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A panel discussion featuring recipients of CWAJ scholarships who will share their experiences on how education has empowered their potential, careers, and leadership styles in their respective fields. The panel will consist of three scholarship recipients, each representing one of the three CWAJ Scholarship programs:
 Scholarship for Japanese Women to Study Abroad (established in 1972)
 Scholarship for the Visually Impaired (established in 1976, awarded to Japanese men and women with a visual impairment)
 Scholarship for non-Japanese Women to Study in Japan (established in 1981)
An interactive Q&A session will allow attendees to ask questions and delve deeper into the panelists’ perspectives on topics such as:
 Advice for students pursuing similar paths
 Strategies for improving work and social conditions for women and people with a disability
 And much more

【Reflection】
The CWAJ event was successfully completed. CWAJ appreciated the opportunity to share its organizational mission to support educational scholarships as a path for women and people with visually impairments to reach their full potential and contribute to the greater social good. The objective was to encourage the attendees to recognize the value of cultural exchange and seek such opportunities for themselves, including programs offered by CWAJ. Three past CWAJ scholars came from Tokyo to give their presentations about the value of their scholarships to attend a university of higher learning and the benefits of studying abroad. Our impression from the Q&A session and from attendees’ feedback is that the panelists’ talks were not only informative but very inspirational. Their experiences showed that higher education not only provides opportunity but also potential to explore and create new paths to meet social needs. Higher education can change one’s future, but also can change society.

CWAJ held two one-hour sessions for 80 people within the 11am-3pm time slot. We were told that we were the only group to do so. It was a challenge to organize but as a result, we were able to have nearly 160 people attend our panel discussion program, rather than 80. In addition to CWAJ members, we had 8 young volunteers who were very helpful. These young women and men were recruited by a past CWAJ scholar currently working at an EXPO pavilion. The WA Space staff were very supportive. They helped us enter EXPO under a tight timeframe. They provided good tech support, which we were not aware would be provided. Knowing this in advance would have been beneficial regarding showing slides and Power Point presentation. The venue is professionally designed and very appropriate and comfortable for presentations.

CWAJ is grateful to Cartier Japan for the invitation to participate in the WA Space, Women’s Pavilion in collaboration with Cartier.

【Post EXPO Initiatives】
CWAJ's participation in the EXPO Osaka-Kansai turned out to be a major PR event for CWAJ. As a 100 percent volunteer, not-for-profit organization, it is essential that we secure funding to support our mission of contributing to the community through scholarships and educational activities. To this end, it is critical that we raise funds to support our mission, as well as to ensure the success of the CWAJ Print Show, which is held every fall, with the net proceeds from sales going to the scholarship and educational programs. We would like to make efforts to enhance our visibility in Japan.

What became clear through this event was the power of the former CWAJ scholarship recipients. In the early stages of planning this event, three former CWAJ scholars readily agreed to participate in the EXPO Osaka-Kansai, and we were able to get off to a smooth start. Another former scholar who is currently serving as a youth ambassador at the U.S.A. Pavilion, agreed to moderate the Q&A session. She recruited eight more fellow staff from the USA and other pavilions to help out at our event. In the future, CWAJ should plan to hold more programs that feature our scholars.

The fact that CWAJ, a women-only organization, has been in existence for more than 75 years can be attributed to the fact that its members come from 25 different countries, making it a very international organization. When there are only Japanese members, people tend to be hesitant to express different opinions, but when the members are from diverse cultures, it is natural that they have different opinions, and lively discussions are held. Our challenge is to continue to increase the number of our members by highlighting the fact that by joining CWAJ, one can experience the benefits of such diversity, even though we are based in Japan.