Message From the President
It has been six years since our Academy was established. This year, the Academy is facing a crucial test of its foundations and significance of existence.
Last year, when we never even imagined that events like that of 3/11 and the subsequent tragedies could happen, I sent out the following message:
These days, the civilized system of human society is experiencing a huge global shift. Under such circumstances, we believe that it is of the utmost importance that human society substantially figure out the essence of such a shift, as well as discover and create the new skills necessary to manage society in the 21st century. Japan in the 1980’s was marked with big changes, essentially paradigm shifts, over a variety of fields. Centralized governance and economic management reached a deadlock; in response to such a situation, two major patterns were identified: (a) the transfer of authority from the national government to the local governments and (b) the transfer of authority from the national government to the private and non-profit sectors. Additionally, the increased social recognition for volunteer activities and NPOs in the wake of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake led to the enactment of the “Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities” (March 1998), which marked a new societal change. In order to support and promote such a change in activism and system, it is crucial that systematic and practical research be conducted on the matter, and that human resources be developed for the management of non-profit organizations such as NPOs and NGOs, which take responsibility for the new public sphere, and the crisis management of civil society. In light of this, I trust that we are expecting an academy to be set up as a place that engenders directions and values in this new era and facilitates the collaborative creation of civil society in the 21st century.
Based on the above realization, as you may be aware, Mr. Yoshiharu Fukuhara (Honorary Chair of Shiseido) and I jointly initiated and established the “Japanese Academy of Social Design Studies for 21st Century” in June 2006. We hoped to have people from various fields in society join us, as well as to build collaborative relationships with overseas research institutes and universities.
“Social design” was a new word ten years ago, and it is still not a familiar word to many. However, there are emerging activities around the world that seek new lifestyles and new society under the banner of “social design” or “social innovation.” We have formed seven specific research arenas where “social design” may be applied: community design, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), international cooperation/peace building/symbiotic science, non-profit activities (NPO, NGO, and volunteer activities), crisis management, urban disaster prevention, and culture/arts organization. Each of these arenas is called upon to provide indispensable knowledge and wisdom for survival and regeneration of our society at this moment?heartbreaking as it is, I must acknowledge such a situation. We need a place for thorough discussion of issues, and now is the time. This is the very reason why Japanese Academy of Social Design Studies for 21st Century was founded.
After 3/11, our Academy launched a series called “Post-3/11 Japan and Social Design” and, four sessions have been held so far: the first session “What happened in the Great East Japan Earthquake?: Starting With the Understanding of the Situation” (April 2-3 at Atomi University), the second session “The Great East Japan Earthquake: Before We Consider Restoration” (May 28 at Rikkyo University), the third session “Visit the Disaster Area” (September 4-5 in Iwate Prefecture), and the fourth session “Communication Forum for Disaster Prevention Education” (October 15-16 at Rikkyo University, co-organized with Cabinet Office). Following these up will be a discussion forum that summarizes the series at the midpoint, taking place at this fiscal year’s annual conference from December 3-4. On December 3, under the theme of “The Shape of Life, the Shape of Country,” we will hold a dialogue with Akira Kurihara, special visiting professor of Ritsumeikan University and the Academy’s advisor. Furthermore, discussions centered on “media,” “nuclear energy,” and “support” will be held, in addition to the annual meeting and an after-party. On the morning of December 4, the usual individual, free-topic presentation session will take place. In the afternoon, we will have as our guest Norio Kanno, village mayor of Iidate Village where villagers were forced to evacuate the village due to the nuclear accident. His talk will be titled: “Iidate Village Will Recover: Life in Iidate Village for the Past 30 Years.” How will we design a society where people can share the joy of life? I cannot help but wish that broad and thorough discussions there will flourish beyond the Academy. Your support and cooperation would be greatly appreciated.
November, 2011
Seiichi Kitayama
President, Japanese Academy of Social Design Studies for 21st Century
(Translated by Keitaro Morita)