2023 conference in Leuven: minutes

Minutes of the general assembly of the 33rd EAJRS conference, Leuven

1. Approval of the minutes of the general assembly of the 32nd conference held at Lisbon

You can find the minutes on the EAJRS website.The minutes are approved.

2. Next year’s venue

Undecided. Dates proposed: 11-14 September, 2024.

3. Funding

We are very grateful to the Japan Foundation  and Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO) for their support. I take this opportunity to thank the  foundations for their loyal and committed support to our association.

4. Program booklet and website

The abstracts, the presentations and/or the text of each presentation will be uploaded on the EAJRS website and recordings will be posted on the EAJRS YouTube channel, if and when the speaker agrees to do so. Many speakers have already given their consent. The speakers who did not deliver the final version of their file to Arjan van der Werf and wish it to be uploaded on the EAJRS website, are kindly requested to send it in to him (eajrs@eajrs.net).

5. Format of the next conference

The resource providers' workshop of non-profit institutions and commercial vendors continues its vital role and and valuable contribution to the conference. We thank them for their presence, for organizing the workshop and for their support in general.

Although in-person participation is preferred at the conferences, the hybrid format will be continued when possible, to give as many as possible the opportunity to attend. Presentations should be given with at least one of the presenters present at the venue.

The number of proposals for presentations usually exceeds the number of available slots. Nevertheless, we remain in favor of a single-session format over a parallel-sessions format. This does mean that not all proposals can be accepted.

6. Deadline for applications for the 2024 Conference

The Board proposes mid-May 2024 as the deadline for the submission of proposals for presentations. At the end of May, screening of proposals will be completed, and the results will be notified beginning of June. Guidelines will be added to streamline the presentations. Presentations should normally not exceed 25 slides.

7. Next year’s special topic

We leave this decision to the local organizer.

8. Scholarships

Scholarships will depend on the funding we receive.

9. Report from the secretary

There were 104 registration, of which 2 did not show up, and 1 had to cancel last minute, resulting in 101 actual participants. 74 were here in Leuven in person and 27 participated online.

Participants came from 14 different countries:

Divided by continent:

Asia 50
Europe 42
North America 9

One presentation was cancelled, resulting in 28 presentations, with 40 people involved.

One of the presentations was a panel discussion, a format we welcome but one that needs more than a regular 30 minutes slot.

9 Resource providers were present with a booth, and 8 of them participated in the workshop on Friday.

Kristin Williams has stepped down from the board, as she has found new employment in the United States. We thank her for her contributions to the EAJRS and the years of fruitful collaboration. And we wish her well in her new position.

O-Jama SG

The Tenri kotenseki workshops held from 2007-2009 has resulted in a small website with valuable information for those who start working with old Japanese materials. This site is now looking for a new location, and we thought it proper to incorporate this in the EAJRS website. In fact, virtually all who participated were members or participants of the EAJRS.

10. Kuzushiji workshop

The NIJL/EAJRS Kuzushi-ji Workshop was held online, 19-21 April 2023. This year, Cambridge University Library provided some material for the workshop.
We have a new agreement with NIJL concerning a 古典籍 workshop, scheduled on 18 October 2023.
Akira Hirano reports.

11. Words of gratitude

I thank all presenters, for the many excellent presentations. Moreover, virtually everyone respected the allotted time.
Words of gratitude to:

Ambassador Masahiro Mikami
Dr. Demmy Verbeke, for hosting our conference at KU Leuven Libraires Artes.
Prof. Yabuta Yutaka for the wonderful keynote lecture

Rebecca Burke, for her organizational support behind the scene,
Jelle Schelfthout, for streaming, recording and other ICT support.

Our volunteers for the whole duration:
Miriam Choukri
Britt Celie
Jacinto Romero Alvares

The part-time volunteers:
Klara Belmans, from the Japanese studies section
Benedicte Vaerman, sinological librarian at the East-Asian library
Arvid Eykens

At Université catholique de Louvain, Flore Guiot, Elisa Barros, and Christine Dewaele, for organizing the mini-expo, and their hospitality.
Thanks to all presenters, for the high quality presentations,
Thanks to all resource providers
Thanks to the members of the board, who have accepted to chair each one or two sessions.

Thanks to Kana Kunishige of Kinokuniya Publications Service of London for coordinating the resource providers workshop.

Thanks to my colleague, Arjan van der Werf, who once again put in a great deal of effort and time to prepare the conference. We are much indebted to him.

12. AOB

It is mentioned that it should be made clearer to the presenters how much time is allotted to them for their presentations, including time for set-up and Q&A.

13. Closing of the general assembly and the conference