I'm here to confirm what's been told: Ginevra will no longer partecipate in the World Cosplay Summit.
She made up her mind on her own after the recent events that hit Japan hard.
I absolutely respect her decision, even if mine is different... and so our paths divided.
I would like here to report what's been written already from Cosplay Planet and CosmoPlay.
I will keep the blog updated as soon as I recieve official comunications from both the Romics organization and the TV Aichi.
Most of all I would like to copy here the note that Ed Hoff has wrote not long ago.
The Challenge for Japan
We are experiencing trying times in Japan. I just came back from a trip to Tokyo where the atmosphere is quite different to Nagoya. It is more subdued, there are people in the streets going about their business as usual but Operation Yashima is in effect, the Yamanote Line train runs but the lights inside the trains are out, half of the illumination at night in Akihabara is turned off and signs for convenience stores are dark making you wonder if they are open at all.
I gathered with some cosplayer friends to construct costumes which everyone had set aside for 3 weeks. Each came with their own personal stories - cancelled travel plans to an event in China, leaving Tokyo to stay in Nagoya for a week at a hotel or volunteering time at a shelter in Ibaraki Prefecture making soba for the displaced. It was good for everyone to get their mind off of things momentarily and do something that comes very naturally to a cosplayer - making a costume.
Our talk did not dwell on the negative for long, discussion turned to what efforts could be made to improve things. We went out for dinner and talked about the importance especially now of buying things or eating at restaurants to help the economy. This may be a different approach to the situation than in other countries, mourning in Japan is done appropriately and over the long term but I found in my friends a strong desire to work through this difficulty now in a productive way. It's the reaction to these challenges that make Japan the country that it is. The stories that fill our favorite manga and anime come from living in an environment where natural and man made disaster is always a possibility. I was grateful to be beside my friends at that time and to see a hidden strength in them that is a part of what makes Japan the country we love.
I return to Nagoya which seems a world away it is peacefulness. Although there are people collecting funds at train stations or on TV and clothing donation places have been set up, there are no power shortage and life remains uncomfortably normal. We seem so close but technically are in the Western power grid separate from Tokyo and with Sendai being over 500 kilometers away we only felt light shaking during the earthquake. Over the last 3 weeks I have asked myself what I could do to help and I realize that just being in Japan beside my friends is a lot. I pour my time into activities with Tadaaki “Jacky” Dosai on the Prayers from Cosplayers project and the reaction from people in Japan has been amazing. This is a small thing I can do to give people the strength and emotional support to keep going.
Outside of Japan these nuances seem lost. We turn to the newspapers for our news but all we see are shocking images of a country in ruins. The sensationalized stories are not limited to any country as you can see on the Journalists Wall of Shame and Italian media too is suspect. Reporting like this shows us the ugly side of the news – it’s like they have turned their back on a friend of ours in order to sell a few more newspapers. Lost are the honest efforts of people trying to normalize their lives.
Within this climate we must make hard decisions. One question is whether it is right to go on with the WCS this year. As the cosplayers in Tokyo felt, moving forward is a small thing that we can do to help the economy recover and return a sense of normalcy. There is so much more that can be accomplished by doing something than by doing nothing. Another question is whether it is right to participate as an individual. Some cosplayers in Japan are momentarily halting activity in consideration of friend and family and this is a question that WCS representatives from each country may be asking themselves as well.
It is hard for me to say this and some people may not believe me but there are things in life that are more important than cosplay. Friends, family and well being are always paramount and decisions made on these factors must be supported. Japan will be fine, the WCS will be fine - in these tough times we must be supportive and understanding of personal choices. Daniela and Ginevra of Team Italy are making the same decision. I ask that friends and people who know them be close to both cosplayers and support their choices.
Italy has a strong and vibrant cosplay community. Now is the time for cosplayers to come together to do what you can in support of Japan and also support the hard efforts of Daniela and Ginevra. Respect their decisions and provide them with the strength they now need to move on. By so doing we can help create a stronger Team Italy. With this strength the cosplay community in your country will always be looked to as a power.
Do what you can to support, donate where you can, send a photo message of encouragement to Prayers from Cosplayers. Show Daniela and Ginevra that the entire cosplay community which makes up "Team Italy" is there to back them up in their choices. No matter what the form, you can be sure that the Italy representatives at the WCS will have double the support of cosplayers, staff and volunteers over the summer. Have no doubt too that the people of Japan will work harder than ever to pull through this situation and come out an even stronger country.
Edmund W. Hoff
