Minutes of the general assembly of the 34th EAJRS conference. Sofia
1. Approval of the minutes of the general assembly of the 33rd conference held at Leuven
You can find the minutes on the EAJRS website. The minutes are approved.
2. Elections
Elections were held for the continuation of the current board and the appointment of Chris Dillon to the board. Both were approved overwhelmingly, with 100% and 97% respectively.
3. Metadata database
NIHU is seeking cooperation with the EAJRS for its creation and maintenance of a metadata database of electronic resources in Japan Studies. The EAJRS is positive, but wishes more details on the project before engagement and signing an MOU.
4. Next year’s venue
Heidelberg, Germany. Dates proposed: 10-13 September, 2025. Confirmed (proposed dates were 17-22 September), For 2026 we are in contact with Leiden, for 2028 Helsinki is a possible candidate, and for 2027 Japan is under consideration as a venue.
5. Format of the conference
This year the resource providers opted for short presentations in stead of the workshop format we have had over the last 10 years. This format was received well by both resource providers and the conference participants. We do propose to have the presentations earlier in the program, so participants have more time to discuss with the resource providers after their presentations. We thank the resource providers for their valuable contribution to the conference.
This year there was a nice balance between AI & virtual and material resources as subject of the presentations.
Again we were tempted to hold parallel sessions, but decided against it.The number of proposals for presentations exceeded the number of available slots. We remain in favor of a single-session format over a parallel-sessions format. This does mean that not all proposals can be accepted.
The hybrid format of the conferences will be continued (where possible), but presentations will only be accepted on site. Local organizers can tweak when deemed necessary.
6. Funding
We are very grateful to the Japan Foundation and the Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO) for their support. We take this opportunity to thank the foundations for their loyal and continued support to our association.
7. Program 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 has agreed to do so. The speakers who did not deliver the final version of their file to the secretary and wish it to be uploaded on the EAJRS website, are kindly requested to send it in to him (eajrs@eajrs.net).
8. Deadline for applications for the 2025 Conference
The board proposes 15 May 2025 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 then be notified. Guidelines have been added to streamline the presentations. Presentations should normally not exceed 25 slides.
9. Next year’s special topic
We leave this decision to the local organizer.
10. Scholarships
Scholarships will depend on the funding we receive.
11. Report from the secretary
There were 114 registration, of which 2 did not show up, and 2 had to cancel last minute, resulting in 110 actual participants. 75 were here in Sofia in person and 35 participated online.
Participants came from 18 different countries:
| Country | Total participants | In person | On line |
| Austria | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Belgium | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Bulgaria | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Canada | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Denmark | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Finland | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| France | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Germany | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Japan | 59 | 37 | 22 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Latvia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Russia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| United Kingdom | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| United States | 6 | 6 | 0 |
Divided by continent:
- Asia 60
- Europe 43
- North America 7
One presentation was cancelled, resulting in 28 presentations, with 49 people involved. One of the presentations was a panel discussion.
Adam Lisbon from the University of Colorado Boulder was our guest speaker.
Scholarships were awarded to Elisa Barros (Atelier du Papier), Ōi Masao (NIHU / National Museum of Japanese History) and Yuliya Osadcha Ferreira (University of Bonn, BIGS-OAS)
Poster presentations were made by Simeon Hinkovski (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"), Aneliya Ivanova (Japanology department, NAKAMA NGO), Kristina Ivanova (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"), and Kumiko McDowell (University of Oregon).
10 Resource providers were present with a booth, and 9 of them participated in resource provider's presentation session on Friday.
12. Kuzushiji workshop
The NIJL/EAJRS Kuzushiji workshop was held in April 2024 at the University of Strasbourg.The 2025 kuzushiji workshop is scheduled for 31 March - 2 April, 2025, and will be held online.
13. Words of gratitude
The board of the EAJRS would like to thank Stella Zhivkova for her enthusiasm and commitment, and her numerous helpers who together organized and executed a successful conference and memorable events surrounding the conference.
We thank the presenters for their excellent presentations on a wide variety of topics, and for respecting their allotted time slots in a schedule that was tighter than ever.
Thanks to Kana Kunishige of Kinokuniya Publications Service of London for coordinating the resource providers with their booths and presentations.
14. Closing of the general assembly and the conference