AOTS Journal 2018 SPRING No.12 (ENGLISH)

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JOURNAL14News from AOTS Alumni SocietiesThe National 5S Awards were presented at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange, Argentina, on November 23, 2017. The event was organized by the National 5S Award Committee, which consists of members from the Asociacion Argentina de Ex-becarios de la ABK y AOTS and other related governmental/private organizations. The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Japan, Mr. Noriteru Fukushima, who expressed a few words to the many attendees, of which we highlight: “I am very happy to be here, at this historical moment between our two nations, since the relationship between both has warmed a great deal. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after 57 years in which a prime minister did not come to this country, has visited Argentina and also President Macri has visited to Japan.We want to share our methodologies about 5S and Kaizen. We want to work together with many Argentine companies, and for that reason 100 have been chosen to share Kaizen under the project Kaizen Tango-Kaizen Technical Assistance Network for Global Opportunities.”Prior to the awarding ceremony, representa-tives from different organizations made speeches regarding their ideas and experience of adopting 5S. Among them, Mr. Roberto Degiovannini, President of AOTS Argentina, introduced the activity of 5S as “5S where? It is applicable, not only to companies but also to institutions: Public, private, NGO or other”, and he introduced that among the winners of the 5S awards in Peru, which he has just witnessed, was a school.Finally, it was time for the awarding cere-mony. Five companies were honored to be selected to receive Gold/Silver prizes for Category Great Organization, and Gold/Silver/Bronze prizes for Category of PyME (SME). Each of those invited to receive them made a presentation describing their company and giving details of the changes and improvements that had been obtained when applying the 5s.The event ended with the words of the President of the National 5S Award Committee, Mr. Alejandro Macri, from which we rescued the following:“More than 40 companies and organizations made inquiry for the application, and the participants here today in this cele-bration were selected. We had the honor of rewarding them for their excellence in quality, optimization of processes, and above all the magnicent work climate they have achieved. They have really understood that people are the ones who make the changes possible and can keep them in time.We hope that many more companies and organizations will try to follow this path of excellence and show their achievements during 2018.” The Golden Jubilee celebration of the Alumni Society of AOTS Kerala (ASA Kerala) was inaugurated by the Japanese Ambassador to India, H.E. Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu, at Nippon Kerala Centre, Kerala, India, on November 30, 2017. The Ambassador also inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Auditorium at the Centre.Nippon Kerala Centre, a building of about 30,000 Sq. Ft., was established through voluntary contributions and loans from members, supplemented by a few sponsorships. The Centre was built on a plot of one acre land granted to ASA Kerala by the Government of Kerala, on a long term lease, at a concessional rate, in recognition of the developmental activities and skill development programs undertaken by ASA Kerala. The National 5S Awards in ArgentinaGolden Jubilee celebration of Alumni Society of AOTS KeralaScene at the ceremonyFrom the left: H. E. Mr. Fukushima, four participants, Mr. Degiovannini and Mr. Macri