To begin the proceedings, Ms. Kayoko Tominaga, representing Knots, greeted the audience and stressed the importance of shelter work. She also explained her long association with Kauai Island and how she first learned about Kauai Humane Society. She also reminded people of the commendable efforts of high school students from Kauai who took part-time jobs, such as car-washing, in order to send donations to Kobe City after the 1995 earthquake.

Following this, the symposium chairperson, Ms. Keiko Yamazaki was introduced. Ms. Yamazaki explained that 'marketing' and 'fund raising' are particularly important key words in shelter management. With this thought in mind, the symposium began.

Next in the program, Ms. Sanae Matsuda (Consultant for the Japan Animal Welfare Society, Hanshin Branch) reported about the activities of the 'CC Kuro' group which helps the adoption program at Kobe City Animal and Pet Management Center.

First, Ms. Matsuda showed some shocking images from the past and explained, 'the reason I want to show you unpleasant pictures from the old days is because I want to illustrate that, thanks to the cooperation between the Pet Management Center and our volunteers from CC Kuro, things have changed so much for the better. These pictures demonstrate that, if you don't give up, and keep going, things can improve significantly.' The grim photographs showed what conditions for the animals used to be like in the early days before authorities and CC Kuro volunteers were cooperating to facilitate adoptions. She said that, initially, it was not at all easy for government officials and volunteers from the public to work together. However, after many talks, each side began to understand the other and, gradually, a level of cooperation was achieved that has grown to the current activities that CC Kuro helps perform today.

Center staff train the dogs assigned for adoption and, today, between 100 and 120 dogs find new homes annually. All adult dogs are spayed or neutered before adoption, and the operation cost is subsidized by the Japan Animal Welfare Society and Kobe City Veterinary Association. Ms. Matsuda did say that 'there remains much room for improvement but we will continue to think of better ideas and we will never give up.' Coming from a person who has made some almost revolutionary changes and, as someone with such hands on experience, her words were most impressive and convincing.

The final panelist Mr. Teruhisa Kakinoki, Deputy Board Chairman of the NPO Ashiya Museum Management (AMM) talked about managing a non-profit making organization.

AMM was entrusted by the City Office to manage the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History. Mr. Kakinoki talked of the big challenge and effort required to manage the AMM organization under the current budget constraints. The budget is set by the government and decided by people with little understanding of real anagement or business issues. He also explained the specific characteristics of managing an art museum and about the difficulties of managing a Non Profit Organization overall.

When the situation is so severe, one of the keys to keeping management ongoing is to have a close dialogue with on-site staff. It is also important to set some goals that, while not easy to achieve, are possible, as well as having the right person in the right job. Furthermore, and common to any management operation, a good balance of income and expenditure is ssential. On the subject of business and management skills, Mr. Kakinoki also wanted to emphasize strongly that there are many NPOs run with almost no business or management knowledge behind them.