Connecting Communities Across Borders

During my internship at immi lab, my main project was developing ways to increase the number of “Allies” from overseas—people who support immi lab through volunteering, donations or interview. To do this, I first needed to introduce immi lab’s activities to others. Since I initially knew little about this work, my first step was to learn about its programs and the challenges faced by youth with immigrant roots in Japan.

I visited a Brazilian school and night schools, interviewing teachers to learn what problems immigrant youth face today, such as differences in how teachers approach them, the difficulty for those with a “Dependent” status to find work, and communication barriers between parent and schools. Teachers were doing their best, yet some problems cannot be solved unless society and its system improve.   

I also joined Projecto Ponte, one of the immi lab’s initiatives, speaking directly with youth who have limited career and university options and face loneliness due to language barriers. immi lab provides safe spaces where they can use their native languages and connect with peers who share similar backgrounds. I began summarizing these issues to prepare for outreach. 

To spread this information effectively, I needed to know which aspects to highlight. I conducted a “needs investigation,” interviewing five people including mentors, staff and donors to understand what makes immi lab unique. I also analyzed donor feedback and mentor profiles. Since the term “Ally” can refer to many people abroad, I focus on Japanese-Americans. I interviewed staff from three different NGOs connected to the Japanese community in the U.S. to learn about the problems Japanese-Americans face today and to get advice on how to reach out to them. 

One strategy to reach Allies in the U.S. was creating an English crowdfunding page through Global Giving, because donations are a common to support organizations there. I prepared English-language six materials such as annual reports, researched other NGO’s crowdfunding pages to identify styles for attracting donations. Explaining Japan’s immigrant situation was challenging because the U.S. and Japan approach immigration differently, so I had to carefully summarize it for an international audience. Using my research, I wrote the crowdfunding content, then received feedback from an external marketing consultant. Based on his advice, I refined the page by defining a more specific target audience. 

Another approach was contacting U.S. organizations and Japanese-Americans, who often share similar challenges and experiences with immigrant-rooted youth in Japan. I divided them into two target groups:

1. U.S. based organization that support immigrant-rooted youth, similar to immi lab.
2. Japanese-Americans especially second and third generations (Nisei and Sansei).

I began by researching U.S organization that immi lab could collaborate with, reviewing their websites and activities, and identifying questions to ask. I then sent emails requesting meetings, since requests for support can be difficult without first building a relationship. Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) responded, and we held a meeting where I presented about immi lab and learned about their programs, gaining ideas for improving our own initiatives.

For the Japanese-American community, I reached out to groups in various U.S. cities to request interviews. I spoke with two second- and third-generation Japanese-Americans and have more interviews scheduled for late August and mid-September. Before each interview, I gave a brief presentation about immi lab, as it was a good opportunity to introduce our work. I then wrote articles based on these interviews, which are now available on immil lab’s website so that youth with immigrant roots in Japan can read and learn from them. Many of these stories closely reflect the experiences of immigrant-rooted youth in Japan, so I hope these articles will reach as many people as possible and inspire more diverse future paths. 

Through this internship, I realized the importance of interviewing people, sharing their stories, and connecting communities. Next semester, I plan to work with the Shiga Intercultural Association for Globalization to develop educational program that promote multicultural understanding. Japan is a homogenous society, and recently there has been a rise in hate speech toward immigrants—a trend I find troubling. I want to contribute to building a more diverse and inclusive society through interviews, storytelling and educational initiatives.