Co-creating Cultures for the Future Week
The Power of JICA volunteers
-Change the World, Change Japan-
The Second session：Creation of a Multicultural and
Inclusive Society
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Over the past 60 years, more than 56,000 Japanese have been dispatched to 99 developing countries to work as Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer(JICA Volunteers) for two years. After returning to Japan, many EX-volunteers contribute to solving social and global issues in Japan. Today we have two sessions with EX-volunteers, experts and local goverments to explore what can do to revitalize local communities and realize a multicultural and inclusive society.
Discussion
- Local community revitalisation
- Multicultural coexistence
| Transmission of simultaneous interpretation | Provided |
|---|---|
| Language of interpretation | Japanese and English |
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Agenda2025
Participation Programme
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Time and
Date of
the event -
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2025.04.25[Fri]
14:00 ～ 16:00
(Venue Open 13:30)
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- Venue
- Theme Weeks Studio
Programme details
Number of the migrant workers in Japan has increased year by
year to more than 2 million people in 2023. It is becoming
necessary to create a multicultural and inclusive society
where people from various countries and Japanese people can
work and live together. Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA), an incorporated administrative agency in charge of
implementing ODA, is supporting socioeconomic development in
developing countries in different regions of the world. JICA
Volunteers program will celebrate its 60th Anniversary in
2025, and more than 56,000 JICA volunteers have been
dispatched to date and worked with local people to solve
problems in their communities in 99 countries and regions. It
is precisely because they have spent two years in developing
countries as minority foreigners that they can contribute to
the creation of a multicultural and inclusive society in
Japan.
Through two sessions of panel talks, we will discuss how JICA
Volunteers have contributed to the internationalization of the
local communities in Japan after their return to their home
region, and what role Ex-Volunteers can play in building a
multicultural society.
The First session (from 10:30 to 12:00 tentative): Promoting
Regional Internationalization
The Second session (fromt14:00 to 15:30 tentative): Creation
of a Multicultural and Inclusive Society
Reports
【Reflection】
In the first session, we discussed "Promoting Regional
Internationalization," and in the second session, we
focused on "Creation of a Multicultural and Inclusive
Society."
Based on the activity examples shared by each speaker, we
explored changes in trends related to regional revitalization
and multicultural coexistence in Japanese society, and
expectations for society and Returned Volunteers in the
future.
For more details, please watch the archived videos.
Session 1:
https://www.expo2025.or.jp/expo-archive/theme-weeks/program/detail/6719fe0f39de7.html
Session 2:
https://www.expo2025.or.jp/expo-archive/theme-weeks/program/detail/6736fa4998e80.html
【Post EXPO Initiatives】
This year marks the 60th anniversary of JICA Volunteer
Program. One of the main objectives of our program is the
"social return of volunteer experience." As
highlighted in the first and second sessions of this program,
the experiences of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers
living as minorities overseas and their efforts to build trust
within communities are being utilized in addressing both
domestic and international issues. Many Returned Volunteers
continue to make significant contributions across various
regions.
As social issues diversify both domestically and
internationally, the importance of "social return of
volunteer experience" is increasing. In recent years, new
initiatives have been launched in collaboration with local
governments and related organizations. These include the
"GLOCAL Program," which offers opportunities for
Trainees to participate in regional revitalization and
multicultural coexistence efforts as on-the-job training
before their overseas dispatch, and the "JICA Social
Entrepreneur Project BLUE," which supports Returned
Volunteers aiming to solve social issues through
entrepreneurship.
Cast
Moderator
Mr. Takuya Otsuka
Director General of the Secretariat of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
He joined JICA after conducting graduate research on remote islanders in Papua New Guinea. After joining the Agency, he was stationed overseas in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, and served as head of the Human Resources Planning Division in the Human Resources Department, head of the General Planning Division in the Planning Department, and head of the Chairman's Office. In March 2025, he was appointed Director General of the Secretariat of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
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Speakers
Ms. Sahel Rosa
Actress, EXCELLING inc.
Born in Iran, she spent the first seven years of her life in an orphanage before moving to Japan at the age of eight. After playing the lead role in “The Respectful Prostitute”, she won the Best Actress Award at the Milan International Film Festival for her performance in “Cold Floor”. Her directorial debut film, “Hanataba”, was released in 2024. Furthermore, she is actively involved in personal philanthropic work and was awarded the Humanitarian Award in the U.S. in 2020.
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Mr. Toru Taya
Representative Director, Noen Taya Farm
M.A. (Rural Sociology), Institut Pertanian Bogor University (IPB), Indonesia. He participated in JICA Volunteer program and he was dispatched to Indonesia in 1997. After returning to Japan, he started farming in Fukui Prefecture in 2006 and has been accepting Indonesian technical intern trainees since 2008. For more than 15 years, he has been implementing initiatives to simultaneously realize the growth of Indonesian youth and secure workers for local agriculture, and his efforts have become a model for others to follow. Received the 8th JICA President Award.
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Ms. Nii Midori
NPO Citizen’s Network for Global Activities (CINGA)
At NPO “CINGA (Citizen’s Networks for Global Activities)” a professional group specialized in multilingualism and multiculturalism, she organized community-based Japanese Language classes and delivers counseling for foreign residents, works as a community interpreter, and conducts research and coordinates projects in the areas of “YASASHII Japanese (easy Japanese) ”. After working at the Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, she has been in her current position since 2011.
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Co-creating Cultures for the Future Week
The Power of JICA volunteers
-Change the World, Change Japan-
The Second session：Creation of a Multicultural and Inclusive
Society
Over the past 60 years, more than 56,000 Japanese have been dispatched to 99 developing countries to work as Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer(JICA Volunteers) for two years. After returning to Japan, many EX-volunteers contribute to solving social and global issues in Japan. Today we have two sessions with EX-volunteers, experts and local goverments to explore what can do to revitalize local communities and realize a multicultural and inclusive society.
-
2025.04.25[Fri]
14:00～16:00
(Venue Open 13:30)
- Theme Weeks Studio
OTHER PROGRAM
Co-creating Cultures for the Future Week
