Exchange Program for Regional Integration in East Asia and Europe (EPRIE) - 19-30 września 2013

Exchange Program for Regional Integration in East Asia and Europe (EPRIE) 2013 – from September 19 to 30, in South Korea and Japan

H.E. Mr. Cyryl KOZACZEWSKI, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

 After the successful initiation of the Exchange Program for Regional Integration in East Asia and Europe (EPRIE) in Europe in 2012, it was decided to continue the program in 2013. The next EPRIE, titled “Challenges for Neighborly Cooperation” will be held from 19 to 30 September 2013 in South Korea and Japan. The goal is to activate a transnational dialogue through a comparison of the situations of historically burdened neighbors in Europe (Germany with Poland and France) and East Asia (Japan and South Korea). Harmonization activities through cultural exchange will be a special focus of the seminar. A topic of discussion will be, for example, whether phenomena such as pop-culture play a relevant role for mutual understanding or for the creation of a regional identity. Taking into account the currently very tense situation in East Asia, the role of the U.S. and EU in the security policy architecture will be considered. Experts from the scientific, political, economic and civil society will introduce their perspectives and discuss them with the participants. In addition to gaining specialized knowledge through comprehensive content, participants will develop intercultural competences and make international contacts. Through intensive dialogue in international groups, the seminar will encourage participants to get acquainted with each other and to build an enduring network to facilitate long-lasting cooperation. 

We would like to invite you to recommend a suitable candidate for this program. Candidates should have special interest in the topic, be between 20 and 30 years old, and be of German, French, Polish, Japanese or Korean nationality. Because English will be the language of the program, candidates are expected to speak English fluently.

The organizer of the program is the Korea Association (Korea Verband e.V.), a politically independent association in Berlin, in cooperation with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, a private German foundation engaged in international understanding. Further collaborations with the Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation, as well as with the Northeast Asian History Foundation, are intended. Additional support will be given by the Goethe-Institute in Seoul, the German Embassy in South Korea, the Japan office of Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Tokyo, and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan. 

All participant expenses during the program (hotel, meals, transfer) will be covered. However, participants are expected to cover the costs for their journey from their home destination to the conference location in Wonju, South Korea, and back from Tokyo, Japan themselves.

If you intend to recommend a candidate, please fill in the enclosed recommendation sheet and send it together with the outline and application form to your candidate.

Applications will be accepted until June 30, 2013. We kindly ask that all applicants email the required documents to rita.zobel@eprie.net. We will examine the applications in a jury assembled with our cooperation partner. Please be assured that we will consider each application carefully in order to compose a balanced group of participants. Motivation, background, gender and nationality will be taken into account. We will inform you of our decision by the end of July.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask. We look forward to your inquiries. 

Best regards,

Nataly Jung-Hwa HAN, Chairwoman of the Korea Association (Han.jung-hwa@koreaverband.de)

Rita ZOBEL, Ph.D., EPRIE Head of Program (rita.zobel@eprie.net)

Address: Korea-Association (Korea-Verband e.V.), Rostocker Str. 33, 10533 Berlin-Germany, www.eprie.net

Attached: 

• Outline
• Recommendation Form
• Application Form