The Alumni Association’s Dream Competition (“Doricon”) 2016 took place on September 25th in the Alumni House. The Doricon is organized annually as a way for alumni to help current students realize their dreams, and this was its twelfth year. The JICUF has provided funding to the ICU Alumni Association for a “JICUF Prize” for several years. However, this year the Alumni Association agreed to change the name from the “JICUF Prize” to the “David W. Vikner Social Service Prize.” The prize is named in honor of Dr. Vikner, who served as JICUF president from 2002 to 2015.

This year the $2,000 prize was awarded to Miu Yamanaka, whose project is entitled “Trip to Bridge Myanmar and Japan.”

Miu is a junior student whose major is history and minor Asian Studies. Her interest in Southeast Asia was sparked when she took a course in Southeast Asian history in her sophomore year. When Miu had the opportunity to visit Myanmar this March, she met a woman at Shwedagon Pagoda who spoke fluent Japanese. She was shocked to find that this woman and many others who had an interest in Japan had never been able to visit Japan due to financial difficulties. Out of this experience was born Miu’s idea to invite students from Myanmar to ICU for a “Youth Conference for the Future of Myanmar and Japan.” Her hope is that the trip would lead to mutual understanding between the students from Myanmar and Japan.

Miu will work with Saki Naoi, a senior at Tamagawa Seigakuin Girl’s High School where Miu also attended secondary school. They will join the high school’s study tour to Myanmar in spring 2017 to screen and select four college students to participate in their project. They intend to seek help from student clubs and other groups at ICU to organize the Youth Conference in the fall, where they hope that students from both Japan and Myanmar will be able to discuss domestic issues in Myanmar. Miu and Saki also plan to seek advice from the Institute of Asian Culture Studies (IACS) and individual faculty members who specialize in Asian studies at ICU.

Asked what she plans to do after graduation, Miu answered that she isn’t sure yet. From her experience volunteering for World Vision Japan for two months, she learned how working for a non-governmental organization could be fulfilling yet extremely challenging. Since most NGOs do not recruit new graduates and require some work experience, Miu explains that she will keep NGOs and international organizations in mind as possible long-term goals. One thing she is sure of is that no matter what she chooses to do, she will continue to be involved in Myanmar and Southeast Asia in some way, and sustain the connections she cultivates through this project.

Congrats again, Miu! We look forward to following the development of your project. Information on the Dream Competition and other 2016 awardees can be found here.