Topics 2001
The 7th Asia-Pacific Rally in Taiwan
On the memorable occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Republic of China
The Camping Association of the Republic of China held the 7th Asia-Pacific rally under the patronage of F.I.C.C. on the memorable occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Republic of China. So the rally had a special designation "International F.I.C.C. Rally 2001 and the 7th Asia-Pacific Rally " lasting from 21st to 30th September at the Lung-Men Riverside Camping Resort in Fulung. The rally consists of three parts; so called Pre-rally on the site, four days tour visiting Hualien, Fu-Hsing and Taipei, and the Asia-Pacific Rally. The rally programs such as the welcome party, the opening and closing ceremony, the international night, a variety of folklore performance and a disco were all spiced by the Taiwanese hospitality and fascinated 930 participants from seven countries.
The F.I.C.C. Rally 2001 in Norway
The green rally in the long, light nights
The Norwegian Caravan Club (NCC) hosted the 63rd International Rally in Selbu, Norway from June 27 to August 6, 2001. The rally site was situated partly on a peninsula and partly on an island in Lake Selbu which has a 2.5 kilometer-long sandy beach. The rally was participated in by 1800 campers from 25 countries, who were offered a unique opportunity to enjoy the genuine Norwegian nature in the long, light nights. Also for tihs time, Korea Camping Caravanning Federation sent a big delegation of 25 campers and took all opportunities to make presentaions for their International Rally 2002.
Commission Meeting
During the Rally the Commission had a meeting to discuss about the future policies of activitiy in the Asia-Pacific region.
The 10th National Camping Rally
Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of FCCC
FCCC (Formosa Camping & caravanning Club) held the 10th national camping rally from July 13 up to 16 in Sanxin Town, Ilan County, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the club. The number of the participants is 170 families (about 700 persons), also from Japan and the Republic of Korea. All of them had a good opportunity to renew their old friendship. Although Ilan County is called "the capital of water" due to much rain, the whole rally was blessed with the weather with fierce heat exceeding 30 degrees centigrade. A tour to the "Peaceful Mountain" with primeval forest was operated during the rally. It was amazing to travel through the bosom of the grand nature by a nostalgic train running on the railway laid at an altitude of 2000 meters.
Outdoor 2001
Aiming at the expansion of the outdoor leisure
Japan Auto Camping Federation held "Outdoor 2001" on April 28 and 19 at the open space in front of the National Yoyogi Stadium. 55 companies from the fields of camping utensils, automobiles, campsites, etc. were present for display. On the main stage set up in the center of the place, various programs were performed, such as a talk show, a classroom for family camping and Hawaiian band & hula. Also a special area for new types of sport was provided aiming at the expansion of the outdoor leisure. Here a lot of children challenged disk golf, target ball, kick skater and so on.
Symposium in Korea
Marking a new epoch in the camping
On February 21, KCCF held a symposium in Korea under the title of "The Settlement of Environment and Leisure Culture through 2002 International Camping & Caravanning Rally" in the National Press Center in Seoul. The audience of around 300 was not only citizens but also personalities from government, industry and press with two television stations and four newspapers. The purpose of the symposium was to discuss about the necessity of the camping & caravanning culture in Korea, and how people can carry out the camping activities in harmony with the natural environment. In his keynote speech Mr.Lars Dahlberg, President of F.I.C.C., stated the history of the federation and emphasized the value of the environmental conservation for further development of the camping culture. As the second speaker Mr.Kazuhiro Akase, Secretary of the Asia-Pacific Commission, addressed to the public about the Asian concept of the campsite which should take into account issues of environment and disaster. The symposium marked a new epoch in the history of camping in Korea.
Doctor's Degree
Mr.Morio Chen
On 28th November 2001, Mr.Morio Chen (57), Honorary Chairman of Formosa Camping & Caravanning Club, obtained the degree of the doctor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture by his dissertation on the history of camping in Taiwan. He had been studying for eight years at Tokyo Agricultural University in Japan as a visiting scholar.
Campsites as Disaster Shelter
Joint research project by Taiwan, Japan and Korea
The Asia-Pacific Commission established a research project on construction of campsites which will act as disaster shelters in emagensies like erthquake. It is urgent needs to build such campssites in the vicinity of big cities or reserve a plenty room for tent camping in the city parks. Such campsites may be essential in countries that are located in or along the volcanic zone in the Asian region. So the research should be carried out jointly by Taiwan, Japan and Korea. The first step of the project will be elaborating a concept of campsites as disaster shelters. The second step will be making model plans of those campsites. The third step will be appealing to the government of the relevant countires in order to put the plans into practice.
"The Campsite as Disaster Shelter" by Kazuhiro Akase
Asia-Pacific News No.6
The Asia-Pacific Commission published the Asia-Pacific News No.6 in January 2001 among others with the following contents:
