving its osteoporosis medications at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research annual meeting, which begins today in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The drugmaker will share data about Forteo and Evista.

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Oscar Arias to Speak at DePauw

2010-10-14T16:06:00.003-04:00

Oscar Arias (pictured), a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and two-time president of Costa Rica, will visit the campus of DePauw University in Greencastle on 8 December. Arias, who stepped down as president five months ago and is known as a crusader for peace, will discuss "Moral Leadership in Today's World."

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium, located in DePauw's Green Center for the Performing Arts (605 South College Avenue, Greencastle). The speech is presented free of admission charge and the public is invited.

Dr. Arias served two terms as Costa Rica's president, first leading the country from 1986 to 1990 and then returning to the presidency from 2006 until his term ended86174 in May of this year. In 1987, he authored what came to be known as the Arias Peace Plan, an initiative that led to the end of military conflicts in five Central American countries. His efforts led to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 10 December 1987.

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McRobbie Becomes U.S. Citizen

2010-10-12T06:51:00.001-04:00

Indiana University President Michael McRobbie has been sworn in as a U.S. citizen, reports Inside INdiana Business. The Australian has been in the U.S. for more than a decade and was named IU president in 2007. His three college-age children, who were born in Australia, also took the oath of citizenship.

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Native American Frybread Cook-Off

2010-10-11T05:24:00.002-04:00

The Native American Frybread Cook-Off and Round Dance is set for 1-3 p.m. 7 November at Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, 500 West Washington Street, Indianapolis.

Learn about the history of frybread and the many variations that exist within Native American cultures while you watch participants battle it out for the Golden Frybread Award. Sample frybread and cast your vote for the People's Choice Award. Guest judge, Chef Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache/Navajo) will select the Judges Choice award.

Following the competition, join Tony Showa (Navajo) in a round dance to celebrate community.

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Electric Vehicles Confab

2010-10-09T05:13:00.003-04:00

Members of the United Kingdom’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders will meet with American electric vehicle manufacturers next week to discuss potential investment opportunities. Representatives will be in Indiana from 10-12 October.

The UK summit, sponsored by Ice Miller, Indianapolis Power and Light and Purdue University, will allow representatives from UK-based electric vehicle developers and manufacturers to meet with Indiana-based manufacturers in the industry to share information and discuss potential partnerships in areas including powertrain technology, battery management, infrastructure engineering and testing.

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Purdue Teams with Russian Universities

2010-10-08T10:59:00.002-04:00

Purdue University and three other U.S. universities have announced a multiyear partnership aimed at strengthening efforts by Russian National Research Universities to commercialize their research and foster campus entrepreneurship, according to the Purdue News Bureau.

In launching the Enhancing University Research and Entrepreneurial Capacity, or EURECA, program, Purdue will collaborate with the University of California-Los Angeles, University of Maryland and the University of Washington and a consortium of program operators, led and financed by the U.S. Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law.

The initiative, officially announced on 30 September, will be administered by a consortium of non-governmental organizations: the Russian-based New Eurasia Foundation and two U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, the American Councils for International Education and the National Council for East European and Eurasian Research.

A Russian delegation will visit Purdue from Sunday through Tuesday (10-12 October) to tour the university's research facilities, technology transfer offices and business incubators. Meetings also are planned with researchers, graduate students and faculty members to discuss potential collaborations.

University representatives from Purdue, UCLA, Maryland and Washington joined five Russian research universities today at an event to formally launch EURECA in Washington, D.C.

The participating Russian universities are Lobachevsky State University, St. Petersburg Institute of Information Technology along with the National University of Science and Technology, National Research Nuclear University and Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

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Purdue Prof Shares Nobel Prize in Chemistry

2010-10-07T14:41:00.004-04:00

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for the development of palladium-catalyzed cross coupling.

Ei-ichi Negishi (pictured) is a Japanese citizen who was born in 1935 in Changchun, China (then ruled by Japan). He received his Ph.D. in 1963 from University of Pennsylvania. He is the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University, West Lafayette.

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First, Japan; Next, Germany

2010-10-04T16:48:00.003-04:00

The Indiana State Fair will spotlight Germany in the International Pavilion at next year's state fair. German heritage throughout the Hoosier state will be highlighted. It's estimated that at least 1/4 of all Hoosiers claim some German heritage.

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Taiwnese Group Visits Indiana This Week

2010-10-03T15:27:00.005-04:00

On Tuesday (5 October), a delegation from Taiwanese DDGS (dried distillers grains – a co-product of the ethanol industry) and grain buyers will be visiting the farm of David and Mary Howell of Middletown. In addition to the morning farm visit, the Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC) is hosting a welcome reception for the group and local leaders in Muncie that evening.

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is sponsoring the Taiwanese delegation on a tour of Ohio and Indiana prior to the USGC-Export Exchange Conference in Chicago. David Howell serves as chairman of the Asia Advisory Team of U.S. Grains Council, as well as a farmer-director of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. The group will also be touring the POET ethanol facility in Alexandria and Rydman & Fox, a farm fertilizer service and grain elevator in Anderson.

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It's Almost International Festival Time in Indy!

2010-10-02T10:57:00.001-04:00

Indy’s Ethnic Heritage

2010-10-01T01:32:00.002-04:00

"Indy’s Ethnic Heritage", the 15th annual genealogy conference, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 13 November in the Indianapolis Senior Center, 708 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. It's sponsored by the Genealogical Society of Marion County.

Cost (which can be paid at the door) is $30. To register, send an email to GSMC-Indiana@Comcast.net.

Among the topics are Native Americans in Indy, German-American Landmarks of Indianapolis, Scottish and Scots-Irish in Indiana, Ethnic Populations of Indy and the Roman Catholic heritage of Indianapolis.

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International Violin Competition Announces Winners

2010-09-28T20:21:00.006-04:00

The laureates for the 2010 International Violin Competition hail from three continents. They are:

Gold medalist: Clara-Jumi Kang (pictured, near right), Germany/South Korea
Silver medalist: Soyoung Yoon (pictured, far right), South Korea
Bronze medalist: Benjamin Beilman, United States
4th Place Laureate: Haoming Xie, China
5th Place Laureate: Antal Szalai, Hungary
6th Place Laureate: Andrey Baranov, Russia

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Indiana Looks to Grow India Connection

2010-09-27T00:56:00.003-04:00

Some Indiana business and community leaders say enhancing economic ties with India could mean big business for the state, reports Inside INdiana Business. Thursday (23 September), Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburgh LLP convened a meeting with more than two dozen Indian executives and Hoosier business leaders representing technology, energy, education and manufacturing. The goal is to help increase business between Indiana and the Asian nation.

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Valpo Joins Internationalization Project

2010-09-25T14:32:00.000-04:00

Valparaiso University has been asked to join a national organization focused on internationalization efforts, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The school is one of eight institutions invited to be a part of the American Council on Education's 2010-2011 Internationalization Laboratory Cohort. Valparaiso will help develop strategies for campus internationalization by forming campus leadership teams to work on strategic planning and student outcomes. It will also attend three community meetings in Washington, D.C. and conduct site visits and peer reviews.

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PowWow This Weekend

2010-09-24T20:25:00.003-04:00

The 15th Annual Gathering of the People (Native American) PowWow opens at 10 a.m. tomorrow and Sunday on the VCCC Club Grounds, 10382 Grotto Road, Terre Haute.

It's sponsored by Vigo County Conservation Club.

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10th Celebration of Indy's Diversity

2010-09-23T04:39:00.002-04:00

The Indianapolis Mayor’s Office is accepting applications for the 10th Annual Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards. The awards will be presented on 21 January to businesses and organizations throughout Marion County that embrace, celebrate, and apply holistic inclusion and participation of a diverse people, making the workplace a better environment in which to work and the community a better place in which to live, work and raise a family.

(The Nationalities Council of Indiana received its diversity award from Mayor Bart Peterson in 2003.)

Recognition will be given for outstanding performance, in one or all of the following four categories: Community Relations - Activities that encourage and support diversity in the community; Development - Opportunities for diversity strategies within the organization; Leadership – Vision develops and supports
diversity strategies throughout the organization; Workforce Diversity – Diversity representation in the workplace.

Also, the top award given is the special Sam H. Jones Award, named in honor of the first president of the Indianapolis Urban League, who was a tireless advocate for peace, justice and racial understanding. It recognizes a business or organization with exemplary performance in all four categories, the “Best of the Best”.

Nomination forms are available online or by calling 317:327-5091. Nominations may be submitted online or postmarked by 4 p.m. 21 October.

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Today is Fiesta Time in Indy

2010-09-18T00:59:00.001-04:00

Arzberg, Germany, visits its Sister City in Indiana

2010-09-17T21:41:00.002-04:00

South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke, Common Council Members, and community representatives met with a delegation from South Bend's Sister City today in the Mayor's Office, reports Inside INdiana Business.

South Bend formed a Sister City relationship with Arzberg in 2005. This year's delegation includes new Mayor Stephan Gocking, former Mayor Winfried Geppert and his wife Anne-Marie.

Other members of the delegation include Arzberg City Council Member Baroness Silvia von Waldenfels, City Council Member Roland Koffmane and Christa Koffmane, Adam Seyferth, former mayor of neighboring Thiersheim and Dagmar Seyferth, Thomas Zeitler, member of the city administration, Ingrid Eisenkolb and son Dr. Alexander Eisenkolb, Karl-Heintz Freina and Heide Freina and daughter Kathrin, Horst Gebhardt, trip organizer Jurgen Stowasser, and from North Carolina, Oscar and Ingrid Dobereiner. The delegation will be in South Bend through Sunday.

The connection between South Bend and Arzberg is more than 150 years old, the mayor notes. Throughout South Bend, there are reminders of that heritage, from the former Muessel Brewery to the local Zion Church, Muessel School and Elbel Golf Course.

Gabrielle Robinson, former Director of International Programs at Indiana University South Bend has been the driving force in establishing this relationship, and organizing the activities and exchanges that have happened to date. She is also the author of German Settlers of South Bend, and worked with the Center for History and other sources to develop a comprehensive history of the South Bend German immigrants.

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Kinder Lernen Deutsch

2010-09-16T16:35:00.003-04:00

German classes will be offered again this academic year to first-grade children at Valparaiso University's Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center.

Beginning 27 September and ending on 25 April, Valpo's "Kinder lernen Deutsch" classes emphasize learning German through fun activities, games and songs, and are taught by undergraduate students of German.

The weekly classes meet for one hour, beginning at 4 p.m., for a total of 19 sessions.

Jennifer Bjornstad, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures and director of the German House, supervises the program and said approximately 300 children have enrolled in "Kinder lernen Deutsch" over the past decade.

Children who begin taking German in the first-grade program can continue for two additional years in "Kinder lernen Deutsch." In fourth and fifth grades, children then have the option of continuing their German or starting a new language in the "Bridges to World Languages" program, a separate after-school program offered by Valparaiso Community Schools in partnership with Valparaiso University.

Registration will continue until the class is full. To register a child, call 219:548-1569 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The registration fee for the full year is $60 and is due on the first day of class.

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Ugandan Healthcare

2010-09-15T14:16:00.002-04:00

Bill Flavin (center in photo), an undergraduate student in biochemistry at University of Notre Dame, South Bend, was given the opportunity to conduct research in Uganda this summer.

His three-week research project was funded and organized in partnership with the Ford Family Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity as part of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies.

After spending the past three summers researching in the Digestive Diseases Research Core Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Flavin decided to focus his research in Uganda on enteric and diarrheal diseases caused by impure water, as a consequence of extreme systematic poverty and grassroots economic growth and development. In addition to researching the healthcare system, Flavin also spent time working with local businesses and schools to address the issues.

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Indy's Irish Fest

2010-09-14T15:35:00.004-04:00

This weekend is the 15th annual Irish Fest in Indianapolis. It takes place in Military Park, downtown, 17-19 September. (Pictured are some of the Irish dancers from last year's celebration.)

Two Fishers Teachers Return from Asia

2010-09-12T16:23:00.000-04:00

Two Fishers High School social studies teachers received grants from the Freedman Foundation to travel and study.

Jenna Bergren traveled to South Korea for ten days through the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Her trip will include tours of the major cities as well as travel in some small villages.

Bob Hoffman attended a summer institute for secondary teachers sponsored by the Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA.) The week-long seminar explored a variety of topics related to the growing economic and political influence of China worldwide. The teachers will meet with specialists who will share diverse perspectives on a “Chinese Century.”

Participants will be conducting in-service sessions for fellow educators in their district and communities. Hoffman, for example, intends to work with the Fishers Sister Cities Organization to make new connections with its sister city of Binjang, China.

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Purdue to Join Forces With Chinese Researchers

2010-09-10T12:04:00.000-04:00

Purdue University's Center for the Environment and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are forming an environmental research partnership, reports Inside INdiana Business. Officials from both institutions will take part in a signing ceremony today to establish the China-U.S. Joint Research Laboratory on Sustainable Ecosystem. The partnership will create programs that offer opportunities for student, scholar and faculty exchange in research and study.

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Pakistan Relief Efforts in Indy

2010-09-09T17:07:00.002-04:00

World Cup Hopes

2010-09-08T16:37:00.003-04:00

The effort to bring one of the largest sporting events in the world to Indianapolis shifts to New York City this week, reports Inside INdiana Business.

Indiana Sports Corp. President Susan Williams and Senior Vice President of Events Susan Baughman are in New York City as U.S. officials host representatives from the world governing body of soccer for an inspection tour. Indianapolis is one of 18 potential host cities in the U.S. bid for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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Westlane Students Traveled to China

2010-09-07T19:43:00.002-04:00

Gretchen Becker reported on a trip by 32 Westlane Middle School students from Indianapolis who traveled to China 26 May through 5 June along with school staff and parents.

Unfortunately, the link to the online version has expired from the Indianapolis Star.

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Indy's Village Exchange

2010-09-06T19:17:00.000-04:00

Reporter T.J. Banes profiled sisters Anne and Kelly Campbell in a recent Indianapolis Star. The pair operate The Village Exchange, a boutique in Broad Ripple that sells items made by artisans in underdeveloped countries.

Banes notes that the Campbell sisters are planning a trip -- open to the public -- to Thailand 27 November to 8 December, and are arranging for a group of 25 students from Franklin (Ind.) College to go to Uganda in January.

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German Official Discusses Reunification 20 Years Later

2010-09-03T16:08:00.001-04:00

IU Professor Studies Justice System in India

2010-09-02T16:48:00.001-04:00

Jayanth Krishnan (pictured) will serve as project director for an intensive study on the lower judiciary in India, according to the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Krishnan is professor of law, Charles L. Whistler Faculty Fellow and head of the India Initiative at the Maurer School's Center on the Global Legal Profession.

The research Krishnan is overseeing is being supported by a $261,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to the National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS), a non-governmental association based in the state of Maharashtra. Partnering with Krishnan and NCAS will be the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and Jagori Grameen, located in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.

Krishnan and his colleagues will conduct a pilot study of district courts in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh in order to arrive at a preliminary understanding of what is happening in these forums. The study will also include an analysis of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) forums in India.

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Latinos Discuss the New Wishard Project

2010-09-01T04:04:00.000-04:00

On 27 July, some of the city’s Latino leaders gathered with the business community to network and discuss contract opportunities available to minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses through The New Wishard project.

The networking session and panel discussion, “Hispanic/Latino Connection: Making the Contract Connection,” was co-sponsored by the Hispanic Business Council of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Commission of Hispanic and Latino affairs, Indiana State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Garcia Construction, Cabello Associates and OfficeWorks.

Danny Lopez, executive director of the Indiana Commission for Hispanic and Latino Affairs moderated a Latino business owner panel discussion, which included panelists Charlie Garcia, president and CEO of Garcia Construction Group and Kathy Cabello, president of Cabello Associates.

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Ukrainians Learn from Indiana Farmers

2010-08-30T19:33:00.004-04:00

A Purdue Extension educator in Fulton County has made it possible for two graduate students from Ukraine to stay with Indiana farmers to work and learn this summer, reports the Purdue News Bureau.

Mark Kepler came up with the work-study idea after he visited the Poltava State Agrarian Academy in Ukraine three years ago.

Kepler last winter found two farmers in Fulton County interested in hiring students from Poltava to work on their farms this summer. The farms are family operations with more than 1,000 acres and exemplify farming life in Indiana.

Two graduate students - Ol'Ha Reva and Sergii Panchenk - arrived in Indiana in May to begin their work.

As part of the program, Reva came to Purdue University for three days in August to learn more about DNA extraction in plants. Working in a laboratory for the first time, she studied plants and genotypes with agronomy professor Herb Ohm. (The photo shows Reva working with Dr. Ohm. It's a Purdue Agricultural Communication photo by Tom Campbell.)

After finishing her studies in the lab, Reva returned to Rochester to continue working on the farm with her host family, Tom and Jill Weaver.

Panchenk is staying with Alan and Nancy Gohn in Rochester, working in the fields and helping around the farm. Both Ukrainians will fly back to Poltava in September.

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IU Professor Heads to South Africa

2010-08-29T20:50:00.000-04:00

The U.S. State Department and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have selected an Indiana University professor for a Fulbright Specialists project in South Africa, reports the IU News Bureau.

Victor M.H. Borden (pictured), professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the Indiana University School of Education, Bloomington, will conduct a program at the University of KwaZulu Natal in September. Borden will deliver the keynote address at the university's fourth annual teaching and learning conference and then deliver a series of workshops and seminars to develop capacity amongst academics to plan, implement, evaluate and improve projects and programs that enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning and promote student success.

Borden leaves in mid-September for South Africa. His work concludes in the first week of October.

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A Weekend with Antonio Rocha

2010-08-28T18:57:00.001-04:00

Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, comes to Indianapolis for two performances in the Basile Theater at the Indiana Historical Society, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis.

The first, "Jungle Tales" is 7 p.m. 21 January. Rocha draws from his repertoire of animal tales with an ecological theme and a myriad of fantastic sound effects. Tickets are $5 for children 5-12, and $10 for adults. The second, "Brazilian Extravaganza", is 7:30 p.m. 22 January. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

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Japanese Students Learn About U.S. Culture

2010-08-27T04:27:00.001-04:00

When 29 college students from Tokyo, Japan, stepped off a plane in Indianapolis recently, they were embarking on a unique journey of discovery.

To be sure, the students from Tsuda College will perfect their English skills in this custom language immersion program developed by the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication (ICIC), a language and cultural training center that is part of the School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

But discovering more about American culture - and perhaps even a bit more about themselves—will also be an important part of the curriculum.

The Women in Leadership Intensive Summer Program, now in its sixteenth year at IUPUI, is designed to show young women from the all-female college in Japan what it takes to be a leader in the United States, and across cultures.

Prominent female leaders from Indianapolis speak to the students about their journey into leadership roles in the corporate and not-for-profit community.

As part of the program, the students are required to synthesize what they learn from guest speakers and other research and develop a portfolio, presenting what they have learned to the class.

Students live with local families during their month-long stay in Indianapolis. They also have opportunities to participate in a number of cultural activities, including attending an Indiana Fever women’s professional basketball game, visiting the Eiteljorg Museum and the Indiana State Fair. They also took an overnight trip to Chicago.

ICIC develops language and intercultural training programs for many different types of academic and professional groups.

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Purdue's Global 4-H

2010-08-26T11:03:00.000-04:00

Indiana 4-H Global Programs sent two groups of students to Poland and Japan, while students from Japan visited Indiana.

The program has held a partnership with Meiji Gakuin High School in Tokyo, Japan for nearly 30 years. Ann Williams, an extension educator for DeKalb County, and Tiffany Henson, a 4-H'er from Dearborn County, left for Japan on 15 July for a three-week stay.

Williams and Henson are learning about the Japanese education system and culture. Williams is living with a high school teacher, and Henson is staying in a high school student’s home.

While Williams and Henson tour Japan, 21 students from Japan are visiting Indiana to learn about culture and 4-H programs during their 3-week visit to 19 counties. The Japanese youth arrived on 21 July and are staying in the homes of 4-H families.

Global 4-H Programming also has maintained a six-year partnership with part of southern Poland. This summer, three adult representatives and 13 Indiana 4-H youth visited Poland for three weeks. The group learned about the 4-H system in Poland, lived with Polish families and toured cultural sites and cities.

To date, 58 people from Indiana have visited Poland through this program. Next year students from Poland will visit Indiana.

For more information on Global 4-H programs, email Lee Stanish.

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International Conference on Cloud Computing in Indy

2010-08-25T15:05:00.001-04:00

The second IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science will be held 30 November through 3 December in the University Place Conference Center and Hotel on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis. It is hosted by the Pervasive Technology Institute at Indiana University.

The mission of Pervasive Technology Institute is to improve quality of life in Indiana and the world by inventing, developing, deploying and delivering innovations in information technology.

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Native American Heritage Days in Indy

2010-08-24T16:21:00.002-04:00

Native American Heritage Days are 28 and 29 August 2010 in Garfield Park, 2345 Pagoda Drive, Indianapolis.

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Arjia Rinpoche Talks About His Book

2010-08-23T20:17:00.007-04:00

Arjia Rinpoche, director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, will talk about the turbulent years he spent in Tibet during the Cultural Revolution during a presentation beginning at 1:30 p.m. 28 August in Border's Book Store, 8675 Rivercrossing Boulevard, Indianapolis.

Rinpoche, who spent 16 years in a forced labor camp, is the author of Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama's Account of 40 Years of Chinese Rule (Rodale Press, 2010).

This event is free and open to the public. More information available by email or call 317:816-0119.

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The American way: tolerance for diversity

2010-08-22T14:21:00.004-04:00

The American way: tolerance for diversity

Posted: August 22, 2010
The Indianapolis Star
Letter to the Editor

The rancor over a building project in lower Manhattan is troubling on many levels. It seems nonsensical that the Cordoba House, which has met all city requirements and has received all necessary permits, should be prevented from building on property it has owned for years. There's nothing sacred about a former Burlington Coat Factory.

Sure, the project will be a Muslim community center, and it's a couple of blocks from the World Trade Center, largest of the Sept. 11 attack sites. However, the United States is not at war with Islam.

Al-Qaida masterminded the 9/11 attacks, not Cordoba House. A mosque is just part of a planned community center. In any case, what's wrong with organized prayer at that location?

We in the Nationalities Council of Indiana know that our state is a better place because of "the sheer creative energy that comes when you mix all our diverse people and cultures together," as Thomas L. Friedman noted in The New York Times recently.

Indy's International Festival each fall highlights the fact that Indianapolis is composed of many different ethnic groups, some of which include Muslims.

Tolerance is an American value, right up there with freedom of religion and freedom of speech. It's part of the American way of life that has attracted immigrants for centuries.

Susan McKee
Past president
Nationalities Council of Indiana
Past president, International
Center of Indianapolis

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"Nior bhris focal maith fiacal riamh"*

2010-08-21T13:26:00.001-04:00

Irish storyteller Niall de Burca comes to the Indiana Historical Society, 450 West Ohio Street, Indianapolis, for two performances.

The first, "Takes for the Telling", is 7 p.m. 3 December 2010. Tickets are $5 for children 5-12 and $10 for adults. The second, "Ancestor Tales: The Old Stories of Ireland", is 7:30 p.m. 4 December. Tickets in advance are $20, and $25 at the door.

Raised in the west coast of Ireland, de Burca now lives in the capital of Dublin. He is a tradition-bearer at ease in both Gaelic and English, telling the old stories with charm.

*"A good word never broke a tooth."

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Tokihiro Sato to speak at IU Bloomington

2010-08-20T10:56:00.004-04:00

Tokihiro Sato, one of Japan's best-known artists working in contemporary photography, will deliver an artist lecture at Indiana University Bloomington at 5 p.m. 3 September in Room 102 of the Fine Arts Building on campus. room 102.

The visit is co-sponsored by IU's Center for Integrative Photographic Studies, the College Arts & Humanities Institute and the School of Fine Arts.

In Sato's ongoing photo respiration series, tiny points of light or illuminated lines from a flashlight or mirror record his movements through space. The resulting photographs capture exquisitely detailed scenes punctuated by pinpoints or linear patterns of light that depict the artist's presence, but not his image.

At IU, Sato will discuss his new work, featuring images of a peach tree in the forest surrounded by light. The lecture is free and open to the public.

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Pasquotto and Yoder Promoted at Cummins Inc.

2010-08-19T16:27:00.004-04:00

Columbus-based Cummins Inc. has announced that Luis Pasquotto has been named Vice President – Cummins Latin America, Engine Business. With the promotion, Pasquotto, who has been with Cummins since 1992, also will become a Cummins corporate officer.

Pasquotto, 51 and a native of Brazil, has held leadership positions within the Cummins Engine Business Unit (EBU) in Brazil for the past several years. He currently serves as General Manager of Cummins EBU Brazil, a position he has held since July 2008. Prior to taking that role, Pasquotto served as Director – Marketing for the EBU in Brazil from 2000-2008.

In his new role, Pasquotto will oversee the EBU’s business across Latin America. He also will lead Cummins’ overall business in the region as Chair of the Company’s Latin America Leadership Council.

Cummins Inc. has also announced that it has promoted Lisa Yoder to the newly created position of Vice President – Global Supply Chain. In her new role, Yoder will report to Cummins President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Linebarger and become a corporate officer.

Yoder joined Cummins in 1987 as a manufacturing engineer and has served as Executive Director – Supply Chain and Operations for Cummins Power Generation since November 2007. Yoder now assumes responsibility for management of Cummins’ worldwide supply chain across all business segments.

Cummins is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of more than 500 company-owned and independent distributor locations and approximately 5,200 dealer locations. The Company reported net income attributable to Cummins Inc. of $428 million on sales of $10.8 billion in 2009.

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Finnish Company Expands in New Castle

2010-08-17T15:21:00.005-04:00

Outokumpu, based in Espoo, Finland, has upgraded its North American quarto plate facility in New Castle. The investment of more than €45 million will allow the mill to improve production efficiencies to better compete in the global stainless steel market.

The Indiana mill is the only Outokumpu location in North America producing specialised stainless steel plate recognized for its high resistance to corrosion.

Outokumpu is the market leader in stainless steel quarto plate with a global market share of some 20%. Thick and wide individually rolled quarto plates are used in the energy sector, in extracting salt from seawater and transporting chemicals and are widely employed in the process industries for manufacturing pressure cylinders, tanks, thick-walled tubes, bridge structures and process equipment.

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Chinese Environmental Group to Visit Indiana

2010-08-16T17:02:00.005-04:00

Members of the China Environment Forum will be in northwest Indiana tomorrow (17 August), reports Inside INdiana Business. They will discuss initiatives to highlight environmental improvements in the region. The information gathered is expected to help the delegation deal with severe water pollution in China's Lake Tai.

The Northwest Indiana Forum and Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission in cooperation with the Indiana Wildlife Federation are hosting the gathering, which includes a Lake Michigan shoreline boat tour and afternoon environmental discussion.

China Environment Forum Background: In 2009 the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership awarded China Environment Forum (CEF) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Washington, DC) and its partners—the Institute of Developing Economies (Japan) and the Center for Environmental Management and Policy at Nanjing University (China)—a grant to support a project that aims to build an American, Japanese and Chinese business, non-governmental units, research and government coalition to jointly explore multi-stakeholder strategies to address pollution problems in Lake Tai (China).

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Fair's exhibit about Japan is a hit

2010-08-14T00:38:00.002-04:00

So says The Indianapolis Star in a feature by Tom Spalding in Friday's edition.
You can read it here, until it disappears behind the paper's pay wall.

It notes that the Indiana State Fair intends to recognize a foreign partner annually.

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Traditional Japanese Foods at Indiana State Fair

2010-08-13T00:02:00.004-04:00

The “Bridges to Japan” exhibit gives Indiana State Fair visitors a taste of some traditional daily dishes through a partnership of three Japanese eateries. The exhibition (open during the fair, 6-22 August) is devoted to the in-depth exploration of Japan and its connections with Indiana.

The Japanese food corner “Nihon Shokudo,” is a special area offering a variety of Japanese dishes, including Japanese pork cutlets, Japanese fried noodles, green tea ice cream, and sushi (including a new “deep-fried sushi” specialty).

“The team of Ocean World Restaurant (86th Street and Ditch Road), Sakura Restaurant (71st Street and Keystone Avenue), and One World Market (Castleton) have really gone beyond themselves to create the Japanese food corner, pulling in manpower from as far as Chicago and New York to staff what amounts to a major endeavor in serving Japanese food to thousands of fairgoers. Shoji Sato, Rocky Iwamoto and Shigenori Ito have been working for half a year to prepare a food corner in a building with less than ideal restaurant logistics, and I have to say, the ‘Nihon Shokudo’ food corner is serving some of the best Japanese food in Indy,” said Theresa Kulczak, executive director of the Japan-America Society of Indiana (a member of the Nationalities Council of Indiana).

Stan Suzuki, president of Indiana Packers Corporation in Delphi, which produces the “Indiana Kitchen” brand of pork products, has generously donated all of the pork served in the “Bridges to Japan” Exhibition. The ‘Katsu Curry’ dish features Kikkoman Corporation’s delicious new curry sauce. The Marukome company has donated miso soup to the Japanese food area.

Items on the menu in the “Bridges to Japan” food corner include:

* Kushi Katsu – Lightly “Panko” breaded pork kebabs. Also contains small green peppers with an optional lightly-flavored miso sauce.
* Katsu Curry – A very popular dish in Japan made by placing a lightly “panko” breaded pork cutlet on top of white rice, and covering it with curry sauce. Kikkoman Corporation has provided its newly- developed curry sauce for this delicious dish
* Deep-Fried Sushi – Shrimp tempura sushi rolls with a light curry seasoning. Deep fried and topped with spicy mayonnaise.
* Gyudon – Finely sliced paper-thin beef and onions on top of white rice.
* Yakisoba – A staple dish at festivals in Japan, yakisoba is made by grilling soba noodles, carrots, cabbage, and onions in a savory yakisoba sauce.
* Kakiage – Deep fried shrimp and vegetable tempura on udon noodles.
* Yakitori – Chicken kebabs grilled in a tasty yakitori sauce.
* Gyoza – Japanese style vegetable dumplings
* Miso Soup – A traditional soup consisting of a stock called “dashi” mixed in with softened miso paste.
* Edamame – Boiled soy beans seasoned with salt. A popular finger food in Japan.

For daily schedule of activities at the "Bridges to Japan", go online.

即日発表

伝統的な日本食を“日本への架け橋展”で

インディアナポリス　－　インディアナ・ステート・フェアで目新しく開催されている“日本への架け橋展”にて、訪問者は日本食（材）専門店3店の協力による日本の伝統的な日常の食事を楽しむことができる。“日本への架け橋展”は日本について、また日本とインディアナの関係について、楽しみながら日本文化を体験することを通して、深く知ることができるようになっている。“日本への架け橋展”では日本からのロボット、アニメや漫画の視聴エリア、伝統的な日本の畳の部屋、赤橋や、イングルダウ・グループ、リッチフィールド・ランドスケーピング、佐藤琢也先生によって製作された美しい日本庭園など、伝統的な日本、近代的な日本の両方を楽しむことができる。

日本食コーナー、“日本しょくどう”では様々な日本食を大変手ごろな値段で提供している。地元の人気レストラン、オーシャン・ワールド、櫻花レストラン、またワン・ワールド・マーケットによりフード・コーナーで販売されている物にはとんかつ（インディアナ州デルファイ市に在るインディアナ・パッカーズ・コーポレーションの提供により最高級の豚肉が使用されている）、焼きそば、抹茶アイスクリーム、寿司（新作“ディープ・フライド・スシ”）がある。

インディアナ日米協会専務理事、テレサ・コザック氏は「オーシャン・ワールド・レストラン（在86th StreetとDitch Road交差路）、櫻花レストラン（在71st StreetとKeystone Ave.交差路）、そしてワン・ワールド・マーケット（在キャッスルトン）の3店が総力を上げ、シカゴやニュー・ヨークからスタッフを動員、フェアの訪問者に日本食を提供し、日本食コーナーを盛り上げている。佐藤章二店長、岩本典久店長、伊東重徳店長の3名が建物の隅で理想的とは言えないロジスティクスの中、準備に半年をかけ、インディアナでも有数のおいしい日本食を提供している。」と語った。

“日本への架け橋展”で出される豚肉は全て“インディアナ・キッチン”の名で豚肉製品を製造する、インディアナ州デルファイ市にあるインディアナ・パッカーズ・コーポレーション（鈴木慎一郎会長兼CEO）の寛容な提供による。「鈴木氏によるとご提供された豚肉は最高級品で、串カツは大変おいしく柔らかく、文字通り、串から離れ口の中でとろけるようだ。今年度インディアナ・ステート・フェアのテーマ食材は豚肉であり、ここ、日本特別展で最高級の豚肉を使用したメニューが楽しめることは素晴らしい。」とコルザック氏は述べた。

“カツ・カレー”はキッコーマン・コーポレーションの美味なカレー・ソースと共に食べることができる。キッコーマンのカレー・ソースは缶詰ですぐ使うことができ、忙しいご家庭にはぴったりで、日本食材スーパーで購入することができる。

日本食コーナーで食べられる味噌汁はマルコメの寛容な提供による。

カルザック氏は「“日本しょくどう”のメニューに5ドル以上のものはなく、全て大変手ごろな価格となっている。日本しょくどうで購入できる日本食はインディアナ・ステート・フェア内で購入できる食品の中でも特に安価な部類に入ると確信している。」と語った。

“日本への架け橋展”のフード・コーナーのメニューは以下の通り：

* 串カツ
* カツ・カレー
* ディープ・フライド・スシ
* 牛丼
* 掻き揚げうどん
* 焼き鳥
* ギョウザ
* 味噌汁
* 枝豆

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Japan at the Indiana State Fair 2010

2010-08-12T22:39:00.002-04:00

"Bridges to Japan" at the Indiana State Fair (photo courtesy of Chiaki Yoshida)

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Crossing Boundaries through Research

2010-08-11T16:40:00.002-04:00

The 10th International Research Conference on Service-learning and Community Engagement will be held 28-30 October in the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Union Station in Indianapolis.

"International Perspectives: Crossing Boundaries through Research" is sponsored by the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis' Center for Service and Learning, Indiana Campus Compact, and the International Association for Research on Service-learning and Community Engagement.

Service-learning is valued as an active learning strategy across the globe; however, little is known about the ways that service-learning is similar or different in varied contexts. Understanding service-learning and community engagement from diverse cultural perspectives will add insight necessary for comparative research and to improve practice.

For more information, go online.

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The Delectable Bridge to Japan

2010-08-08T16:07:00.003-04:00

Discover, taste, and learn about Japanese green tea, savory snacks, sweet delicacies and more at a series of tastings and demonstrations held in conjunction with the “Bridges to Japan” Exhibition at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis.

Although the first set of demos was today (8 August), there are more at 2:30 and 4 p.m. tomorrow (9 August). They're conducted by the chef of the Official Residence of the Consul General of Japan at Chicago!

It's presented by the Consulate General of Japan at Chicago, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan-America Society of Indiana, Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana State Fair and Indiana Restaurant Association.

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Visit Japan at the Indiana State Fair!

2010-08-05T10:23:00.004-04:00

The new “Bridges to Japan” exhibit will show Indiana State Fair visitors what Japanese culture is all about, as well as the many connections between Indiana and Japan.

This year, in what is expected to be an annual international exhibition, the 154th Indiana State Fair will showcase Indiana’s relationship with one of its closest partners, the nation of Japan. The International Pavilion/Grand Hall, an 8,000 square foot building located on the Fair’s Main Street, is devoted to the in-depth exploration of Japan and its connections with Indiana.

The exhibit honors the fair’s goal of being a platform for education and showing visitors the strong ties between Indiana and Japan and in particular, Indiana’s Japanese “sister state” Tochigi Prefecture.

The “Bridges to Japan” Exhibition, organized by the Japan-America Society of Indiana (a member of the Nationalities Council of Indiana), the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (State of Indiana), and the Indiana State Fair, through the generous support of many companies and organizations, will appeal to a broad range of visitors who will visit the State Fair for two and a half weeks, from 6-22 August. “Bridges to Japan” will feature traditional and contemporary components, a variety of performances and activities, and displays on the relationships between Indiana and Japan, such as the importance of the Japanese manufacturing presence, sister cities, educational exchanges, and the history of the Japanese in Indiana.

The exhibit features traditional Japanese customs such as tea ceremonies, Japanese calligraphy, sumo wrestling, and a myriad of music and dance performances. In addition, representatives from Tochigi Prefecture and guests from the Japanese sister cities of Carmel (Kawachinagano), Lafayette (Ota City), and Shelbyville (Shizuoka City) will lead numerous cultural activities.

Once inside “Bridges to Japan” guests will pass through a bamboo grove and garden, created by the Engledow Group and Litchfield Landscaping, with advisory support from Dr. Takuya Sato, or cross over a koi pond on a traditional Japanese bridge. Japanese architectural styles will be readily apparent with a traditional inn featuring tatami (pron. tuh-tommy) mats and a Japanese stage, designed by Takenaka Corporation and constructed by nationally-recognized McGuire Scenic. An area devoted to contemporary Japan will help visitors delight in the fun of Japanese pop culture. Some of the programs and demonstrations scheduled for the stage include:

* Masaji Terasawa (pron. muh-sah-jee terra-sow-uh), the popular Candy man who makes intricate candy sculptures and entertains audiences of all ages
* Martial arts demonstrations
* A gourd painter craftsman from Japan (opening weekend)
* Taiko (pron. ty-koh) – traditional Japanese drum performances
* Bunraku (pron. bun-rah-coo)– Japanese puppet theatre
* Sumo wrestlers from Japan (opening weekend)
* An open audience-participation fashion show featuring Japanese pop culture (Cosplay) and the comic Japanese band Peelander-Z

The exhibit also features daily appearances of the top-ranked Japanese robots, including Wakamaru (pron. wok-uh-mah-roo), a communication and performance robot, sponsored by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-Japan and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Climate Control, Indiana. The Japan External Trade Organization of Chicago has facilitated the appearance of “Paro-chan”, the therapeutic seal pup courtesy of Paro Robots U.S., and the special appearance of the “I-Fairy” Receptionist Robot, which recently made headlines when it conducted a wedding in Japan, courtesy of the Kokoro Company.

Other special “Bridges to Japan” features fairgoers won’t want to miss are:

* A Japanese food corner offering traditional fare including Japanese pork cutlets (made possible by through the generous support of Indiana Packers Corporation), Japanese noodles, green tea ice cream and sushi (including a new “deep-fried sushi” specialty) provided by popular local Japanese restaurants Ocean World, Sakura and One World Market.
* A large-scale replica of a Tochigi Inn where guests will be able to participate in hands-on activities while sitting on tatami mats.
* A display of the Shinkansen bullet train with the topography of Japan passing by at 200 mph

The “Bridges to Japan” Exhibition is sponsored by a host of corporate partners and organizations, including: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana; AISIN, Eli Lilly and Company, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Cummins, Delphi Corp., Duke Energy, Indiana Packers Corp., Kikkoman Corp., NTN Driveshaft, TOA (USA), Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing, and the United States-Japan Foundation, among many others.

“Yoroshiku!” “We hope to see you there!”

The Indiana State Fair takes place tomorrow through 22 August at the State Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis.

米国インディアナ州と日本の強固な繋がりを紹介
インディアナ･ステート･フェア「日本への架け橋展」

ロボット、日本食、錦鯉と日本庭園、相撲取りなど全てが「日本への架け橋展」に勢揃い

米国インディアナ州インディアナポリス－インディアナ・ステート・フェアにて、日本パビリオン「日本への掛け橋展」が設置され、インディアナ州と日本との多岐に渡る繋がりと共に、フェアの訪問者に日本の文化を紹介します。

「日本はインディアナ州にとって、長年に渡り、最も強力な経済及び文化パートナーです。インディアナ・ステート・フェアで州の国際関係を紹介する最初の国として、日本をご紹介することは当然です。」と、ミッチ・ダニエルス　(Mitch Daniels)　インディアナ州知事はコメントしています。ダニエルス州知事は、2005年から5回にわたって、アジア地域への経済開発の使節団を率いています。

第154回インディアナ・ステート･フェアでは、その長い歴史の中で初めて、インターナショナル・パビリオンの展示施設を利用し、インディアナと繋がりのある特定の国を掘り下げて探索する展示を行うこととなり、その最初の国として「日本国」が取り上げられます。インターナショナル・パビリオンは、フェアグラウンドの目抜き通りに位置し、約750平米の広さの建物です。

「インディアナ･ステート･フェアは州内最大のイベントで、今回この展示を紹介することができ、大変嬉しく思います。」と、ステートフェアの専務理事　シンディ・ホイ(Cindy Hoye)氏はコメントしています。「17日間のフェア期間中、素晴らしい展示の数々、食事、情報、デモンストレーションなどを通じて、日本がインディアナ州にとってどれだけ重要な国際パートナーであるかを、90万人を超えるお客様にご紹介いたします。」

展示は、フェア本来の目的である教育を視野に、インディアナ州と日本との強固な繋がり、特にインディアナ州の姉妹県である栃木県に焦点をあて、お客様にご紹介します。

「インディアナ州には米国内で唯一、3つの日系自動車メーカーの工場があり、220社以上の日系企業が43,000人以上の州民を雇用しています。日本は明らかに、当州の国際パートナーの最有力国といえます。ミッチ･ダニエルス　インディアナ州知事が、フェアでの国際テーマの最初の国として日本を指名してくださったことを、大変誇りに思います。フェアへの訪問者の数を鑑みても、今回の展示は、北米で今年最大級の参加者を要す日本関連のイベントになるでしょう。」と、インディアナ日米協会　専務理事テレサ・コザック(Theresa Kulczak)氏はコメントしています。

日本パビリオン「日本への掛け橋展」は、インディアナ日米協会、インディアナ経済開発公社(インディアナ州政府)およびインディアナ・ステート・フェア委員会により運営され、多数の企業や団体の支援を受け実現します。本展示会は、8月6日(金)～8月22日(日)の2週間半にわたり、インディアナ州と日本のパートナーシップがもたらす経済的なプラス効果や、姉妹都市、文化交流、インディアナ州内の日本人社会の歴史を、インターアクティブな展示で紹介する一方、日本の伝統から現代文化にいたるまでを、様々なデモンストレーションやパフォーマンスを通して紹介します。

日本の伝統文化としては、お茶会や、書道、相撲、数多くの音楽や舞踊のパフォーマンスが紹介されます。また、インディアナ州の姉妹県である栃木県からの代表者を始め、カーメル市(大阪府河内長野市)、ラフィエット
市(群馬県太田市)、シェルビービル市(静岡県静岡市)の代表者も、フェアでパフォーマンスなどを披露し、インディアナ州と日本との友好関係をアピールします。

「日本への架け橋展」の会場内では、竹林と日本庭園（佐藤琢也先生のアドバイスの元イングルダウ・グループとリッチフィールド・ランドスケーピングにより設置）の中の鯉池に架かる日本の伝統的な橋を渡ると、日本の伝統建築を再現した、体験アクティビティや各種デモンストレーションが行われる畳の部屋と、ステージ（竹中工務店によるデザイン）が設置されています。また、現代日本に焦点をあてたエリアでは、日本のポップカルチャーを紹介します。下記を代表とする多くのパフォーマンスやデモンストレーションを予定しています。

* マサジ・テラサワ氏による飴細工
* 各種武道のデモンストレーション
* 栃木県の伝統工芸　ふくべ細工(最初の週末)
* 栃木県相撲連盟による相撲　(最初の週末)
* 太鼓パフォーマンス
* 文楽
* 一般参加のコスプレ・コンテストと日本人コミック・バンド「Peelander-Z」によるライブ

また展示エリアでは、三菱重工業株式会社のコミュニケーションロボット「wakamaru (ワカマル)」、独立行政法人産業技術総合研究所が開発したアザラシ型メンタルロボット「パロ(PARO)」、株式会社ココロの新型案内ロボット「I-FAIRY(アイ-フェアリー)」、以上3点の日本の最先端ロボットをご紹介します。

その他、「日本への架け橋展」の見所をご紹介します。

* 日本の食文化を紹介するフードコーナー：地元で人気の日本食店が、蕎麦、串カツ、カツカレー、牛丼、寿司(揚げ寿司)などを提供します。
* 畳の部屋で、日本文化(書道、昔ながらの遊びなど)の体験型アクティビティ
* 日本の高速鉄道（新幹線）に関する展示
* 日本への旅の思い出を購入いただくお土産屋

「日本への架け橋展」は、トヨタ・モーター・マニュファクチャリング・インディアナ、アイシン、イーライ・リリー・カンパニー、ホンダ・マニュファクチャリング・オブ・インディアナ、スバル・オブ・インディアナ・オートモーティブ、カミンズ、デルファイ、デューク・エナジー、インディアナ・パッカーズ、キッコーマン、NTNドライブシャフト、TOA(USA)、トヨタ・インダストリアル・エクイップメント・マニュファクチャリング、米日財団をはじめとする、多くの企業パートナー、団体により協賛、ご支援いただいております。

インディアナ州と日本との関係についての更なる情報、また「日本への架け橋展」の詳細のスケジュールなどは、インディアナ日米協会のウェブサイト(www.japanindiana.org)をご参照ください。

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Why Is There a Nationalities Council of Indiana?

2010-08-04T12:26:00.003-04:00

"America’s most important competitive advantage: the sheer creative energy that comes when you mix all our diverse people and cultures together."

(from Thomas L. Friedman's column in today's New York Times)

Join us at the International Festival (19-21 November) and see what we mean when we say, Welcome to the World in Indiana!

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Indy Mayor Announces Appointments

2010-08-03T10:50:00.002-04:00

Carlos May has been named Director of Latino Affairs, and Jane Gehlhausen will serve as Director of International and Cultural Affairs for the city of Indianapolis.

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IU to Lead International Networks

2010-08-02T20:05:00.002-04:00

The National Science Foundation is providing Indiana University with $9.2 million to lead two high-speed international network services, reports Inside INdiana Business. IU will receive $4.6 million to continue the TransPAC3 network connection to Asia and an additional $4.6 million for a new connection to Europe called ACE or America Connects to Europe.

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Brazilian Summerfest 2010

2010-07-30T06:02:00.004-04:00

Indiana Partners of the Americas and the Brazilian Mothers of Indiana have joined forces to draw Elizabeth and her Ipanema band out of their sabbatical and back onto the stage at the Rathskeller, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, for a summer party in the beer garden on 22 August.

Ipanema performs from 5-3:30 p.m. From 7-9 p.m., music will be by the Tides.

Special Brazilian snacks and other food items are available for purchase along with chopp, caipirinha, and other drinks. Tickets at the door are $5.

Note: due to alcohol sales, those under 21 will not be allowed in the beer garden.

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Drum Corps International World Championships

2010-07-29T17:12:00.003-04:00

The 2010 Drum Corps International World Championships will take place in Indiana from 10-24 August. The competitive action will kick off on 10 August in Michigan City before making its way to downtown Indianapolis.

The Drum Corps International World Championships is the pinnacle of the annual DCI Tour, a series of more than 100 live competitive events that take place across the United States from June through August. The DCI World Championships mark a week-long celebration of the “very best” in the world of marching music. In 2010, more than 40 drum and bugle corps will compete in two classes for the Open and World Class World Championship titles. Participating units will represent more than 20 states and Canada.

Tickets for the Open Class Quarterfinals in Michigan City are available through the Drum Corps International Box Office. Tickets for all events taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis are available through Ticketmaster.

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Indy Among Top Cities For Exports

2010-07-26T15:48:00.001-04:00

A new study shows Indianapolis is among the nation's leading metro areas for exports, reports Inside INdiana Business. Research from the The Brookings Institution shows the Indianapolis-Carmel area ranks ninth in share of exports and 20th in the value of exports.

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Indy's International Neighborhood

2010-07-23T19:54:00.003-04:00

Jolene Ketzenberger, writing in today's Indianapolis Star has a terrific exploration of the myriad ethnic dining options in the Lafayette Square neighborhood of Indianapolis. This northwestside area offers up cuisines as varied as Salvadorian, Vietnamese and Ethiopian.

Read it here (until it disappears behind the newspaper's pay wall). You can find ethnic restaurants in Indy anytime at Indy Ethnic Food, a resource that Ms. Ketzenberger used when penning her piece.

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