Seeds of Hope in Fukushima Sea Dialogue (Umi-taiwa) Global Session by Theory U practitioners’ group in Japan
Japanese Translation Version is available.(日本語翻訳版はこちら）
Citizen’s Level Global Dialogue on Nuclear Justice
Today (July 23, 2022) I joined the 11th session of Umi-Taiwa, or Sea Dialogue, an initiative by a group of Theory U practitioners in Japan who are against the Japanese government’s decision to release processed and radioactive nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant to the ocean next year. The 11th session was titled “Listening to the Voices of Youth Living in the Pacific Ocean,” and it was a part of Community Hosted Sessions of the Global Forum 2022 by the Presencing Institute.
Four university students in Fiji and the Marshall Island Student Association (MISA) members spoke about the history of the Marshall Islands concerning nuclear testing by the U.S. and the damage caused by them, their experiences, and aspirations. They are fighting for nuclear justice.
“Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. The U.S. conducted 23 of these tests at Bikini Atoll, and 44 near Enewetak Atoll, but fallout spread throughout the Marshall Islands.” — Source: Marshall Islands, Atomic Heritage Foundation
Giving Hope to Emotionally Damaged Victims
One of the student speakers, Wayne, shared what struck him when he interviewed the victims of nuclear tests. He said he entered the interview quite naive, as he looks back, and the magnitude of emotional damage caused to the victims by their ordeal shocked him. I was fortunate to be in the breakout room with him, and he shared that in the victims’ interviews, he felt so many of them were almost giving up on the fight. They have drained their energy in the past 70 years. Evacuees still cannot return to their home islands after 70 years!! So what drives him to work on this issue in MISA is to give hope to them by sending a message that someone, from a younger generation, is taking this up.
Moment of Joy and Happiness Felt by an Evacuee from Fukushima
In the same breakout room was a Japanese lady from Fukushima. She has been living in evacuation in Kyoto, more than 500Km away from home, for the past 11 years. She said learning that the youth in the southern pacific who are not direct victims of the nuclear tests are taking actions moved and inspired her. She was compelled to act to protect the future of her children, and it was very personal to her. Her motivation to act was primarily for her children and her properties in Fukushima, such as her house and land. But joining Umi-taiwa today made her realize that the ocean, and earth, are a common blessing to all living beings. And people are acting not because of personal properties to protect but from a greater perspective to protect the ocean and earth. Such an opportunity to widen her perspective gave her a moment of joy and happiness in the hardship of life she is still experiencing.
I grew up near the sea, just 100Km south of Fukushima Nuclear Powerplant, enjoying the harvest from the ocean every day. My mother, brother, and their family are still there. So the issue of releasing contaminated nuclear wastewater into the sea concerns me a great deal personally.
Saw Seeds of Hope in this International and Intergenerational Dialogue
At the end of the session, the organizer asked us what the highest future possibilities we are sensing from today’s dialogue. What came up to me was that international and intergenerational listening, dialogue, feeling, and sensing together will trigger courage within us and lead to action from the heart. There is no easy way, but I saw seeds of hope in a space like Umi-Taiwa, Sea Dialogue.
Thank you so much to the people behind うみたいわ umitaiwa for your passion and commitments!!
And I thank Dr. Otto Scharmer and his team at Presencing Institute for not only inspiring such an initiative but also providing methodology, processes, and practical tools for awareness-based systems transformation.
“Possible World Game” Global Forum 2022 Community Hosted Session by Philippine based GAIA GAYA will be on August 5, 2022
I am originally from Japan and currently based in the Philippines. Together with my colleague in the Philippines, we founded a group called GAIA GAYA, in 2020. Just like Umi-taiwa, we are a group of Theory U practitioners inspired by GAIA (Global Activation of Intention and Action) Journey and other programs by the Presencing Institute.
GAIA GAYA develops sustainability conscious leaders by raising awareness, inspiring action, and catalyzing collaboration to make sustainability everybody’s business. And one of the key tools we use is the 2030 SDGs Game and its online version Possible World Game. It is a facilitated online multi-player game that simulates taking the “real world” into the future.
GAIA GAYA will be hosting one of the Global Forum 2022 Community Hosted sessions on August 5, 2022. You are invited to join us and learn about leadership and the sustainability challenges that our planet is facing today. Players will collectively learn the interconnected nature of our world, and how our own actions impact the world.
Detail of the Possible World Game session is as follows
Date: August 5, 2022
Time: 8:00am to 11:30am EDT
2:00pm to 5:30pm CET
8:00pm to 11:30pm Philippine Time
We need minimum of 10 people to play the game. We are setting the maximum to 28 for this event. Please pre-register from the link below: https://forms.gle/gVCDXmPiKeEFLfFd9
Pre-session learning
Participants are requested to watch a video regarding the game prior to the session. https://youtu.be/ubB5-kkAzms (7 minutes)
Hardware & Software Requirements
1. Please join from a computer. Tablets or mobile phones may NOT be used.
2. Browser to access the game should be only Chrome, Edge or Safari.
3. Reasonably fast and stable network connection for gameplay and
communication.
4. Headset for communication
5. Version of Zoom: 5.3.0 or later.
6. Please have a pen/pencil and paper/pad handy with you for journaling
practice.
Familiarity Requirements
1. Zoom: How to Rename, Mute, Text chat, View change, Move in/out of
breakout rooms
2. Web Browser: How to adjust the screen size using zoom in/out.
GAIA GAYA is looking forward to play the game from people all around the world!
