THE KIRA INSTITUTE AND
THE NEWLY FOUNDED KIRA INSTITUTE JAPAN
A SYMPOSIUM ON:
“THE FUTURE OF VIRTUAL WORLDS: THE POSSIBILITIES FOR SCIENCE AND
CIVIL SOCIETY”
An Academic International Conference by Avatars
Linking New York (February 23rd, 8PM) and Tokyo (February 24th, 10AM)
On February 24 (Japanese time), the Kira Institute celebrated its 12th birthday with an international symposium entitled, "The Future of Virtual Worlds: the Possibilities for Science and Civil Society" conducted in both New York and Tokyo where the Kira Campus in Second Life will be shown on a big monitor screen at the Uchida Yoko Tokyo Shinkawa Office. The symposium included speeches by American and Japanese researchers on scientific research and education that incorporates the three dimensional virtual realm as well as a panel discussion (see below for details).
In the Kira Café of Second Life, the proceedings of a lively discussion held between Japanese researchers logging in as avatars from the Tokyo forum and the American researchers logging in from New York were displayed on a life-size monitor screen in Tokyo. This first ever publicly open international conference simultaneously connected the virtual-world and the real-world as an experimental endeavor exploring the possibilities of virtual communication.
Program:
Opening Remarks by Piet Hut: "Possibilities of the Virtual Realm and Scientific Research"
Piet Hut is Professor of Astrophysics and Head of the Program in Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (Avatar Name: Pema Pera)
“Neurological Interface and the Virtual Realm”
Dr. Junichi Ushiba is Assistant Professor of Life Information Science at Keio University Department of Engineering (Avatar Name: Ousshy Jun)
“Possibilities of Virtual Worlds for Civil Society”
Eiko Ikegami, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at The New School for Social Research (Avatar Name: Kiremimi Tigerpaw), Kira Japan Representative
Symposium Members:
Piet Hut , Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Hideo Yamazaki Senior Researcher Nomura Research Institute.
Masahiro Matsuura, Visiting Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy,
Junichi Ushiba, Assistant Professor, Keio University Department of Science and Technology
Moderator: Eiko Ikegami, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology,
The New School for Social Research (New York),
Date: Tokyo (February 24th, 10AM)
Place: Uchida Yoko, Tokyo Shinkawa Office, 3F
03-3555-4778
Tokyo metro: Hibiya line, Hachobori Station, exit A4, walk in four minutes
References:
About the Institute 
