Gift Symposium

On May 22, Byakko Shinko Kai hosted the third Gift Symposium at Yotsuya Kumin Hall in Tokyo. First held in 2010, the symposium is designed as a forum for young people to share their ‘gift’—personal experiences that transformed their lives, and/or an account of the work they have been doing—and to offer a message to the audience, encouraging them to discover and make use of their own gifts.

The event, hosted by Byakko Deputy Chairperson Yuka Saionji and Vice Chairperson Maki Saionji was divided into two separate programs—one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. Ms. Leah Pearlman, Ms. Barbara Arredondo, Mr. Fremma Emmanuel Kibibi, and Mr. Birju Pandya gave presentations in the afternoon session, while Ms. Anne-Marie Bauer, Ms. Barbara Arredondo, and Mr. Kazu Haga gave presentations in the evening, along with Japanese ‘freelance child-minder’ Ms. Megumi Kotake. Each session also included performances by pianist and composer Mr. Kenichi Yamamoto and tango dance pair Nobu and Yuko Sasaki.