Amaru's Journey to Japan
There also trying to win over the Japanese, read this article:
ATLANTA, GA – July 17, 2007 – Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) Project Managers Tre’ Maxie and Vern Cambridge, will embark on a week-long journey to Japan, from July 19 – 27, in order to foster relationships with the hip-hop and performing arts community in Tokyo. The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) principals are hoping to establish a cross cultural exchange program encouraging Japanese students to utilize the resources of TASCA in Atlanta, Georgia. Eventually the goal is to establish a working relationship with the people of Japan and to bring PAC’s Kids, a performing arts troop based in Georgia USA, to Japan.
“This will be our first foray to Japan and it promises to be a productive venture,” says Maxie. “At the Center, we receive letters and emails from supporters in Japan expressing how Tupac’s music and spirit has affected their lives. Japan continues to be one of Tupac’s top international markets in terms of product sales. In our continued efforts to catch up with the global impact of Tupac, we are humbled by the opportunity to share with the country of Japan, where hip hop is a booming form of expression and the performing arts flourish.”
While in Tokyo, Maxie and Cambridge will be taking an international business course entitled “Creating Strategy.” The course is offered through New York-based Columbia University’s International Executive Business School. In the last 15 years, the influence of hip hop culture and urban music in Asia has grown rapidly. Artists like Tupac Shakur helped pave the way for a formerly underground culture to find its place firmly planted at the fore of the mainstream. To expand on the TASF’s mission to promote the importance of youth performing arts programs, and capitalize on the growing interest of hip hop culture in the region, Maxie and Cambridge are reaching out to community programs in Tokyo in hopes of forging lasting relationships.
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Performing Arts is just outside Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The Center is dedicated to providing students, ages 12-18, with educational programs in the performing arts. It is a fact early arts education improves school performance, as well as offer invaluable life lessons while building self esteem and confidence. For nearly 10 years, the Center’s programs have served youth of all social and economic backgrounds, giving countless young people the courage to get off the streets and learn vital skills that have the potential to positively impact their communities.