Sarajean's notes

I attended this event a few days ago that addressed a wide array of issues under the umbrella of CSR: 1. community engagement and capacity building 2 principles and vision orientation 3. good governance 4. accountability 5. philanthropy 6. corporate branding and valuing 7. the core issues of environment, diversity and human rights I have so many notes - i will post some of the key points and links later. I think this is worth posting because the event discussion was way ahead of the curve compared to many of the other CSR events i have attended which focused mostly on funding issues.

Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention エイズ予防財団ー１９回研修

On Sat Feb 23, I took part in the JFAP national meeting of NGOs, social workers, and those who provides support services for people with HIV/AIDS. On Friday afternoon, I met the nonprofit NGO staff taking part in the training. It was good to have some time to just meet each other since people came from all over the country. Friday night, I joined the welcome reception long enough to meet a few people. It made me feel a bit better about doing the Sat workshop and I think it helped them feel more comfortable for discussion on Sat. On Saturday - for the second time - I did a workshop overviewing NGO mgt. I learned a lot as always and I am glad i did it despite the stress I have before doing the workshop. It was not the theme - it was the fact that it was 3 hours in Japanese. I can talk to anyone on a one-to-one basis but the workshop in Japanese was very scary. How to set up the group work - how to introduce. How to just get people motivated to consider new ideas and skills. Still th...

Great group of people at this month's networking luncheon. 14 reps from 10 orgs got together to share ideas and information. Not so many great pix - mostly of people eating - but it was good to chat about projects and events with all these people usually too busy to meet up. Only draw back => not enough time to talk to everyone. need to follow up for mroe specific meetings.

On February 16 , i was lucky to join the WELL (Women Educators and Language Learners) annual retreat at the National Women's Education Center in Saitama ( http://welljapan.org/) . It was great to meet a new group of people interested in doing good in thier communities. I will post photos later but for now here are some of the on line reosurces we used in the workshop. My workshop was called Volunteer in Japan? Yes you can? Japanese online reso urces: 全国NPO支援センターのリスト http://www.jnpoc.ne.jp/books/index.html Japan NPO Center http://www.jnpoc.ne.jp/ ボランティア活動センター OVAC http://www.osakavol.org/ TVAC http://www.tvac.or.jp Yahoo! Volunteer http://volunteer.yahoo.co.jp NGO/NPO Walker http://www.npo.info/ NPO Linkletter http://homepage3.nifty.com/npolink/ NGO Network Japan http://www.ngo.ne.jp English online resources The Foreign Executive Women’s (FEW) Volunteering Directory http://www.fewjapan.com/volunteer/volunteering_directory.html Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, JA...

We had a great first ever global primary here for Democrats Abroad We were on CNN international, Japanese TV and in the Asahi news paper: http://www.asahi.com/international/update/0204/TKY200802040160.html http://www. asahi .com/international/update/0205/TKY200802050361.html other news coverage: http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080205-00000001-hsk_sb-l13 http://www.shibukei.com/headline/4985/ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/05/america/05primary.php i jogged to the polling place and arrived in my hiphop adidas jogging suit ... i did not expect that much media. they did not figure so few people would speak Japanese! i can not believe that so many people recognised me! on Wednesday morning DAJ arranged brunch for us to watch the results to come in together. it was fun and we got to meet new people. will attach some photos later.

this summer i hope to be part of a large networking event that will also raise funds for organziations chosen through an impartial selection process. i am working with some really great people from groups like Net Impact . Net Tokyo has been running an event like this for several years but this would be the first time the main goal is fundraising and the orgs would have to apply to become a beneficiary. We will have a 説明会 info session on Feb 29 explaining the application and selection process. criteria for selection: Complete application Japan based organziation Meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in Japan One project application per organization * 3-6 groups will be selected - all from different fields. Write to rose.ito@gmail.com after feb 15 - if your group is interested.

Tuesday Feb 28 6:30-8:30 pm This will be a joint meeting between people and organizations involved in government engagement, advocacy and strategy developement for the G8 summit. Fee 500 yen Location Map and directions: http://www.seiryokai.org/kaikan.html Send your name and contact information by e-mail to g8@geic.or.jp or by FAX to 03-3406-5064 limited to300 people only. I expect more ceremony than meaning. what might be more interesting is the Model G8 Youth Summit 2008 in Japan being held in March. Details can be found at http://www.modelg8japan.org/news/english/030project_outline/