Satsuma Conference to be held in Kagoshima, focusing on world 150 years from now

PUBLISHED Apr 8, 2022

Staff of NPO Satsuma Emerging Leadership Forum SELF

The NPO Satsuma Emerging Leadership Forum SELF will hold the “Satsuma Conference 2022,” a three-day interactive conference from April 22 to 24 under the theme “What will we bequeath to the world 150 years from now?”

The NPO, consisting of 31 people from various parts of Kagoshima Prefecture, aims to “educate themselves and change society toward a more dynamic direction.” It operates the co-working space SOUU in the Kagoyui Terrace on the 18th floor of the Kagoshima Prefectural Government Office. Although the conference is the first of its kind, it will also serve as the second session of the Community Based Companies Forum (CBC Forum), which was held in Kyoto last year to promote the sustainable development of local businesses.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration that began in the land of Satsuma. Just as the aspirants of the time stood up for reform, the NPO explores the “Transformation – irreversible change” required today. They ask, “What can we do for the next 150 years? If we don’t act now, it may be too late. We are living at a crossroads.”

Session topics will include environmental issues, local economies, communities, remote islands, tourism, education, and food. A talk session will feature Risa Kirimura, a physician and a well-known author on the intestinal environment, and Ryouka Nakamura, an environmental activist and student at Kagoshima University Faculty of Fisheries. Other sessions will include those by Koji Muraoka, president of Ippei Holdings, which produces Kyushu Pancakes, and Takashi Hiyane, who runs Ryukyufrogs, a next-generation “human resources = human treasures” discovery and development program in Okinawa.

The conference will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on the 22nd and from 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the 23rd and 24th. It will be a hybrid of on-site and online participation. Tickets for online participation are available through Peatix. Prices are 5,000 yen for one day and 12,000 yen for three days.

Tickets for on-site participation are available as returns for crowdfunding donations on the crowdfunding site Kibidango, and the available tickets include 30,000 yen for the 23rd and 24th, with online participation on the first day, the 22nd. The NPO plans to establish a “Satsuma Foundation (provisional)” to support projects that originate from the Satsuma Conference or that will build the future of Kagoshima, and it is currently seeking support through crowdfunding.

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