Profile of Keynote Speakers
Mr. Takashi ATODA: August 22
Mr. Atoda is a writer, born in Tokyo in 1935. After graduating Waseda University, he worked at the National Diet Library for a while. He became renowned not only as a witty columnist but also as short-story writer, by his Japanese most famous literary prize, the Naoki Award winning book in 1979 “Napoleon Crazy” that contains his superb short “Raiho-sha”, the Japanese most famous Mystery Writers of Japan Award winning work. His works are characterized by their meticulous attention to detail. He is the best at short-story, writing some long-story, including historical one focusing on ancient Rome and educational series of mythology of the ancient Greeks. He won the Eiji Yoshikawa Prize for Literature in his “New Tales of Troy” in 1995. The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, and the Medal with Purple Ribbon were awarded to him mainly for his contribution to National language policy. He also served as the 15th Chairman of the Japan P.E.N. Club., and now is the Librarian of Yamanashi Prefectural Library.
Dr. Dianne Oberg: August 23
Dr. Dianne Oberg, Professor Emerita of Alberta University, is a school library educator and researcher. Before becoming a university educator, she had many years of experience as a classroom teacher and a teacher- librarian. Throughout her professional career, she has been actively involved in school library association work. She has served as president of the Learning Resources Council of the Alberta Teachers’ Association and of the Canadian School Library Association. She was the first editor of School Libraries Worldwide, the journal of the International Association of School Librarianship. She was also a chair of School Library Division of International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
Ms. Machiko SATONAKA: August 25
Born in Osaka, Ms. Satonaka received the inaugural Kodansha Manga New Faces Award in 1964 (while a second-year high school student) for Pia no Shouzou (Pia’s Portrait). Major works include Ashita Kagayaku (Shining Tomorrow), Ariesu no Otome-tachi (Ladies of Aries), Umi no Orora (Aurora of the Sea), Asunaro-Zaka (Cypress Hill), Karyudo no Seiza (Constellation of the Hunter), and Tenjo no Niji (Rainbow in the Sky). She received many awards of extending areas from the Lifetime Works and Cultural Activities Award by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology in 2006, to the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award in 2010. Ms. Satonaka serves for the the Japan Cartoonists Association as Executive Director of the leadership organization of Manga Japan, and Professor and Dean for the Character Creative Arts Department, Osaka University of Arts.
Dr. James Herring: August 26
Dr. James E Herring taught for 34 years in universities in the UK and Australia. He is the author of 11 books on information literacy, ICT in schools and school libraries. He has presented papers at international conferences, including IASL, in Australia, Canada, USA, France, Spain, Greece and South Africa. He is an internationally renowned expert on information literacy in schools and on school libraries. Dr. Herring retired from Charles Sturt University, Australia in 2012 but has kept a keen interest in developments in schools and school libraries since then. He is currently engaged in a local history project which uses oral history as a basis for research into his home town of Dunbar in the 1950s. A new book related to this research will be published in 2016. Dr. Herring is a keen cyclist and reader of modern poetry and fiction. He enjoys travelling and photography. He writes a weekly blog at http://jherring.wordpress.com.
Simultaneous Interpretation available(Japanese and English)”
