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International Student Musical Festival

“Cultural exchange brings people together—face to face, voice to voice, heart to heart. It creates a resonant harmony of hope and coexistence, as we strive to make this century an era of humanity.” — Daisaku Ikeda, Translated from Japanese, Ikeda Daisaku zenshu (The Complete Works of Daisaku Ikeda), vol. 52, p. 402, (1994).

To promote intercultural understanding at a grassroots level and to help create a worldwide network of friendship and goodwill among people from different countries around the world, Min-On has sponsored international student festivals on an annual basis in the Kansai area since 1989. Over the past two decades, the International Student Music Festival has become a well-established tradition, welcoming students from overseas into the international communities in Kyoto and Osaka.

The 20th Kyoto International Students Music Festival, cosponsored by the Kyoto City Music & Arts Promotion Foundation and the Kyoto Shimbun, was held at Kyoto Kaikan Hall in November 2008. Some 102 students from 17 countries and territories studying at universities and colleges in the greater Kyoto area presented traditional dances, songs and music from their respective cultures in colorful ethnic costumes. Following the show, the Mayor of Kyoto presented the city’s International Music and Culture Exchange Contribution Award to Min-On founder Dr. Ikeda, and presented Min-On with a certificate of appreciation for its part in promoting international friendship.

In the same year in December, the 18th Osaka International Students Festival—a counterpart to the event in Kyoto—was held at the Osaka International Exchange Center. Entitled Global Bond of Youth 2008, the show featured 169 students from 19 countries and territories studying at nearby universities performing music and dance from their respective cultures. Min-On cosponsored the Osaka event with the Osaka Foundation of International Exchange and International House Osaka. In the 20 years since its inception, the annual student music festivals in Kyoto and Osaka have seen the participation of more than 5,000 overseas students from over 70 countries and territories around the world with tens of thousands of people attending from the neighborhood communities in the greater Kansai area.

Kyoto International Students Music Festival

1st Festival

October 1, 1989 at Kyoto Kaikan with 47 students in 6 universities/schools from 8 countries/regions


2nd Festival

November 18, 1990 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 49 students in 7 universities/schools from 8 countries/regions


3rd Festival

November 17, 1991 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 85 students in 9 universities/schools from 8 countries/regions


4th Festival

November 22, 1992 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 88 students in 11 universities/schools from 15 countries/regions


5th Festival

November 23, 1993 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 88 students in 19 universities/schools, from 17 countries/regions


6th Festival

November 23, 1994 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 91 students in 15 universities/schools from 13 countries/regions


7th Festival

November 19, 1995 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 125 students in 34 universities/schools from 18 countries/regions


8th Festival

November 17, 1996 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 148 students in 31 universities/schools from 20 countries/regions


9th Festival

November 09, 1997 at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies Morita Memorial Hall with 93 students in 12 universities/schools from 19 countries/regions


10th Festival

November 08, 1998 at Kyoto Concert Hall with 126 students in 36 universities/schools from 20 countries/regions


11th Festival

November 14, 1999 at Kyoto Concert Hall with 93 students in 25 universities/schools from 23 countries/regions


12th Festival

November 19, 2000 at Kyoto Concert Hall with 122 students in 26 universities/schools from 31 countries/regions


13th Festival

November 18, 2001 at Kyoto Concert Hall with 176 students in 22 universities/schools from 25 countries/regions


14th Festival

November 10, 2002 at Kyoto Concert Hall with 189 students in 35 universities/schools from 27 countries/regions


15th Festival

November 23, 2003 at Kyoto Kaikan with 202 students in 20 universities/schools from 31 countries/regions


16th Festival

November 23, 2004 at Kyoto Kaikan with 134 students in 18 universities/schools from 22 countries/regions


17th Festival

November 23, 2005 at Kyoto Kaikan with 150 students in 16 universities/schools from 32 countries/regions


18th Festival

November 26, 2006 at Kyoto Kaikan with 139 students in 18 universities/schools from 23 countries/regions/p>


19th Festival

November 18, 2007 at Kyoto Kaikan with 133 students in 14 universities/schools from 20 countries/regions


20th Festival

November 30, 2008 at Kyoto Kaikan with 102 students in 22 universities/schools from 17 countries/regions


21st Festival

November 28, 2010 at Kyoto Kaikan with 166 students in 32 universities/schools from 24 countries/regions


22nd Festival

November 17, 2012 at Kyoto Concert Hall with 101 students in 23 universities/schools from 23 countries/regions


23rd Festival

November 16, 2014 at Joyo City Cultural Center with 65 students in 15 universities/schools from 17 countries/regions


24th Festival

December 10, 2016 at Joyo City Cultural Center with 52 students in 15 universities/schools from 11 countries/regions

Osaka International Students Music Festival

1st Festival

December 19, 1991 at International House with 34 students in 9 universities/schools from 9 countries/regions


2nd Festival

December 12, 1992 at IMP Hall with 71 students in 17 universities/schools from 14 countries/regions


3rd Festival

December 19, 1993 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 85 students in 19 universities/schools from 12 countries/regions


4th Festival

December 3, 1994 at Festival Hall with 123 students in 23 universities/schools from 22 countries/regions


5th Festival

December 3, 1995 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 172 students in 27 universities/schools from 20 countries/regions


6th Festival

December 7, 1996 at Ikeda City Civic Culture Center with149 students in 22 universities/schools from 17 countries/regions


7th Festival

December 6, 1997 at Daitou City Cultural Hall with 159 students in 25 universities/schools from 16 countries/regions


8th Festival

December 13, 1998 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 103 students in 25 universities/schools from 18 countries/regions


9th Festival

December 5, 1999 at Moriguchi Cultural Hall with 151 students in 24 universities/schools from 26 countries/regions


10th Festival

December 3, 2000 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 191 students in 30 universities/schools from 29 countries/regions


11th Festival

December 9, 2001 at Maikata City Civic Center with 142 students in 36 universities/schools from 25 countries/regions


12th Festival

December 8, 2002 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 150 students in 26 universities/schools from 29 countries/regions


13th Festival

December 7, 2003 at Kishiwada City Namikiri Hall with191 students in 25 universities/schools from 27 countries/regions


14th Festival

December 12, 2004 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 225 students in 20 universities/schools from 28 countries/regions


15th Festival

December 18, 2005 at Takatsuki Modern Art Theater with 140 students in 21 universities/schools from 25 countries/regions


16th Festival

December 17, 2006 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 131 students in 21 universities/schools from 23 countries/regions


17th Festival

December 16, 2007 at Osaka Sayama City Culture Center Sayaka Hall with 101 students in 28 universities/schools from 21 countries/regions


18th Festival

December 14, 2008 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 169 students in 28 universities/schools from 19 countries/regions


19th Festival

December 13, 2009 at Sakai Civic Center with 132 students in 30 universities/schools from 22 countries/regions


20th Festival

December 4, 2011 at Osaka International Cultural Exchange Center with 87 students in 23 universities/schools from 19 countries/regions


21st Festival

November 30, 2013 at Fujiidera stand citizen Comprehensive Center with 80 students in 18 universities/schools from 17 countries/regions


22nd Festival

December 16, 2007 at Suita City Cultural Center May Theater with 54 students in 12 universities/schools from 12 countries/regions

Kanagawa International Student Music Festival in Yokohama

1st Festival

December 13, 2014 at Yokohama Kannai Hall with 37 students in 13 universities/schools from 12 countries/regions


2nd Festival

December 5, 2015 at Yokohama Kannai Hall with 40 students in 11 universities/schools from 12 countries/regions


3rd Festival

December 3, 2016 at Yokohama Kannai Hall with 37 students in 11 universities/schools from 10 countries/regions

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