The National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology and Tsukuba College of Technology conducted a haiku competition at their respective institutions in 2001 and 2002. The contest was named for Dr. Robert F. Panara, a renowned deaf poet, actor, and educator. Professor Jerome Cushman of NTID and Professor Midori Matsufuji of TCT were the faculty leaders of this competition which was sponsored by PEN-International.
A descriptive video of the competition was prepared for display on the two-story television screen on The Nippon Foundation Building located in the Akasaka District of Tokyo. In February 2003, the video was premiered on the video screen. It will continue to be shown until the end of March 2003.
