We are pleased to announce the winners of the 3rd Braille Essay Contest, co-sponsored by Onkyo Corporation and the Braille Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper Group.
This contest was created with the hope of establishing a bridge between the worlds of Braille and sound for the visually impaired. We invited entries in March, 2005, and we subsequently received seventy-eight essays from within Japan and thirty-two from eight other countries.
We are truly grateful for all the moving essays we received. To enrich the musical experience for visually challenged people, Onkyo Corporation will continue our efforts to create audio systems that are easier to use and enhanced technologies that offer more support to the disabled. Once again, we wish to express our thanks for the numerous remarkable entries we received. These essays will surely inspire us to create more innovative, attractive products for the future.
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International essays here |
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Mr. Naoto Otsuki
President and CEO
Onkyo Corporation
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There is truly no greater pleasure in life than the discovery of beauty.
The Onkyo Braille Essay Contest, inaugurated three years ago in 2003, received far more applications this year than last, in both the domestic Japanese and international categories. Thanks to all of the entries, our hopes for building a bridge between Braille and sound have truly broadened. We wish to express our gratitude to all of the applicants, to the Mainichi Shimbun Corporation, who co-sponsored this event, to the WBU-AP (World Blind Union Asia-Pacific), and to each local organization overseas.
In speaking on the depth and essence of what is truly important for us as human beings, the disabled have experiences and perspectives that the able-bodied cannot attain. It is for this reason that I am one of many people who look forward to this contest every year, and I was profoundly inspired by the many applicants in 2005. This year, in particular, there were numerous frank essays born of harsh everyday experiences, as well as many inspired by encounters with music and movies. Congratulations to Mr. Minoru Furukawa, who won our highest award, the Otsuki Prize. Mr. Furukawa wrote about the experience of “seeing the movie Shane in sound,” and seeing various colors through music. The last scene of Shane also left a vivid impression on me as well so, I was surprised to hear this. Also memorable were Ms. Nobuko Iwamoto’s passion for reading Braille books and Ms. Hiroe Kihara’s trials and tribulations in playing the flute. I read all these essays intently.
The international section winner, Mr. Le Hong Thuy from Vietnam, spent several months translating a French Braille book into Vietnamese. This book chronicles the life and achievements of Mr. Louis Braille, the founder of the Braille methodology. His astonishing passion truly touched my heart. I was thrilled this year to see that we had received entries from eight other countries, and that the overall number of foreign applicants had increased from last year. I want to thank you all for your efforts.
Our company will continue to build on our ten-year history of “barrier-free” activities designed to offer an emotionally appealing sound and a more user-friendly audio experience to everyone around the world. Again, we thank all of the applicants and wish you all the best in the future.
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Consolidated editions of the prize-winning essays were donated to schools for the blind as well as to other community groups for the visually impaired. | |
| Onkyo promotes “barrier-free” living through its user-friendly stereo systems. Technical support kits for the visually impaired are provided free of charge. Please visit the Onkyo Barrier Free site, “Rakuraku-kan,” for more details. |
| The Technol Eight Group helps to promote barrier-free access to information through its Braille printers. Click here for more information. |
| Click here to access the award-winning essays from the 1st Onkyo Braille Essay Contest. |
| Click here to access the award-winning essays from the 2nd Onkyo Braille Essay Contest. |
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【Contact Information】
For further information, please contact Mr. Ogura or Mr. Miyahara at the following address.
Onkyo Corporation
Strategic Management Dept.
2-1 Nisshin-cho,
Neyagawa-shi
Osaka 572-8540
Japan
Ph: 81-72-831-8008
Fax: 81-72-833-5222 |
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These web pages should be compatible with text-reading software. However, users may experience some difficulties. We ask for your understanding. | |
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