"I was able to be involved in this. And that was fun!"
It was Natsumi Tanaka, a young coder at our company Monosus, who took the microphone on stage and said this powerfully.
COURT, the event venue on the 8th floor of Shibuya Hikarie, was bustling with people.
Everyone had an excited look on their face, and with a drink in hand, they were talking about their feelings with the person next to them.
"Local," "regional," and "internet."
Those words are heard frequently.
"It's almost time to finish."
Even though the host said that, no one was keen to leave.
Such energy and passion existed in the venue like a whirlpool.
Hello. This is Yamauchi from the Production Department.
This time, I would like to share my thoughts after the one-day event "INTERNET for LOCAL DAY" held on Sunday, November 22nd by " Google Innovation Tohoku ," one of the projects that our production team is involved in. (This event was held as an official part of the TOKYO WORK DESIGN WEEK 2015 program.)
INTERNET for LOCAL DAY digest movie.
First, let me give you a brief explanation of Innovation Tohoku.
Innovation Tohoku is a matching platform led by Google that connects people who are trying to take on new challenges in the wake of the earthquake disaster with people who want to support them online (free of charge in principle).
Launched in May 2013, we are currently experimentally collaborating with regions that are taking the lead in revitalizing their communities and launching new projects in order to further accelerate the reconstruction of Tohoku.
Innovation Tohoku website. Anyone with a Gmail account can participate. As of the end of November, there are over 1,900 registered supporters, over 340 projects have been launched, and over 1,500 matches have been made.
We from the production department are currently working on the project as a team that includes external partners.
I am mainly in charge of planning and production direction for all communication tools such as pamphlets, videos, and banners for event venues, as well as online promotions such as social media and email newsletters.
Thinking together,
What the Internet can do for local communities.
INTERNET for LOCAL DAY is an event that brings together cutting-edge people who are tackling issues in Tohoku and various other regions, and encourages participants to think together about the potential of the Internet for the present and future of the region.
Rather than simply listening to talks by people active on the front lines of the local community, participants themselves participated in the discussions, thought, and submitted ideas. The greatest point of the event was that everyone was proactively involved in the forum, with a common goal in mind.
It would take too long to write about the event program and details of the event on-site here, so please take a look atthe INTERNET for LOCAL DAY event report that was just published on the Innovation Tohoku website.
Not only will you be able to feel the program content of the day, but you will also be able to fully sense everyone's enthusiasm.
The event itself was a huge success, and the whole team seemed to suffer from burnout for a while afterwards (laughs), but looking back on this event, there are two main things I personally think about.
In an open space,
Everyone's interactions are connected.
The people involved in this event, including not only the speakers invited from the local area, but also the participants, had a variety of backgrounds, occupations, and skills. Their interest, thoughts, and commitment to the local area also varied, from those who are actually involved to those who are supporting the area as pro bono volunteers, to those who have not yet taken action but are vaguely interested in the area.
Of course, this is not to say that one is better than the other. By having a place where everyone can gather, speak up, and listen carefully to each other, everyone can discover their own way of interacting, and the intersection of various "personal ways of interacting" creates diversity in the space, leading to new discoveries and connections.
Also, like Tanaka who said at the beginning, "There are things I can get involved in, too. And that was fun!", it's a lot of fun to realize that you can get involved. Individual ways of getting involved connect on the spot, and change shape as they gain heat. Through this experience, new ways of getting involved can be seen. It seemed like this exciting cycle was being born all over the INTERNET for LOCAL DAY venue.
An ideathon where everyone can share ideas about local issues that local guests are working on. The exchange of diverse opinions leads to new discoveries for each person.
In a fishbowl meeting, people who want to speak can take turns sitting in the seats set up in the center of the venue. The topic and content of the talk are free.
At the end of the event there was an open mic. The participants shared their thoughts with everyone from the stage!
The connections made at work
It goes beyond work and continues.
In this project, we usually work to "connect" people. We call the value that will be created for both parties by connecting them "relationship assets." We believe that our mission is to create a platform that will enable people working on issues in Tohoku and the region, and people who want to support them, to have rich relationship assets.
At the same time, I feel that we ourselves are building many connections and relationship assets.
We often hear about relationships that are formed through work, and it may be a common thing, but I myself had been so focused on the systems and methods for "connecting" and the presentation of those connections that I hadn't noticed, or rather, hadn't really felt it.
Through the holding of INTERNET for LOCAL DAY, I was able to make new connections with many people, and some old connections were revisited in a different form. (For example, I was assisted by Mr. Goto, who runs " Yamanoya " in Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture, and who was one of our speakers, in a gallery project I was working on as a personal project in the past.)
I hope that the connections that are born in this way will gradually become a part of everyday life.
In other words, for the event participants, it becomes more than just a temporary occasion.
For me, it's more than just a job.
Just as I was thinking that, I saw a photo on social media.
A simple, unadorned and gentle morning glow. This is the scenery of Kamige Town, Chikujo District, Fukuoka Prefecture.
This photo was taken by a team member participating in the " Kamima Town Working Stay " initiative, which is being undertaken by Nishitoh Hiromi (Kamima Town Regional Revitalization Volunteer), who launched the project with Innovation Tohoku and also spoke at INTERNET for LOCAL DAY.
The member had been to Kamiuke Town on business once before for Innovation Tohoku, but this time he was visiting purely out of a desire to go.
The connections made at work continue beyond work.
When I saw this photo of a sunrise, so ordinary and everyday, I was reminded of this, and it felt like it was about me, which made me very happy.
Connections with people are connections to the society they live in, and also to their own daily lives. I hope that INTERNET for LOCAL DAY will be a catalyst for this for the participants, for myself, and for my team members.
*To further expand this trend, we plan to hold the second INTERNET for LOCAL DAY next spring!
Finally, a bonus piece.
The idol dog of Jomo Town is named Village Chief (lol). So cute... (Photo: Team member)
