To commemorate the opening of our Japan office on the  ICU campus, JICUF held a series of opening events in mid-May. One of the events was a showcase of JICUF grant projects. We asked our student ambassadors to interview the participants. Please enjoy below the interviews conducted by Chiemi Linda Saito.

Chiemi Linda Saito (Photo by Naoki Beppu)

1.“Compost Project” Yumiko Maruyama (Undergraduate Student)

Undergraduate students and members of the ICU Compost club, Nanako Watanabe and Kanami Suzuki, who participated in the field trip, were interviewed for this article.

Chiemi: Where did you visit on your field trip to Kyushu?
Nanako: First, we visited a farmer who worked with high school students in Minamiaso Village, Kumamoto Prefecture. We harvested carrots, cooked and ate them together, and learned about natural organic farming. Then we visited a ryokan (Japanese inn) in Kurokawa Onsen, Oita Prefecture, that practiced composting . We asked the ryokan staff about how they introduced composting to a society that was much  bigger than a school, how composting was accepted, and how everyone worked together. Finally, we visited the compost club of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture. We worked with members of the club and learned about how the food cycle and the farming were implemented at the university.

Chiemi: What did you learn from participating in the field trip?
Nanako: Throughout the whole trip, I learned about how agriculture and composting were integrated in the community and how they functioned within the community. At the same time, I realized how difficult it was to do composting continuously. How composting works on campus and in the outside world is quite different. I learned about the potential of composting, what issues existed, and what was needed to solve them.
Kanami: I was able to learn about how to make use of our compost. Personally, learning from APU’s compost circle about how to connect composting and farming was valuable. After hearing about their work, we started doing field work on campus.

Chiemi: Have you started anything new as a circle after the field trip?
Nanako: We started farming. We also took the compost to a farmer in Mitaka and he now uses it to grow crops. One of the most recent activities has been collecting food scraps from the cafeteria which we started this  April.

Chiemi: Finally, is there anything you want to tell the ICU community?
Nanako: Exciting things happen when you meet new people off campus.  Meeting people outside the university environment is hard to come by, but JICUF’s support made these meetings possible.
Kanami: We believe that the support we received has made our activities easier. We were allowed to use the grant money for field trips, but we also used it to pay for tools and printing event posters. It has saved us a lot of time and effort and allowed us to try many different things.  The JICUF grant broadened the range of our activities.

2.“Succeeding in Academia” and the “Sounds of Southern Bantu” Professor Seunghun Lee

Graduate student Rina Furusawa, who participated in the program, was interviewed for this article.

Chiemi: What did you do in the “Sounds of Southern Bantu” workshop?
Rina: We had a workshop and presentation by Professor Andries Coetzee from the University of Michigan. He talked about his research on African languages. Students in ICU’s linguistic department are unfamiliar with Bantu languages, so we were excited to learn about them.

Chiemi: As a native Japanese speaker, what did you think about this workshop and presentation about the sounds of Africa?
Rina: It was very interesting because it focused on the variation of the language. When we study linguistics at ICU, language variation is not the main focus. Rather, we look for universal elements. Here, we analyzed the variation in languages from the generative linguistic perspective. Bantu languages are very different from the Japanese language, so getting to know a new language and system was very interesting.

Chiemi: What were the key takeaways from the lecture?
Rina: After the lecture, I decided to focus my research on variation. Japanese too has many intra-speaker variations, so I became very interested in that aspect of language.  I can say that this workshop influenced my research topic.

Chiemi: What was the content of the “Succeeding in Academia” workshops by Professor Coetzee?
Rina: Students from different majors participated in the workshops. We learned about the US higher education system and application process at the “How to Apply to Graduate Schools in the USA” workshop. At the “Demystifying Academic Journal Publication” workshop, we learned about the paper submission process. Professor Coetzee, who earned his doctorate in the USA and evaluates graduate school applications, shared his expertise as a former editor of a linguistics journal. He explained the review process, clarifying what happens after submission. As a second-year master’s student planning to submit papers and consider doctoral programs in the USA, I found this workshop very helpful for my future. 

3.“Queer Belongingness: Exploring the Role of Physical Spaces for Queer Women and Trans People in Japan” Ana Tatton (Doctorate Student)

Chiemi: Could you tell us what your research is about?
Anna: I am researching the importance of physical spaces for queer women and trans people in Japan by visiting grassroots spaces that are created by and for the community, largely through non-profits. These physical spaces include book clubs, social groups, conversation spaces, activist circles, etc. I began my fieldwork in May 2023. After getting little response from groups I had emailed, I decided to go to small pride events in Aomori, Tokushima, Shimane, and Hokkaido prefectures.

There, I met many people from different groups and interviewed them. I examined the differences between the Tokyo metropolitan area and other regions during the fieldwork. I also thought about how much stronger the connections between people are in physical spaces versus online spaces, and what physical spaces can provide that online spaces can not.

Chiemi: What made you interested in this topic?
Anna: I focused on a similar topic for my master’s thesis, studying a group called “Lesbians of Undeniable Drive” (LOUD) in Nakano. They recently shut down after having been active for 30 years. I wanted to think about the importance of community spaces. There is a lot of research on queer spaces in Japan based on Nichome  (LGBTQ district in Shinjuku) or the nightlife scene, but few focus on other types of community spaces integrated within the broader community. Moreover, the research on other types of community space tends to focus on a single space and not look at how multiple spaces are connected, so I wanted to address that and highlight the work people are doing in various spaces.

Chiemi: What kind of spaces did you visit during your research?
Anna: Conversation spaces for parents who have LGBTQ children and groups of same-sex couples with children are examples. Some of the spaces I visited had a long history, whereas others were new.

Chiemi: Were there professionals supporting the LGBTQ community in the groups you visited?
Anna: Some NPOs or projects are working directly with society to make a more open and better environment for LGBTQ people. For example, some NPOs run hospital projects and teach the staff how to address the needs of LGBTQ people. Other projects work with schools to talk about the issues trans children face and prepare teachers and school districts how to create a more inclusive environment.

Chiemi: What were the takeaways from this research, and what are your goals for the future?
Anna: I learned how vital physical spaces are for queer people. People do not go to physical spaces because their families are likely to find out about their sexual identity. However, they can attend online meetings without raising any suspicion. In physical spaces, there is a heightened sense of connection with other people and they allow for chance encounters to happen. Both types of spaces have a function, and both are necessary; many physical places are in danger of closure.
In the future, I want to influence policy decisions to fund spaces and groups to show how vital they are, especially for people who do not have legal protection.

4. “Peace in Action: Youth G20 Summit in Varanasi, India” Elizabeth Gamarra (Graduate PhD Student)

The Youth G20 Summit in Varanasi is one of the G20’s youth-engaging activities. In this Summit, youth leaders from G20 countries discussed and proposed solutions to relevant global challenges.

Chiemi: What were the highlights of the Youth G20 Summit Youth Branch in India?
Elizabeth: I represented the American delegation, a group of five people with their own expertise. At the Summit, I met people from each participant country. I learned from their perspectives and priorities, which are different from the US perspective. It was eye-opening. One of the products of this meeting was a document with many policy recommendations that we want to push to the G20. We also had the opportunity to meet Indian students, diplomats, and government officials and talk about the issues in their country.

Chiemi: Who participated in the Summit?
Elizabeth: Participants were mainly young professionals who worked for the government, lawyers, consultants, lawyers, medical doctors, and a few students. It was a mix of young professionals and minority students.

Chiemi: What kind of topics did you discuss?
Elizabeth: Among the five topics discussed at this Summit, I was in charge of the Peacebuilding and Reconciliation round. The other four topics were the future of work, climate change and disaster risk reduction, shared future, and health, well-being and sports. Specifically, policies on peace education, space exploration,  research on peace policies, and women empowerment were matters the Youth G20 participants wanted to prioritize at the Peacebuilding and Reconciliation round.

Chiemi: How was this Summit different from other conferences you have attended?
Elizabeth: In most conferences, you go to have discussions, but in the Summit, you go with a goal, which is to draft a document with final policies. It was an environment in which everyone was determined to find common ground.

Chiemi: What topics did everyone agree were priorities?
Elizabeth: Environment was the most significant focus. For example, how to tackle air pollution, raise environmental awareness, enhance collaboration between local governments, international organizations, and grassroots organizations to fund environmentally driven projects, and create forums more accessible for youth so they can have a voice. Education was also a central topic; many countries think education is the world’s future. Finally, showing consistency in discussing possible solutions to address these challenges is something that everyone thought was important.

Chiemi: Why do you think it is important for young people to participate in global fora?
Elizabeth: Young people have much experience, expertise, networks, and ideas for approaching issues. Many of them have initiatives that they started at their universities and home countries. The friendship that you establish is a big part of participating in summits like this. “Friendship builds diplomacy, diplomacy builds action in synergy.”

Chiemi: What were the takeaways from participating in the Y20 Summit?
Elizabeth: Negotiation was harder than I thought, but I realized it was essential to the policy process. There is a quote that says, “If you know how to write the other person’s victory speech, then you are in a good place to negotiate.” This means you get to know the other person’s point of view. To understand the point of view of other participants, I had to read a lot and learn about the history of their countries. Also, I learned the process of writing a policy recommendation. Finally, friendships are a very important part of the Summit.

Chiemi: Finally, do you have a message for ICU students?
Elizabeth: I encourage students to not shy away from opportunities that give you the platform to enhance your voice and represent the priorities of your community or country.

5) “Building a culture of dialogue among youth & advocacy for their inclusion in society decision making” Apollo Ssenyange (Undergraduate Student)

AFS Youth Assembly is an international event for young people to discuss solutions for global social and environmental challenges, promote intercultural understanding, and develop leadership skills.

Chiemi: Could you tell us about your participation in the 28th AFS Youth Assembly?
Apollo: One thing I did was amplify youth voices and advocate for active and meaningful solutions to societal issues. At forums such as the UN High-Level Political Forum and Athens Democracy Forum, I informed policymakers that there was a need for agency for young people and to shift society. The norm has been for youth organizations to be created by adults employing young people. But we do not want adults to work for youth but rather, with youth. We want young people to be included in the implementation process, and at this conference, I had the opportunity to talk with policymakers and diplomats to include young people.

Chiemi: What inspired you to advocate for young people making their voices louder?
Apollo: It comes from personal experience. When I graduated from high school, I wanted to solve community issues, and at that time, I tried to apply for internships with different NGOs back in my country. I was rejected because I was young and apparently had no experience. In Uganda, 80% of the population is below 35. I realized that 80% of the population lacks the opportunity to tackle social issues. so I thought that 80% of the population would not have been given the chance to solve these problems. That motivated and inspired me to create the NGO Signals from the Grassroots. This organization aims to mobilize young people between 12 to 35 years old to make change and not give up because we are denied opportunities. I believe we just have to work together, experienced adults and young people, because there are so many problems that cannot be solved alone.

Chiemi: What are the differences between Japan and your country regarding young people speaking out?
Apollo: Japan is a peaceful, advanced, and democratic country. The demographics are different because Japan has an aging population, whereas Uganda is burdened with a large  youth population. But in Japan, unlike Uganda, there are jobs. When people graduate, they are assured jobs. In Uganda, young people do their undergrad, master’s, PhD, and after graduation, there are no jobs. So that makes them sad about the employment system, and they lose motivation. That is why youth back in my country are more desperate to engage in the steering of the society than Japanese people.

Chiemi: What did you learn after being part of the AFS Youth Assembly?
Apollo: I learned a lot, but mostly, it was an experience because I met policymakers and diplomats. People who shape policies and systems across the world. So after coming back, I tried to connect them with my organization to provide  internship and volunteer opportunities to young people. This is because I was convinced that the diplomats and policymakers would provide the youth a hands-on experience to shape the policies or work with the community to solve social problems. That experience and the network they cultivate are critical. I also learned about the UN and how it worked. Moreover, I made connections that would help me achieve my goal of providing young people with the opportunity to change society.

Chiemi: What kind of projects does your NGO implement?
Apollo: Our vision is to put young people at the center of championing the world. Each young person has a different passion, and this organization helps them pursue their respective passions. An example of our project is “Keeping Her in School With A Reusable Sanitary Pad.” We are trying to fight for girls’ right to education. There is period poverty in Uganda; there is an alarming statistic that 5 million girls drop out of school because of period poverty. This project aims to distribute 2,000 reusable sanitary pads and 1,000 antibacterial soaps to 1,000 girls.

Chiemi: How do you feel after participating in the AFS Youth Assembly?
Apollo: Assisting the AFS Youth Assembly was a great experience. I realized I can do much more to achieve my dream. Now, I am doing new projects, taking inspiration from what I got and from the network. I’m more optimistic about the future. In the future, I want to expand this project and organization. We are now aiming to establish university networks.

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Interviewing these five individuals provided valuable insights into the diverse and impactful projects supported by JICUF grants.