By Nazario Rodriguez Jr.
Horizon news staff

A staff of the Bureau of Arts and Culture is the new recipient of a two-and-a-half-year educational scholarship grant given annually to Palauans by the Government of Japan.
The Japanese Embassy in Palau announced on Wednesday the acceptance of Loyola Darius as the new scholar under the Research Student (Postgraduate) Program, one of the three scholarships from the Government of Japan.
"I am really excited and very nervous because this will be a difficult experience in a different country besides the U.S.," Darius said before her departure on April 4. She had been to Japan once before on an official trip as BAC’s Historic Preservation Specialists under the Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs. (MCCA).
Darius will take up her master's degree in Cultural Resource Management at the Graduate School of Intercultural Studies of Kobe University.
She will be the 58th Palauan student to receive a full scholarship to pursue higher education in Japan.
Darius graduated from Palau High School in 1999 and went on to University of Hawaii in Hilo, HI where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication and Anthropology in 2003.
Upon her return, Loyola began her career at the BAC, where her main duty was to promote the education of the public regarding the importance of protecting and preserving cultural and historical resources of Palau.
Based on a press release from the Japan Embassy, this duty brought Darius to schools where she participated in teaching the students of Palau the significant value of Palau's resources.
The Embassy said that another very important duty for her to perform was the coordination of the Annual Historic Preservation Symposium.
During a media presentation, Junichi Hirose, Japan Embassy’s Advisor/Researcher, said that Darius was selected based on her background information that she had provided in the application form she submitted.
Hirose is an alumnus at Kobe Univ.
The Embassy said that "in performing these as well as other duties, Loyola learned that there are gaps in Palau's cultural resource management system. Another thing she noted was the lack of programs that encourage awareness and cooperation from community members,"
Darius believes that "culture is something that belongs to the people; (therefore) it is imperative that the community as a whole becomes involved in the process (of cultural resource management)."
Armed with this understanding, Loyola plans to do a comparative study of Palau and Japan in regards to the cultural resource management, specifically focusing on Shirakawamura Cultural Management Plan and the Palau Cultural Management Plan.
Upon acquiring her master's degree she plans to "continue working for the Bureau of Arts and Culture...to work with the community and the government in addressing challenges, and taking the right approach in preserving and protecting our cultural resources...to help maintain and utilize cultural resources even in the face of rapid economic development...and establish effective and beneficial approaches to preserve and protect our cultural resources for our present and future generations".
The Government of Japan offers three scholarships to Palauans on a yearly basis in the following areas: Postgraduate, Undergraduate, and Professional Training School. These scholarships cover all expenses including tuition and school fees, living allowances, and travel expenses to Japan. Last year's recipient was Ms. dilJune Etpison who is pursuing a master's degree in International Development focusing on education and human resources at Kobe University where Loyola will be conducting her studies as well.
The scholarship program became available to Palau in 1982 and to date, 57 Palauan students have partaken in this opportunity. Currently, there are five (3) Palauan students enrolled in Japan under these programs. Loyola will bring the total of Palauan students, who have participated or are participating in the Japanese Government Scholarship, to 58. The scholarship programs are part of the Government of Japan's continuing effort to assist Palau's developing human resources. Such programs aim to educate the scholarship recipients and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge so that they may return to Palau and utilize what they've learned to assist in the development of the Republic. For any person interested in the Japanese Government Scholarships, please contact the Embassy of Japan at 488-6455 beginning April 02, 2007 for information regarding scholarships for the 2008 school year.