Embracing Otherness, Exploring Muslims is a follow-up project of Talk with Muslims series (TAMU) by the Japan Foundation Asia Center. TAMU has brought together Southeast Asian and Japanese youths engaging in social welfare, community empowerment, and socio-religious affairs into a dialogue to discover each other’s cultures, religions, and values.
This follow-up project will take you to discover other sides of being a Muslim and to embrace cultural diversity through photo exhibition from and online talk event in order to develop a better understanding towards Muslim from many perspectives and to create cultural exchanges so that the otherness will become more perceivable in this multicultural society.
Photo Exhibition 15-20.09.2020 (10:00 – 19:00)
Curved wall, 5th floor, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC)
The photo exhibition comprises of two sets of photo by three photographers sharing 65 pictures about lives of Muslims in Thailand and Japan. Samak Kosem and Kalil Pitsuwan pick Chiang Mai as a place to tell the story with short dialogues about diversity and migration of Muslim under the name fieldnote – visual ethnography of Muslim in Chiang Mai. On the other hand, Sato Kenei, a Japanese journalist, thought that the narratives about Muslim through mass media in Japan focuses merely on their religion. Instead of thinking that they are foreign people living in Japanese community, Muslims should be perceived as a member of our community so that we could discover many more sides apart from religion. His 25 photos are presented with short story alongside under the title of Everyday Life of Muslims in Japan.
Online Talk Event 19.09.2020 (13:00-15:00, Thailand Time GMT+7)
Youtube Live
The first session will start with a talk from Essaadi Miwa, Secretary-General of Shizuoka Muslim Association, about living a life as a Muslim in Japan and life during a New Normal, followed by a reflection and messages about photo exhibition from Sato Kenei. As for a cross-sharing with Essaadi, Alisah Hansamoh will give a talk about Muslims and pandemic in Southern Thailand and Malaysia. The last session will be Embracing Diversity shared by ex TAMU fellows who will have a discussion on Muslims society in each region of Thailand and conflict management in community. Stay tuned for more details at www.jfbkk.or.th and www.facebook.com/jfbangkok
Please register this online form and we will send the link to join the talk.
https://cutt.ly/Efa3kNK
Download Press Release: Embracing Otherness
