[Faculty of Modern Social Studies] Volunteering at an event held in Ashiya by Sakamoto Seminar

On May 5th, 11 students and volunteers from Associate Professor Sakamoto Hidetake's seminar, majoring in tourism and regional management at the Faculty of Modern Social Studies, participated as volunteer staff in "UNIVERSAL KAWAII," held in Ashiya City. The event was organized by the general incorporated association "KAWAIKU KAGOI," which develops businesses that produce events and goods related to nursing care and welfare in a kawaii way. The event was held at the main venues of "Lead Ashiya" and "Ashiya Monolith" in Ashiya City, and featured a fashion show, talk events, and about 30 exhibition booths, with the aim of promoting mutual understanding of "nursing care x disability x LGBT" through "kawaii." The students were divided into two venues, and were in charge of guiding people inside and outside the venue, supporting the setup of the fashion show venue, and handling reception. Together with the organizers, they worked to liven up the event, which was attended by more than 1,300 people.

Associate Professor Sakamoto, who will be supervising the students, expressed his expectations for the students, saying, "I want them to learn from conversations at this event about what people who are facing local issues and problems are struggling with and what they are looking for. I also want them to get a sense of how people trying to solve these problems gathered together, what they worked on, and how they made it happen. I want them to think about how they can make use of what they have learned this time when they become involved with the community as ordinary residents in the future."

In Faculty of Modern Social Studies, we plan to provide more opportunities for students to deepen their learning through involvement with the local community, in preparation for the launch of the Tourism Management and Regional Value Creation majors in 2025.

(Source: School Public Relations)