Speaker and Organizational Profiles
Tomoko Yoshida – QQ and Respect Campaign: Dealing with issues involving international community health education, youth and HIV-AIDS.
http://qqsite.org/respect2006.html
Tomoko became interested in HIV/AIDS during college. She studied International Community Health Education at New York University and harm reduction in the Harm Reduction Coalition. Tomoko also interned at the International Organization for Migration in Cambodia. After coming back to Japan she took a job with Sunstar (private health care company) but continues her work as a youth-oriented health educator. She organized the first AIDS youth forum in Japan in 2003, and followed by organizing the RESPECT Campaign in 2006.
QQ* and Respect Campaign is a one-year long awareness raising campaign on sexual health and rights among young people. It focuses on empowering young people to RESPECT their body as a part of their life-decision through youth-oriented fun events and parties, as well as outreach in schools and on the website. The strength of this campaign lies in the think tank/laboratory approach, where youth implement their own ideas into events. One event was a club event with dancers, singers and other discussion took place. To encourage young people to be prepared when they go out, the entrance fee to the club event was reduced if youth brought a condom. They aim to educate in a fun way that directly relates to their target audience.
Chihiro Sakaeda – Resilience: An organization dealing with Domestic Violence.
http://www.resilience.jp
Chiharu is a Development Director at Resilience, an organization that supports survivors of domestic violence. At Resilience, Chiharu is in charge of producing and planning various special projects, as well as in coordinating development-related efforts.
Her past experience includes working at the Center for Education and Support of Women for over five years, where she organized trainings and conferences.
Resilience is an organization which aims to raise awareness around the issues of domestic violence. Most of Resilience's work consists of conducting trainings, presentations, and workshops, at a rate of over 100 events a year. Resilience also holds classes at high schools and colleges to promote insight and to prevent abusive relationships among youths. They also organize an annual study tour program to the United States, with themes that range from domestic violence and child abuse to grief care.
Kageki Asakura - Tokyo Shure: The oldest free school in Japan. http://www.shure.or.jp/english
Tokyo Shure was founded in June 1985 when the number of children refusing to attend regular school was increasing. Children who couldn’t handle the pressure of competition at public schools or who did not receive the special attention they required to be successful were often considered problem children. Some endured bullying. Many of them quit the public school system. Keiko Okuchi founded Tokyo Shure as a space where any child can be her/himself and succeed with the support of parents and other citizens. Nowadays, Tokyo Shure is known to as one of the oldest free schools in Japan.
At Tokyo Shure students are encouraged to build confidence and enrich their lives through failures and accomplishments with the support of staff and parents. Freedom and self autonomy are encouraged as well. Each student decides for themselves when to enroll, when to attend, what programs to take and when to graduate. However, most free schools in Japan are not recognized by the government and are not authorized to give certificates.
Tokyo Shure has three campuses in Tokyo. Children from 6 to twenty years old attend from Monday to Friday. There is also a support network, Home Shure, for families educating their children at home. Each month there are gatherings for these families.
Chisato Shiba – JOICFP
Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning. http://www.joicfp.or.jp/
Chisato has a B.A. in Policy Management from Keio University. She also earned a Diploma in Development Studies at the Institute of Development Economics, Advanced School (IDEAS). Following that she obtained an MA in Social Development at Sussex University. After working at a trading company, she joined JOICFP in 2006, following an interest in the empowerment of women in developing countries she developed while studying. She now works at Resource Development and Campaign Division in JOICFP, doing fund raising from civil society and supporting oversea projects from that fund.
JOICFP, Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning, conducts research on population and reproductive health including family planning (FP) as well as maternal and child health (MCH) in developing countries. JOICFP provides subsidies and other necessary assistance for research and other activities in developing countries, thus contributing to the enhancement of the well-being of the community. JOICFP promotes White Ribbon Activities for safe motherhood in countries such as Afghanistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Jocelyn Hasumi - The Philippine Women's League of Japan
http://japan.co.jp/~ystakei/pwl1.html
Jocelyn hails from Manila in the Philippines. She is currently the President of the Philippine Women’s League of Japan (PWLJ). She has been living and teaching in Japan for 22 years. She graduated from Polytechnic University with a degree in Accounting and obtained her CPA. She has worked at Fuji Film in the International Sales and Marketing Division and most recently works as an ALT at a Saitama High School. Ms. Hasumi is pursuing a Peace Education Certificate course under Dr. Betty Reardon. She is also teaches community classes on the weekends, and is a member of a variety of associations including Toastmasters, Saitama Association of Global Awareness, and a volunteer at POLARIS, an anti-trafficking group.
The Philippine Women’s League of Japan is a non-partisan, non-political and non-profit Filipino organization of female citizens and former citizens of the Philippines residing in Japan, either temporarily or permanently. It was established in August 1986. Their objectives are to serve as a voice of the Filipino community in Japan; to embark on projects for the improvement of the reputation of Filipinos, especially women living in Japan; to promote goodwill and understanding with the Japanese people and other foreign groups; to help eradicate the negative feelings and attitudes of Filipinos by encouraging the feeling of comradeship and the unique Filipino spirit of bayanihan (empathy) among the Filipinos in Japan; to uphold the ideals and virtues of Filipino womanhood; and to provide legal and other necessary assistance or help to Filipino women in distress.
Although the majority of the members are Filipino women married to Japanese nationals, the organization is open to all women regardless of their marital status, religion, political affiliation, and even nationality as long as they can prove themselves useful in carrying out our objectives for the welfare and interest of Filipino women in Japan.
Moderator:
Sarajean Rossitto - PSC Convener, Nonprofit NGO Consultant
http://people-for-social-change-forum.blogspot.com/
Sarajean is an activist committed to progressive social change and is currently a Tokyo-based nonprofit NGO consultant. Her current projects focus on three areas: Skills development (doing courses and trainings for JICA, Temple University Japan, The Japan Foundation, The Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention) and linking organizations (the Asia Foundation CSR seminar series, Morgan Stanley Community programming development). She is the Tokyo representative for a number of US-Japan nonprofit projects and spent close to 4 years coordinating bilateral exchange of community-based nonprofit professionals between the US and Japan for Japan-US Community Exchange (JUCEE).
People for Social Change was founded in the spring of 2005 with the aim of getting more individuals involved locally to affect change from the grassroots up. People for Social Change facilitates people moving beyond issue awareness to actualize social change. It does this through forums for skills development, networking events and projects aimed at linking people to social change programs.
