Sugiura Aki

Question: “Is there any connection between what led you to become an IDFC organizer and the development studies you studied while in the United Kingdom?”

 

Aki: “I began studying development studies after entering university, with particular opportunities to learn through studying abroad and seminars. My interest began in high school, when my English teacher told us about the civil wars in Cambodia and Rwanda and about the United Nations. The university in London where I later chose to study abroad was also well known in international development studies. Through my studies there, I began wanting to work in the field myself. The region I initially wanted to see firsthand was Southeast Asia. With those thoughts in mind, I returned to Japan, and around May, after finishing my job search, I was asked whether I would like to help run IDFC. I decided without hesitation to become an organizer.”

Question: 「 What was the most difficult or memorable thing about organizing IDFC? ？」

 

———A Period of Preparation Through Trial and Error———

 

Aki: “We had a very hard time deciding on IDFC’s theme. First, during our organizers’ retreat at Ritsumeikan University in Japan, we discussed it for more than four hours. As a result, we decided to focus on education that year, with the theme ‘2020: What Universities Should Be and What an Ideal Campus Should Look Like.’”

 

I thought I had shared the theme and exchanged views with the Myanmar organizing team beforehand. But when I actually traveled to Myanmar, they told me education would not work. I remember feeling so discouraged that I called Hashimoto in tears. Haha. Their reasons were that dealing with education was politically risky and difficult, and that they did not think an equal discussion was possible when people in Myanmar could not feel proud of their country’s education. After that, the conversation shifted, and someone suggested that business would be a good theme for the year and that they wanted to hold a business competition. Thinking, “That would not be IDFC!” I no longer knew what to do.

 

Later, Hashimoto traveled to Myanmar, and we found a middle ground between our views and settled on “Career Development.” We did not simply adopt one person’s opinion, and the theme was not one that either side was completely satisfied with. I think it was a compromise in which both sides gave something up.

 

There were many other occasions when reaching consensus was difficult. Everyone was truly distinctive, whether they were Japanese or from Myanmar, and basically, they all had strong personalities (laughs). Even so, because we shared the goal of making IDFC a success, we were able to keep going together until the end. The experiences and connections I gained through IDFC are treasures to me today.”

Question: 「 Are there any scenes from the IDFC program that stand out in your memory? 」

 

Aki: “On the first day of the program, seeing the participants engaged in serious discussions and watching the scene I had imagined come to life brought tears to my eyes. It was the moment my aspirations took shape.”

Another thing that stayed with me was that as many as three Myanmar organizers quit just before IDFC began, and even during the program it was difficult to stay in step with the Myanmar organizing team. I think this was because we had not properly shared a vision of what IDFC was. With no precedent to follow, we had not shared a clear picture of “What is IDFC?” I imagine they lost sight of that and quit. I came to realize that sharing a vision of what we are working toward is very important, but very difficult.”