On Tuesday, November 18th, the Akiho Laboratory Faculty of International Studies of Culture Department of International Studies of Culture, and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) co-hosted the "JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Seminar" at our university, with approximately 100 students participating.
This seminar is aimed at students who are interested in international cooperation and wish to work for international organizations, NGOs, or NPOs. It aims to provide an opportunity for them to hear from people who actually work in the field of international cooperation and understand the specific work involved and the social issues that lie behind it.
The event began with an explanation of the JICA Overseas Cooperation Volunteers program by Katsuya Nakamoto, a domestic cooperation officer in the Kyushu Citizen Participation Cooperation Division, and how to get involved. Next, Naoki Toyoda, who served as a baseball volunteer in Kenya, shared his experiences. Toyoda traveled to Kenya at the request of the Kenya Baseball Federation to "popularize baseball in Kenya." He spoke of the various activities he undertook over the two years he spent there, including visiting schools, teaching baseball in physical education classes and after-school hours, providing coaching training to local high school students, and touring elementary schools with them.
Toyoda said, "Now is the time to think about your career and future path, but I want you to pursue what you want to do. If you live your life as you are, without being bound by your own values or common sense, I think you will naturally find the path you have envisioned, so first of all, try out a variety of things." During the question and answer session after the lecture, questions were asked about what was difficult about the activities and about career development after the dispatch.
Yasutake Sakamoto (Miyakonojo High School), a first-year student in the same department who participated in the seminar, said, "After hearing from people who have actually been involved in the activities, I wanted to get involved myself." Sawa Nishida (Genkai High School), a third-year student in the same department, commented, "I only knew the name of JICA, but I was very glad to learn more about their activities this time. It will be useful for me in the future."
[Faculty of International Studies of Culture]
