[189] Japanese Consul General to headline International Education Week at MTSU

MURFREESBORO — The Consul-General of Japan highlights a dynamic celebration of International Education Week at MTSU.

Motohiko Kato, Japan’s consul-general stationed in Nashville, will present “Japan in the World: Challenges and Opportunities in Japan’s Efforts to Increase Global Peace and Prosperity” at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the Parliamentary Room of the Student Union.

Kato, whose diplomatic career began in 1982, was deputy chief of mission at the Japanese Embassy in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2007. He worked closely with his American counterparts there on various reconstruction efforts.

The Consulate-General of Japan at Nashville covers Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Kato is responsible for protecting the interests of Japanese companies, promoting Japanese culture and caring for Japanese citizens in the five states.

“This year’s International Education Week at MTSU highlights the on-campus screening of documentaries produced as part of our MTSU Signature Education Abroad Programs,” noted Dr. David Schmidt, director of the Office of International Affairs.

MTSU student nurses who raised money for an education abroad program to Central America will be celebrated in “Medicine for Guatemala,” a documentary to be shown at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the Keathley University Center Theater.

The documentary was produced by Dr. Ric Morris of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, who accompanied the nurses on their summer 2014 education abroad experience.

The Office of International Affairs and the Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Center will present “This is Me” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the KUC Theatre.

This event will feature MTSU students telling how they stretched their comfort zones to achieve and succeed in different cultures.

Eleven students from the College of Mass Communication will show the documentaries they created during a study-abroad trip to France at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Student Union Theater.

The students, led by instructor Tom Neff, created stories about artists who live and work in Paris.

“The documentaries are amazing and demonstrate the true impact of education abroad and the caliber of our students,” Schmidt said.

Chinese culture will be front and center when the Confucius Institute at MTSU presents a Chinese music performance at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, in the James E. Walker Library lobby.

Members of the institute also will prepare and serve a traditional Chinese meal at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Raiders for Christ building, 1105 East Bell St. in Murfreesboro.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Office of International Affairs at 615-898-2116 or the Office of Education Abroad at 615-898-5179.