My Own Global Workshop
By Rika Nakamura
I was blessed with the opportunity to participate in ‘Imagining Inclusive and Equitable Media Futures 2023’ as an expert in advertising ethics from Japan. There, we all learned media from a variety of multicultural academic perspectives, all looking to the future.
The most valuable thing to me was the connection with people, specifically, faculty members from different countries and fields. Having participated as a professional, too old to fit in with undergraduate seminars, but not yet qualified to bring value to other students, I was almost lost in how to provide value to the program. However, professors paved my way to being part of the program by advising me on the way forward.
A professor from Hongkong advised me to conduct a 1-hour workshop about advertising ethics, which is my focus in Japan, to undergraduate participants and provided detailed feedback on my workshop slides. Some American professors assisted me in creation of the workshop for generating discussions, and a British professor added a discussion point on my slide from his knowledge of gendered advertising. With each of the professors’ support, I was able to host an insightful workshop with 8 international students with profound analysis and a deep discussion on controversial ads from both the Western world and Japanese society.
I am grateful that not only did I get the support I needed, but also I was able to cater to the context of my home, Hiroshima, within the program.
During the program, when we visited Mauthausen Memorial, I discussed with peers and professors the similarities and differences to Hiroshima’s peace museum. We also talked about the currently popular meme Barbenheimer from the US, in which the atomic bomb was used in a jokey way, polarising the perceptions and opinions in the West and Japan. Even after the program, professors were happy to discuss these topics in different cultural contexts and we were able to mutually obtain insights into different cultures and thoughts.
These experiences discussing cultural perceptions and sharing my own context from home will contribute to my future career, and help me grow advertising ethics in Japanese society. In my opinion, the continued analysis of cultural perceptions is key to adjusting correctly.
