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Award Ceremony 2011

Award Ceremony 2011

The Award Ceremony for the 2011 (19th) International Cosmos Prize was held at Izumi Hall, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, on October 18th, 2011. Some 480 participants attended the event, including distinguished guests from Japan and abroad. At 3:00 p.m., the Ceremony commenced with to the majestic strains of pipe organ music.

The Chairperson of the International Cosmos Prize Committee and the Chairperson of the Screening Committee of Experts accompanied by a representative of the host, and introduced the members of their respective committees.

The guests of honor took the platform and were introduced to the audience.They included Mr. Patrick Joseph Linehan, Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General in Osaka-Kobe, Ms. Hi roko Nakano,Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (on behalf of Minister, MAFF); Mr. Akira Kobayashi, Deputy Director-General, City and Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,Transport and Tourism (on behalf of Minister, MLIT); Mr.Yasuyuki Ogawa, Vice Governor, Osaka Prefecture (on behalf of Governor, Osaka Prefecture), Ms. Setsuko Nonomura, Director General, Recreation and Tourism Bureau, Osaka City (on behalf of Mayor, Osaka City).

Expo'90 Foundation President Yasuhisa Mitsui declared the Ceremony open and Expo'90 Foundation Chairperson Takashi Imai delivered an address on behalf of the host organization.

Dr. Tadamitsu Kishimoto, as Chairperson of the International Cosmos Prize Committee, described the prizewinner selection process. Then, Dr. Ian Poiner, the Chairperson of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Census of Marine Life, the 2011 Cosmos Prizewinner, took the platform to a warm round of applause. Chairperson Kishimoto outlined the reasons for the Award.

Dr. Poiner was awarded a commendation, a supplementary prize and a medallion by Chairperson Imai and Expo'90 Foundation Vice Chairperson, Mr. Shigetaka Sato.

On behalf of the guests, MAFF Parliamentary Secretary Nakano read a congratulatory message from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and Consul General Linehan read a congratulatory message from Mr. John V. Roos, U.S. Ambassador to Japan.

Finally, Dr. Poiner delivered the prizewinner's address. A further round of applause for Dr. Poiner brought the first section of the Ceremony to a close.

In the second, celebratory section of the Ceremony,introductory images of the prizewinner were presented on the screen.The ceremony concluded with celebratory musical performances by a violinist and an ensemble.

Commemorative Lectures

The 2011 International Cosmos Prize commemorative lectures were held at Osaka Museum of History (Otemae Chuo-ku, Osaka) on October 16, 2011, at United Nations University, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo on October 22, and at Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, on October 20.

Dr. Ian Poiner, Chairperson, SSC of CoML, delivered commemorative lectures themed "The Achievements and the future of the Census of Marine Life", which was followed by related lectures (Osaka) and a symposium (Tokyo), and other events with the members of SSC and the collaborators of CoML.

Commemorative Lecture in Osaka attended by 180 people

Theme The Achievements and the future of the Census of Marine Life
Presenter Mr. Kazuo Matsushita (Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University)
Lectures
Ⅰ. Mr. Jesse Ausubel, Co-Founder, SSC of CoML, Senior Research Associate at The Rockefeller University
"Art in a scientific program: Experiences from the Census of Marine Life"
Ⅱ. Dr Myriam Sibuet, Vice-Chairperson, SSC of CoML, Science and Technology adviser to the President of Institut français de recherché pour l'exploitation de la mer
"Deep sea biodiversity"
Ⅲ. Dr. Katsunori Fujikura, Representative, CoML National and Regional Implementation Committee of Japan, Senior Researcher, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
"The highest species diversity in Japanese waters "
Place Osaka Museum of History
Supporters The Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries.
The Ministry of Land,Infrastructure,Transport and Tourism.
The Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology
The Ministry of Environment
Embassy of the United States of America in Japan

Commemorative Lecture and Symposium in Tokyo attended by approx.180 people

Theme of Symposium The Census of Marine Life
Coordinator Yoshihisa Shirayama, Member of SSC of CoML; Executive Director of Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Panelists Dr. Ian Poiner, Chairperson, SSC of CoML
Mr. Jesse Ausubel, Co-Founder, SSC of CoML, Senior Research Associate at The Rockefeller University
Dr. Katsunori Fujikura, Representative, National and Regional Implementation Committees, Japan, CoML Senior Researcher,Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Dr. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, Vice Chairperson of International Cosmos Prize Screening Committee of Experts; Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Sciences, the University of Tokyo
Place United Nations University, U Thant International Conference Hall
Supporters The Ministry of Agriculture,Forestry and Fisheries.
The Ministry of Land,Infrastructure,Transport and Tourism.
The Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology
The Ministry of Environment
Embassy of the United States of America in Japan

High School Visit by Prizewinner attended by approx.400 people

Theme The Achievements and the future of the Census of Marine Life
Place Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School

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