50 Years of Tourism Association History - 2000s: Minato Kobe 2001 Sunflower Citizen Symposium
Minato Kobe 2001 Sunflower Citizen Symposium
The symposium was held on August 3, 2001, at the Kobe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building.
The purpose of the event was to pray for the reconstruction of Kobe, which was devastated by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1995. Sasaki Yasuhiro, who was invited to the event, gave a presentation on the case study titled "3.6 million trees blooming and 260,000 tourists," and Sakamoto attended as a panelist and explained the case study of Hokuryu Town.
The sunflower was chosen for this symposium as a symbol of a flower that blooms brightly towards the sun.
From Kobe with a passion for net art
This sunflower net art was completed by approximately 300 elementary school children in Kobe over a period of about two weeks and was displayed at the Great Hanshin-Awaji Disaster Reconstruction Support Center.
During the earthquake, Kobe was supported by kind-hearted people from all over Japan, including the people of Hokkaido.
Together with the children from Kobe, we sent out our feelings of gratitude, saying "Thank you." We put our heartfelt thoughts into this net art, dreaming of the sunflowers swaying in the breeze and basking in the brilliant sunlight of Japan's number one sunflower village.
It was delivered by Mr. Arai, the representative of "Himawari no Kimen" in Kobe, on May 3rd, 1997.
Furthermore, we would like to thank Yasuhiro Sasaki of Ryutopia for his cooperation in installing the net art.
