Author: Kyoko Kubono
We had our first trial event about our identity on 5 July 2020. First, we introduced ourselves to each other and were reminded of the event’s ground rules: don’t judge others and be respectful.
We then moved on to our interview session, whose main purpose of our interview questions was to encourage people to share who they are and what they are struggling with in this society. So, we got divided into two groups, and each group had two people so that they could interview with one another. In my opinion, the interview session was a really good way to get to know my interviewee and take something away from her. Although we tend to assume who others are by their appearances, social status, social relationships, etc., we then realise our false images about our friends, as we chat more. In addition, the session was also a great opportunity for me to rethink or care about myself. Personally, I tend to be negative about myself during a semester, and such negativity stops me from properly acknowledging my good aspects. However, being interviewed, I needed to carefully think about whether I can share this story or not, or whether I’m telling this story clearly. That process allowed me to recall things that I have forgotten and sort of energised me to survive the rest of the summer semester.
After that, we went on to the World Cafe session, which means that people share what they have talked about or noticed during the interview session without making any conclusions, according to our leader, Kana-san. Because we didn’t need to worry about which side each of us should agree with or not, we were more comfortable sharing what we found through the interview session. We were also able to learn various perspectives and develop further arguments in this session, enabling us to broaden our worldviews.
Overall, I think this type of event is a helpful practice to familiarise people rarely shared their thoughts with identifying issues or interesting points and talking about them. So, if you’re interested in this event, please keep updated on our coming events on FB and Twitter!