On Saturday, May 13, at the University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Philosophy (UNSA–FF), the 8th Japanese speech contest was held. The contest was co-organized by the Embassy of Japan and UNSA–FF, under the sponsorship of Mitsubishi Corporation representative office in Belgrade and Shimadzu d.o.o. Sarajevo.
A total of 12 contestants participated in the contest and demonstrated their knowledge of the Japanese language in one of three categories: beginner category 1 (theme: “My Favorite things in Japan“), beginner category 2 (theme: “Myself and Japan“), and advanced category (theme : “What country is easy to live?“).
The contestants prepared their speeches in Japanese, and presented their way of thinking on the given topics to the jury and the audience that was present in the amphitheater but also online via ZOOM. The winners in all three categories were Iman Delibašić with the topic “My favorite Japanese literature”, Hana Ganić with the topic “Japanese Architecture” and Ajla Đinalić whose topic in the advanced category was “To live here or to leave”. The winners were awarded yukata (traditional summer kimono), books and Japanese traditional products from Mitsubishi Corporation, and Japan-related products from Shimadzu.
The Ambassador of Japan to Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Masami Kinefuchi, also attended the competition. He expressed his hope that the contestants would continue to learn about each other’s culture and build bridges between Japan and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, he especially praised the efforts of all the contestants, as well as their good pronunciation and natural way of expressing themselves in the Japanese language.
