OVERVIEW OGAKI BIENNALE is an art event organized by IAMAS (Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences / International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences) . It is the new face of the "World Forum for Media Art and Culture", which has been held biannually since 1995 and will be held for the 5th time this year. OGAKI BIENNALE 2004 will consist of 3 main event categories. Workshops, which will be planned by IAMAS in cooperation with national and international educational institutions Symposia involving key fi gures from within Japan and overseas Museums of media art, using vacant buildings and spaces around the Ogaki Castle area Further, during the period of the event, the IAMAS student graduate exhibition IAMAS2004 will also be held. All sorts of other activities are planned, including concerts, performances and movie screenings. We plan to provide an interactive, hands-on event, fi lled with fun activities that participants can actively become involved in. This Year's Theme: SCHOOL OF FUTURES At present, we constantly hear about the "crisis" in schools. This has been caused by social change due to the rapid development of information technology. The progress of IT has led to a diverse range of information being made available everywhere, and schools are losing their unique value as a place for the transfer of knowledge. On the other hand, the human desire to gather in a particular location in order to learn about something is completely natural. We need to conceive of a SCHOOL OF FUTURES, which enables such natural desires to be met but which goes beyond the traditional framework. OGAKI BIENNALE 2004 is an attempt to create an image of a new place of learning appropriate for the information media age, using "art" as a key. We chose the title SCHOOL OF FUTURES because we wish to contemplate a range of possible futures rather than a single future.