The International Festival 2019 was held on November 17, 2019, at venues including International Conference Center Hiroshima and the Peace Boulevard green belt. Commemorating the twentieth time this event has been held and the thirtieth anniversary of the opening of International Conference Center Hiroshima, the even this year was expanded, adding the large hall at the Conference Center, Phoenix Hall, as one of the venues.
　Seventy-six civic organizations and companies involved in international exchange and international cooperation activities in Hiroshima City and the surrounding areas held forty events of great variety promoting intercultural understanding and consideration for the global environment, multicultural coexistence, Japanese culture experiences and more. A total of around 16,300 people came to the events, which is a record high.
　At the opening ceremony, following on from the previous year, there was a Japanese calligraphy performance by the students of calligraphy at Yasuda Women’s University Faculty of Letters, Department of Calligraphy. When the students wrote in strong lettering the catchphrase of the International Festival “Let’s meet the people of the world” participants gave them a big round of applause. 　The guest speaker, alpinist Mr. Ken Noguchi, spoke about his own involvement in environmental issues in the Himalayas and Mount Fuji, and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers from JICA and Japanese people living dynamic lives overseas.
　Participants laughed at times at the humorous talk by Mr. Noguchi and listened intently to his unique story until the end. Some participants said about the talk show that they learned the importance of not only receiving information passively, but also actually seeing the world for themselves. 　As a twentieth anniversary event, a world music and dance stage event was held in Phoenix Hall. There were authentic performances from six groups on the themes of Asia, Africa and Central and South America. The groups were: Bapang Sari Balinese Gamelan and Dance, who performed ‘Traditional Gamelan music and dance from Bali, Indonesia’; the Hiroshima Korean Traditional Arts College, who performed ‘Melodies of the traditional Korean arts’; Dance and Folk Music Departments of Hiroshima Korean School, who performed ‘Unified Arirang’; Obaaba Dance & Drum Group and their entertaining friends, who performed ‘Experience real African power!’; Unidos Rosa de Hiroshima, who performed ‘Samba’; and El Combo de la Paz, who performed ‘Passionate Latin and Salsa Beats’.
　For the finale, ten organizations who have participated in this festival for twenty consecutive times came to the stage, and were presented with a certificate of gratitude by Mr. Takashi Koizumi, the Chairperson of this Foundation. 　At the section for information on activities by civic organizations, twenty organizations set up information booths on their international exchange and cooperation activities. There were also booths run by public entities, civic organizations, NGOs, university students, companies and more, and visitors went around to the booths they were interested in, interacting with the people there. In particular, this year the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Akitakata City International Exchange Association participated for the first time, providing information on their initiatives to promote multicultural cohabitation, which has become a hot topic in recent years. 　In terms of experiencing foreign cultures, there were sections where visitors could try making a tartan design of Scottish kilt and a Celtic knot, a section for making Chinese paper cutting art and Chinese knotting, as well as sections for trying on kimonos, tea ceremony, ikebana flower arrangement, Japanese calligraphy and more. Both foreign visitors and Japanese participants showed great interest as they participated in experiences of cultures from around the world. 　On the green belt of Peace Boulevard in the south side of the International Conference Center was the Hiroshima International Village―Food Stalls of the World, where nineteen organizations sold various food from around the world. At the International Cooperation Bazaar, thirteen organizations sold crafts and other articles from various countries. Other sections at the festival included: a display of prizewinning artworks by children around the world for an art competition on the theme of ‘Peaceful Towns’; a presentation session by international students; ‘Earth Square’, a space where people of all ages could enjoy intercultural experiences; a section where visitors could learn about Hiroshima City’s sister and friendship cities while making crafts; an outdoor stage with performances of dances and music from around the world; a section where visitors could support children in developing countries by donating coins from around the world; and a quiz rally where participants could win prizes by answering quiz questions at each of the different venues. Each venue was bustling with people, and participants were able to deepen their understanding of international exchange and international cooperation.
　Many citizens and international students participated as volunteer staff, and helped to make it an exciting event.
　It was a day where foreign and Japanese residents could experience their cultures of the world.