To help transition Japan to a peace promoting post-carbon country while enjoying every step of the process. 僕のビジョンは、祖国日本で、平和文化を育みポストカーボン（Post-Carbon) 社会を促進してゆく事です。 化石燃料や原子力に頼らず、他国の資源を取らない、自給自足な国へのトランジションを実現させてゆきたいです。
Showing posts with label youth empowerment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youth empowerment. Show all posts
今年もやるよ！ プラムヴィレッジからのお坊さん４名をお招きして、 若者たちの瞑想会を開催！！ 5/10（日）は原宿駅に集まれ★ Friends, join us for a Wake Up flash mob meditation and gathering with Plum Village monks and nuns on the 10th of May at Harajuku Bridge in Tokyo! Young people of all ages are welcome. Bring a vegetarian potluck dish to join us for lunch. SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS ■Wake Up！って？？ 欧米の若者達が始めた運動で、マインドフル（意識的）に生きようとする若い人たちが一緒に瞑想したり、悩みを共有したり、希望のある新しい社会を創造したりする集まりです。10代から30代が中心ですが、それ以外の方も参加可能です。 以下は詳細↓ English below ＜だいたいのスケジュール＞ ※変更になったら、その都度お伝えします※ 11:20 原宿駅に集合 11:30 原宿橋にてフラッシュモブ瞑想 鐘がなったら開始だよ 11:50 瞑想終了→公園へ移動(歩く瞑想） 12:30 食べる瞑想（おにぎり交換会） 13:30 ミニシェアリング＆歌をうたおう♪ 14:00 横になる瞑想 15:00 シェアリング 16:00 マインドフルネスアワーにjoin♪U-streamで世界中の人と同時瞑想！！ 17:00 解散
11:20 Gather at Harajuku 11:30 Flashmob meditation at Harajuku bridge (harajukubashi). We will start when the bell rings!
11:50 Flashmob ends and we will do walking meditation to park 12:30 Eating meditation (rice ball exchange and potluck) 13:30 Mini-sharing and singing 14:00 Total Relaxation 15:00 Sharing 16:00 Join into "Mindfulness hour" meditate with people around the world 17:00 DOM ends
* Things to bring * If you can, please bring two or more vegetarian onigiris (rice balls) for potluck. Other vegetarian dishes and desserts are welcome! Something to lie down on (e.g. yoga mat) We will be out all day so please bring sun protection (hat, sunscreen)
Donations are welcome!
* Additional Information * Any changes will be posted on this page (FB) If the weather is cloudy or lightly raining, please bring an umbrella For the flashmob, please sit on the edges so as not to disturb traffic When you hear the bell at 11:30, please find a place to sit down and meditate You are welcome to arrive late or leave early, but please let us know
Hello hello
So much going on as usual! Japan and the world is changing rapidly, and I get to be in the exquisite interaction of chaos and harmony.
I have a passion for youth activism, and have kept my antennas out for youth driven movements in Japan, particularly around nuclear power. I offer free training and donation based workshops in hope that I can help enhance their ability to make change. One of my favorites is going on retreat into the only village in Tokyo (up in the mountains), and spend two days doing Nonviolent communication (NVC) workshops, living NVC together, and other fun activities such as building a fire together for the traditional bath. Super fun.
Anyways, some of those friends are working on getting more students involved in activism, and most recently, protesting the secrecy law (aka secret protection law) that has just passed. Their adding a hip hop flare to the protest scene, and making it more fashionable. We'll see how it grows. The media and government are advertising the threat of China, pushing for a bigger military budget, and passing laws that are important for a military agenda. Here we go again.
PS I've been really busy with my Japanese targeted projects so my Living Permaculture blog hasn't been as active. If you want to see what I'm up to, check out Tokyo Urban Permaculture. You might need a human or robotic translator though.
4/15 NEWS UPDATE: we were planning to move to the US but had a major setback so looks like we will be in Japan for at least another year. What a shocker! Everything has its purpose.... Hi Everyone
Apologies for the sporadic updates. I’ve been focusing a lot of energy on various projects and haven’t spent much time organizing my thoughts and writing. But I have lots of exciting new things to share so here we go!
BIG NEWS 1!!! Moving to the West Coast of the US around May 27th.
After two and a half years activating Tokyo, I am now ready to return to the West Coast to further my growth and reconnect with nature and social change inspiration. The initial reason for moving is the Nonviolent Communication Leadership Program I enrolled in this year. It is a year long program with intensive retreats in January, June, and November. The May 27th date is to arrive early for the June retreat (more on that later). Another big reason for moving is that my new partner is struggling with the cold winters, highly common “sugi” (cryptomaria) pollen fever, and the oppressive business culture in Japan.
While I’ve come to enjoy Tokyo for all the interesting people and exciting movements, I’ve noticed how little I exercise now, engage with nature, and “stop” (my TEDx talk on the topic was primarily directed toward me). As Satish Kumar said, we are not human doings, but human beings. Right now, I’m more of a human doing. Its time for me to deeply reflect on life again, and practice “being peace” (Thich Naht Hanh).
At the moment, we're planning to WWOOF with my good friends at the Freys Biodynamic Vineyard in Redwood Valley. Then I'll head to the Bullocks Permaculture Homestead in Orcas Island to meet with my Bullocks family and do a revolutionary permaculture tour for Japanese. At some point, we’re looking for a place to settle somewhere in the warmer part of the West Coast or Hawaii. Searching for a community to practice healing, permaculture, NVC, mindful living, and social change on a local and global scale. Southern Japan might be an option too, as well as other places, but right now the US is our main candidate.
BIG NEWS 2!!! A beautiful book on Sustainable Living and Permaculture was published including my articles!
Sustainability [R]evolution was recently published and I just got my copies. It was a global community project and I had the opportunity to contribute articles and pictures on the Bullocks Permaculture Homestead, City Repair in Portland, Maa Bueng Ecofarm in Thailand, chinampa agriculture, and natural farming in Japan. Its a really beautiful book with tons of info so check it out!
BIG NEWS 3!!! Three (and more) books in the making!!!
BOOK 1: As a parting gift, I am making my own book on urban permaculture. I’ve had several wonderful past workshop participants join to create a team for this book making project. It will be the first book on urban permaculture in Japan. I’ve never made a book so it will be an interesting experiment. We also want to hold the spirit of gift economy and so besides the designer (very time-consuming work), many of us are doing it “just for the love of it” (Mark Boyle)!
BOOK 2: One of the writers wanted to write a book about me so we are talking about making a book just about my life and the many paths that I have been skipping along. This will probably be published by a publisher and the Urban Permaculture book will most likely be self/crowd-published. More on that to come.
BOOK 3: The other book is targeting university students to provide an alternative path to the still-so-common but dying “Japanese dream” (big corporate salaryman). I’m writing an article in the book on the Education for Sustainable Living Program that I was a part of at the University of California Santa Cruz. Changed my life!!! Education for Sustainable Living Program (UCSC): http://eslp.enviroslug.org
Two other book ideas are floating. One is on creative social change for Japanese activists, and the other is a talk session with the founder of the Sloth Club (central driver of the “Slow” movement in Japan).
BIG NEWS 4!!! Climate Activism and Youth Empowerment
POWER SHIFT: I’ve been getting more and more involved in the climate activism. After going to Global Power Shift in Istanbul last year (during the democracy protests), I decided to start up a Power Shift movement in Japan. Shifting power from the handful of old men who make most policy decisions toward a more balanced intergenerational and gender equal power structure. Additionally, shifting energy production from nuclear and fossil fuels toward renewable energies. I decided to promote a campaign to transform Japanese universities to 100% renewable energy. My home-university UC Santa Cruz did it in 2007. So, I’m persuading Japanese friends (and anyone that is willing to listen) that it is possible and that we are going to do it. And it looks like some people are starting to believe me. Get ready for some 100% renewable energy powered Japanese universities. What a very exciting adventure to embark on!
THE FUTURE: After setting up Power Shift Japan, two lovely ladies from England visited me looking for a radical Japanese activist who might be able to start a climate movement with a very different approach. The movement is called The Future and is supported by Lush (as my friend called it, “the smelly soap company”). I’ve had little interest in corporations (besides getting pissed off about corporate corruption and human rights abuses), but Lush has been a refreshing encounter. They have funded activists to work on animal rights, climate change, and gay rights issues. So I am now trying to get The Future going in Japan as well as Power Shift Japan.
I’ve come to realize how rare and important radical bilingual youth who are passionate about social change are in Tokyo! Especially with an afro!
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Permaculture Convergence Japan
With the help of some permy (permaculture enthusiasts) friends I was able to make my dream Permaculture Convergence Japan a reality. There have been convergences in Japan but the non-Japanese practitioners I most respect, who are not Japanese, don’t attend them. So I decided to bring together my favorite permy friends to talk about how to start a permaculture revolution in Japan. Dion and Phil are the two I most respect, since they are examples of “living permaculture.” Cecilia is another inspired one but she moved back to Australia, and Byron’s up-and-coming permaculture empire in Fujino is definitely worth keeping tabs on. Ken was unfortunately couldn’t attend but he is doing some fascinating projects.
Thich Naht Hanh (Thay) is a human that I admire. He is perhaps that closest person to what I imagine an “enlightened” person is. He’s come to Japan once before, but his second visit was abruptly cancelled due to the chaos of the March 11 earthquake and nuclear crisis. Well, next year, Thay is scheduled to visit Japan!!! This is no small undertaking, but a handful of us really want to make this a reality. You could say, we have a crisis of “happiness” in Japan.
This May, Thay’s monastic disciples will visit Japan, and I will be one of the translators for the retreat and for the youth themed day. For Wake Up! (the youth themed day), we will do a meditation flash mob in Harajuku (youth fashion district of Tokyo). Then continue on to a nearby park to do walking meditation and sleeping meditation. The day will end at a permaculture inspired straw bale temple.
＊lately I’ve been running around and not stopping. So, I’m going to stop right now and take some breaths. You can join me too:)
That feels better. I love breathing.
Workshops
Doing tons of them all over Japan! Permaculture, compassionate communication (NVC), zen, youth empowerment, the usual. I love it! And while its all donation based with no suggested amount, I’m able to mostly support myself! My experiment with gift economy. And in Tokyo!
Wow! So, one of the NVC practitioners that I most respect, Ken (co-translated Marshal’s book into Japanese), really encouraged me to join the NVC Leadership Program organized by Bay Area NVC. It is a year long program with a total of 3 retreats in January, June, and November. Quite a serious commitment, especially if you live in Japan and have to fly across the pacific 3 times! But, NVC has done miracles for my life and activism, and I trust Ken. He even offered to fundraise on behalf of me and now the NVC community in Japan, as well as Bay Area NVC has covered the majority of the costs. Wow. What a precious gift!
I’ll say more about NVC and the Leadership Program in the near future, but for now, lets just say that in the last 3 months I have been yet again, transformed. The level of consciousness, dedication, and love in this program is profoundly inspiring. I am just so grateful for Marshall (the founder), NVC, practitioners, Jane (my empathy buddy who encouraged and supported me to attend the International Intensive Training) and Ken + NVC Japan. Gift economy......love economy.
I’m sure there is more I can say, now its time to get back to social change in Japan..I mean stopping:) Oh yeah, I'm also helping to prepare Lynn Twist's transform Japan tour. I'm hopefully going to bring in some NVC consciousness into the Leadership themed day. Lynn is a philanthropist that co-founded the Pachamama Alliance, and recently wrote a book called the Soul of Money.
Engaging with climate change and energy issues.Power Shift Japan is youth for social change.
Original interview and article by Eri KimuraTranslation by Kai Sawyer and Jhang Ling Engaging with climate change and energy issues.
“I want to change our society. I want to make our world a better place. But, how do I do that?” Thoughts like these are in the minds of many people.
Often times, the actions of one individual or one organization are not enough to make big changes. However, if we gather together, our power will increase.
With this hope in mind, Power Shift began its work in America with the aim to raise the voices of the youth to solve the massive issue of global climate change back in 2007.
Gathering students from different corners of the US to Washington every two years, Power Shift provides the stage for attendees with common goals to discuss the methods or policies that may make alternative energy more widespread. Active students share best practices that will likely lead to more effective actions.
Following the US, other countries such as Canada and Australia have conducted their own “Power Shifts”. Power Shift is now spreading across the globe. Now Japan will for the first time host “Power Shift Japan” on February 22nd and 23rd.
This may be the first time that youth are organizing an event for social change that is part of a global movement in Japan. The two day program includes sessions to reflect on why we take action and how to engage with society which will lead to tangible next steps.
Day 1
Defining Moment
A session to share thoughts and feelings on climate change and energy issues with participants from all over Japan.
Campaign Workshop
A campaigner from an international NGO will teach how to effectively engage with society.
Activism Building
Examining challenges and opportunities associated to social change in Japan by understanding history.
Power of Youth
Presenting examples of youth activism from around the world
Day 2
Campaign Planning
Participants will develop campaigns based on what they learned the previous day
Campaign Market
Established youth groups, NGOs, and community groups are invited to share relevant campaigns
Declaration
Presentations from each group about actions they will take after the Power Shift Japan event
Action
All participants will take part in an action
Not only will NPO/NGOs be present, the youth representative to COP (UN climate change conference), Liangyi Chang, will be attending from Taiwan. He will talk about what world youth are doing, and share a little about his activism around nuclear power and climate change in Taiwan.
We held an interview with Kai Sawyer, the lead-organizer for the internationally recognized Power Shift Japan.
Caption: Kai Sawyer has parents from the US and Japan
Kai has visited eco-villages and transition towns around the world and holds workshops through his project “Tokyo Urban Permaculture” in order to propagate concepts and skills for sustainable living and farming.
Kai’s first encounter with Power Shift was last June, when he was invited by a friend to attend the Global Power Shift convergence held in Istanbul, Turkey.
“Global Power Shift was a thrilling five-day event that brought together 500 young activists from more than 130 countries. There were attendees who were involved in movements such as, the Egyptian Revolution, Occupy Wall Street, and Kurdish protests against Saddam Hussein…… People came from different movements, but we all united for our concern about the state of our global environment.
The message that Global Power Shift had for the attendees was to initiate their own Power Shifts, so after getting back to Japan, I outreached for collaborators and made preparations.”
Kai talks about how we can become hopeful about social change from attending events like these, but that is not enough to transform society.
“It is quite common that these events end at the end of the day, but what is necessary is to take one step further and take action. As Power Shift we are focusing on taking action through “campaigns”. This includes identifying specific goals, planning action steps, and fulfilling them. Even if it takes time to achieve the goals, and even if things don’t go as planned, I believe what is important is to take action.”
Caption: In Sydney, Power Shift staged a flash mob as part of their campaign.
One of Kai’s first goals is to “transform Japanese universities to be powered by 100% green energy”. In fact, the university that Kai had attended, University of California Santa Cruz, had implemented 100% renewable energy through student activism!
Each citizen can make change
“I wasn’t always interested in social issues.” University was Kai’s entry point into activism.
“I was sucked into the anti-war movement against the invasion into Iraq. We were a small group of several dozen students, but we were able to drive military recruiters off campus every year and shutdown the university along with supportive professors and community members on the day of the invasion. We had such an impact that the national media and Federal Government started to take notice.
Even then we didn’t give into fear because we all felt, ‘something is seriously wrong here.’ Seeing all these activists, I started to believe that there is nothing cooler and needed than social activism”
It is not only those in powerful positions, but ordinary citizens can make change. Especially in the West, people are conscious of a history where social movements have transformed society, and Kai began to believe that as well as he became an activist.
“Ultimately we weren’t able to stop the war, but there is a major difference in consciousness between not acting and taking action. As our country prepared for war, I felt strange that our university classes continued as if nothing had changed. I couldn’t focus. That’s when students who felt similarly started their own class that addressed social problems that were relevant to us now.
We ran the program ourselves, even funded it, and invited speakers like Satish Kumar and Vandana Shiva. Having activist guest lecturers from around the world was really exciting.
But, just listening to a talk isn’t going to make change. That’s where the idea of Action Research Teams came in. These groups focused on a specific issue, came up with a solution, then implemented it. One of these groups helped our campus switch to 100% green energy.
Through this educational program that changed the university from within, and off-campus activism, students are able to engage with society as active change makers rather than passive consumers. With a passion to spread a similar movement in Japan, Kai started his work in Tokyo at the beginning of 2012.
I want to change the activism in Japan
“Many people believe you cannot change the status quo, but what is critical is to learn that we can indeed change how things are.”
“What prevents change is our thinking. ‘Things don’t change even if I vote’, ‘the economy won’t change’, ‘we can’t make change’ are all popular beliefs. It’s not easy to change this way of thinking, but we need to change our thinking in order to create a sustainable world.”
A survey of Japanese youth shows that 70% of youth believe their actions will not make a difference in society.
“A handful of older men make almost all major decisions that affect our country. But as the ones who will be inheriting that world, I want the youth to be empowered to create their own future. “
Japanese have a very limited awareness of citizens making social change but the fact is that it was citizen movements that enabled women to vote and for workers to have rights they have today. There are lots of other examples.
When we say “activism”, most people immediately think of Anpo-Tousou and Daigaku Tousou,* but if you really look at history, you’ll realize that citizens have created the world we live in today, and you will develop the consciousness that we will continue to create our society.
*Mass protests in the 60s and 70s that turned violent with opposing Leftist factions killing members of the other group’s members.
Caption: At Power Shift, they also made art.
“Activists in Japan, including myself, receive a lot of criticism. But because I love the passion of activists and and fun of activism, I’ve been able to joyfully continue for over 10 years. I think if we don’t integrate more art and music, creativity and fun, while also being effective, activism in Japan won’t last.
That’s why through Power Shift Japan, I have connected the young activists and groups that I’ve met so far, and other overseas groups, all with an aim to build a strong horizontal network around the globe.
“I’m an activism nerd,” Kai continues.
“As I started to meet students involved with the anti-war movement, nuclear abolition, human rights of LGBT, low-income populations, to racism, I thought ‘this is all important!’ And my interest in a wide variety of social problems started to grow.
Right now, the issues that I am most interested in are the de-nuclearisation and climate change. In terms of nuclear power, while people have differing opinions, the level of awareness has greatly increased. But, with climate change, very few people seem to genuinely care. I want to bridge the anti-nuclear movement with climate justice movement.”
Creating a world where everyone is cared for
“Activism is not my hobby or my job, it is my path in life” says Kai. He continues with his desire, “I want to create a world where all people have equal rights and live peacefully.”
“Even though we know the problems we face, our environment continues to deteriorate and national debt continues to rise. The burden on future generations keeps growing, and they have no choice but to inherit it. It’s a hard future to stay hopeful in, and that is why for the future generations, I want to change this reality. Through Power Shift Japan, I hope we can take a big step in the right direction.”
Climate change and energy issues seem like problems that are too big to solve, and many of us might shy away from them. Why not take this opportunity to join Power Shift Japan, to learn and think of solutions, then start to take action?
