On November 15, MS. Saki Tabata (4th year student) won the Prix d'encouragement de l' APEF at the 7th Concours de Français à la Maison Franco-Japonaise. The competition has been held since 2008 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Japan. This year 70 participated among which 15 went on to the finals including Tabata whose speech was entitled Le Japon et Yamato Nadeshiko. The finalists made a 7-minute speech on a specific theme and answered questions.

MS. Saki Tabata: "When I entered ICU, I wanted to be a journalist. But after taking courses in various fields, I chose Development Studies for my major. This step encouraged me to study French harder, eventually leading to participating in French courses abroad and the exchange program in Paris. It was the first time I lived in a foreign country but I was able to fit in thanks to the international environment at ICU. I think I was able to receive a prize because my French friends at ICU helped me rehearse. I would like to continue to meet new people and observe things from multiple perspectives to contribute to the world."

On October 25, Ms. Miyu Kamikawa (2nd year student) won the Prix de la Chanson at the J'aime Chanter competition organized under the auspices of the French Embassy. She sang Voyage de Chihiro, a French version of the song "Name of Life" from the movie Spirited Away. Her prize was awarded to 4 from among 100 contestants, and the winners sang at the J'aime Chanter Concert co-sponsored by the Maison Franco-Japonaise held on November 16.

Ms. Miyu Kamikawa: "I studied for a year in France in my first year in senior high school. I was deeply interested in how Japan appears to those abroad. I chose to study at ICU because I would be able to study about Japan from non-Japanese teachers. I found the French Name of Life lyrics interesting in the way it grasps the original Japanese. My hobbies are to sing and study French. I think I won because I was able to express the meaning of the words to the judges. At present I am taking the teacher certification course and the teaching Japanese course to be able to offer more about Japan to the international community."