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| Uonuma Association for Multicultural Exchange |
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<< Case Study of UMEX>>
New Attenpt for Supporting International Students at International University of Japan
| Satoko Takeda | |
| Office of Student Services, International University of Japan |
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This essay was originally written in Japanese at the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and appeared in their monthly magazine entitled "Daigaku to Gakusei" of the December 2003 issue. 1. Introduction As of May 1 2003, the total number of international students studying in Japan is 109,508, and the Plan to Accept 100,000 International Students(1) that was introduced 20 years ago finally proved successful. The end of the Plan means a new stage in the government policy and has given rise to discussion over how the new policy should be implemented to support international students. At the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Central Council for Education released the interim report on the Development of New International Students Policy in May 2003. In the meantime, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Post and Telecommunications (MPHPT) has initiated an ex post policy assessment regarding the promotion of accepting international students. The interim report of the Central Council for Education marked a striking shift from its conventional policy for international students, which had mainly focused on accepting International students from abroad, and referred to the support for Japanese students who go abroad to study. The report also mentioned the support for activities undertaken by private entities in the section on Exchanges between International Students and Local Communities. This article explores new possibility of international student exchanges by introducing a case study of the UONUMA Association for Multicultural Exchange (UMEX)(2), an organization that showed initiative in creating a forum for international exchange between international students and local people at International University of Japan, long before the above mentioned interim report was published The International University of Japan, where I work, was established in 1982 as the first university that specializes in the graduate curriculum and uses English in all the classes. The university now holds two schools (Graduate School of International Relations and Graduate School of International Management) and offers four programs (International Relations Program, International Development Program, Master of Business Administration (MBA)(3), and Master of E-Business Management). The fact that among the 260 regular students, approximately 80 percent come from outside Japan and represent 51 countries in the world offers an unique environment for education at this school. 2. Launching UMEX (1) IUJ Vision for International Students In March 2003, I received a report "Academic Research of Life and Town-building at Yamato-machi, Niigata"(4) from the Office of Interdisciplinary Social Studies, the Department of Advanced Social and International Studies at the University of Tokyo. The Part 1 Section 11 of the report, Exchange between Yamato-machi and International Students of IUJ(5), was written by Takeshi Kagoshima who interviewed 19 IUJ students that represented 11 countries in November 2000. His report researched how international students at IUJ lived and how they communicated with the local community. The content of the report could be summarized as follows: Although most of international students at IUJ are not intending to study on Japan, they are more or less interested in Japan as a country. In reality, however, they hardly have an opportunity for exchange with Japanese people. Possible factors hindering such an exchange could be the language barrier and a lack of an agent who could work between them and the local community. IUJ students are interested in Japan, and over 80 percent of respondents are seeking more interaction with the local people than they have now. Similarly, over 60 percent of the Yamatomachi residents surveyed were also found to be favourable to the idea of international exchange forum. However, there exists a gap in terms of what each side wants through this exchange and there exists very few opportunity for any exchange to begin with, which has made it even more difficult for them to interact with each other. There are also some people who "are willing to participate, but do not want to take an initiative in starting up such an opportunity. Even if they want to, it is difficult to put that into action and continue such an initiative." In order to overcome a language barrier and have a successful exchange between international students and local community, Kagoshima pointed to the need for an intermediary and concluded his report by saying this intermediary has to be "a person or organization that can understand who needs what kind of an exchange." (2) A 'Place' to Link International Students and the Local Community About the time Kagoshima was working on interviews with international students, I was feeling the limitation as to what the school can do to help a daily life of international students and started to doubt the meaning for international students who come to Japan and study in English. IUJ uses English as the main language and all the students, in principle, live in student dormitories, which make life easy for those who don't speak Japanese as long as they stay in the school. The school takes pride in a comprehensive support it provides to the daily life of international students, and this pride is underlined by the words of our alumni who now work in Japan or proceeded to other schools and say "I should have learned that IUJ was different from other ordinary universities in Japan." However, we have to admit that the school was limited in a sense to meet students' expectation for learning the Japanese culture and society. A considerable number of international students left Yamato-machi before they got to know any Japanese people, except for their classmates or those who are working at the school. By talking to some other people, I came to be aware of this problem and thought we should establish a place for international students to exchange with local people and learn the Japanese culture and society while they study in the English program. To do so, it was obvious that such a mechanism wouldn't last if it only benefits IUJ and its international students. The local government wanted to position IUJ as its regional resource, the local community wanted to have an exchange with international students, international students were looking for an opportunity to interact with the local community, and the school was feeling the limitation to its capacity in supporting students. The new system had to be beneficial to all of those who had an interest in that matter. This basic course formed a conceptual foundation for UMEX, a "place" to link international students and the local community. And also, this idea put the idea of an "intermediary" into reality as pointed out by the research group of the University of Tokyo. The money needed to realize this plan was granted by the Aid Project for Regional Exchange with International Students of the Association of International Education, Japan.(6) IUJ provided an activity base, the so-called UMEX salon, free of charge, and gave permission to the Office of Student Services to work as a liaison between the local people and the school faculty or students. Both of these two contributions from the school turned out to be a great asset for building up an organizational framework of UMEX. At the time of launching UMEX, not everybody in the school agreed to the concept of its activities. A new business always needs school-wide consensus, but this consensus can be built by a strong lead of those who feel the need of such a business. In July 2002, I participated in the summer seminar held by Japan Network for International Education (JAFSA)(7) and was put in charge of the workshop "Linkage between the Support for International Students and Internationalization in the Local Community" along with Michiko Sugisawa of Musashino International Association. Starting from the consensus for the need of a regional cooperation, the workshop pointed to the lack of actual cooperation in enhancing international student support, and reviewed the way to break this stalemate.(8) The conclusion reached at the workshop was twofold. One was that a wider perspective was needed in reviewing international student support, for example, by incorporating the development of multicultural society in Japan or by introducing internationalization policies of the local community into the international student policies. Another conclusion was the need to reform the way of thinking by people at universities, in order to create regional cooperation and alleviate dissatisfaction felt by the local community who think that university people shut themselves up in universities. As pointed out by the workshop, UMEX can be defined as a tangible attempt of the university to transcend its capacity in traditional regional exchanges. (3) Growing out of a Hobby Club I participated in the First National Meeting for International Exchange and Cooperation(9) in August 2003 and found out that, throughout nation, UMEX was the only organization that focuses mainly on exchanges with international students, holds over 100 members, and hosts activities on a daily basis. The fact that membership exceeded 100 people within the first six months proved that there was a considerable number of hidden population in the region who were hoping for exchanges with international students. In the meantime, a rapid increase in the membership forced UMEX to evolve from a hobby club where everyone knew each other into a socially meaningful non-political organization that aspires to foster internationalization of the region. Though many had a desire to engage in personal exchanges, building and managing an organization for such a purpose was a totally new challenge for UMEX. What is a volunteer organization and what should be their activities? There has not been a clear answer to these questions, but it became obvious through experience that, with over 100 members, it is practically impossible for everyone to participate in all the activities. How can a loose network maintain its organizational framework without having a permanent office by simply holding an activity where "those who can participate in what they can, when they can"? At the graduation in June 2003, a Malaysian student on behalf of all the graduates addressed appreciation for UMEX for providing opportunities in meeting Japanese culture and society. This speech symbolized one milestone for the UMEX history of one year and a half, and signified the meaning of its presence for everyone in the school. 3. Wide Variety of UMEX Activities As of October 2003, UMEX holds 131 registered members. The membership has to be renewed every year, and the total number of those who have registered reached 180. The organization is now supported by students, housewives, local government officials, businessmen and self-employed workers, and encompasses members from the early 20s to 70s of age. Though international exchange organizations tend to be dominated by female members, at UMEX, male members account for nearly 40%. This wide diversity underpins various activities undertaken by UMEX, allowing international students to attain well-balanced understanding of the Japanese culture and society. UMEX members will be assigned based on their request to one of the following six subdivisions: salon, multi-language, workshop, event, public relations, and project subdivisions. Those subdivisions are headed by 14 members of the steering committee. (1) UMEX salon UMEX salon located in the first floor of the third IUJ student dormitory is open every on Tuesday and Friday, 13:00-15:00 and 19:00-20:30, as a place where everyone concerned can meet and talk on a continuous and regular basis to foster interactions. Conversations held at the UMEX salon are often reflected to a variety of activities, including a bus trip, harvesting tour, Hakkaisan climbing, wild vegetable cooking, and hand-roll sushi making as well as presentation by international students or Japanese students of their traditional cultures, lessons for Kado (flower arrangement), Sado (tea ceremony) or calligraphy, and assisting the hosting of the Japanese Night held by Japanese students. (2) Japanese Language Program The UMEX offers two Japanese programs: one is a class room style and the other is a one-on-one conversation partner program. It goes without saying that the Japanese language is already part of the IUJ official curriculum, but those who are weak in English or those who cannot find an appropriate level of a class might not be able to take it as part of the official curriculum. UMEX serves as a plaza for those students as well as their families and other foreigners living in the community to learn Japanese. In the future, we hope to boost a synergy where Japanese programs of IUJ and UMEX can complement and stimulate each other to a higher level. (3) Support for the family of international students Moreover, the biggest advancement in the support for international students is that the launch of UMEX provided a linkage with the family of international students. Leaning Japanese in some cases evolved into exchanges for the whole families of each side, and the outcome of their successful exchanges can often be seen between the end of June and early July when families of Japanese language partners send off families of graduates at Urasa station. (4) Expanding for Elderly and Physically Disabled People One local person who worked for a day care center for the elderly started to hold a meeting for her UMEX language partner and an elderly citizen. She sent in a heartwarming episode that took place at one of the meetings. An international student, who received a neat paper article made by hand, expressed his appreciation saying he would treasure its memory, and the elderly replied with a delighted face and said "Though I have never been abroad in my life, I am happy that what I made by my own hand can travel the world." In another occasion in July 2003, the Niigata Association for People in Wheelchair approached UMEX for a possibility of an exchange with international students, and we held a gathering and went for bowling and barbecue. Upon seeing that their mere participation was enough to make other participants happy, the international students in the beginning could not hide their somewhat awkward reaction, but in the end they did not fail to take close notice of a supporting system and activities for physically handicapped people in Japan. About a year and half have passed since the activities were started, and there is a positive change in the partnership between international students and UMEX members, a linchpin to make the UMEX activities successful. Second year students hosted the welcoming party for new students in September 2003 along with UMEX members, and with their improved Japanese skill, left me a strong impression as they helped UMEX members with their communication. 4. Future Scope In thinking about the future course of UMEX, there are three points to be considered; the first is the activities after the subsidy is terminated in March 2004, the second is relationship with IUJ, and the third is relationship with the local government. In terms of the first point, we expect that UMEX have sufficient human and financial resources to maintain its basic activities, given that IUJ continues to provide a activity base. At the round-table discussion for IUJ and UMEX held in October 2003, IUJ President Ippei Yamazawa expressed that the university would further reinforce its policy for regional exchanges. Thus, the future of UMEX depends on whether this organization can survive as a group composed of volunteers. For volunteer activities to continue, there has to be something people enjoy doing, something fun. However, for such activities to continue, management and coordination play a crucial role because it will contradict the point of volunteers if they are forced to participate. How UMEX should be maintained and what it can do in the future is still a pending issue and subject to change depending on many uncertainties. The second point, relationship with IUJ, might face a new stage as UMEX activities will be coordinated with the school academic program. IUJ is located in a rural village with the population of 14,000. This geographical limitation can work as a negative factor, but at the same time has a possibility to turn it into positive. For example, there is a reason to believe that this place is a good location for the international development study in delving into the problem of Japanese rural regions and development issues of industrializing countries. With the secondary effect on the education, those studying here might be able to find an additional meaning to be in Japan. To open up such a frontier, there has to be a further effort to strengthen the relationship with the local community. By going beyond the traditional framework of support for international students and regional exchange, the university itself can improve the academic environment to sustain its programs. The third point, relationship with the local government, is becoming ever more important corresponding to the increasing number of non-Japanese residents in the Uonuma region. Like other regions, Uonuma also is facing the problem of Japanese language support needed for non-native Japanese wives or children. Consequently, we have recently seen some cases where families of non-native Japanese wives went to the town office to inquire about a Japanese language program in the region and were introduced to UMEX. For the administration to respond to demands from non-native Japanese residents, the human resources and know-how of UMEX can prove greatly valuable. Thus, a close coordination between the administration and UMEX is expected to come in the near future. UMEX is a meaningful case study because this framework to support international students came about as a result of close cooperation of the university and the regional local community. How can such a framework produce a positive impact on the community building that tries to promote exchanges with international students and realize multi-cultural coexistence, and how can it lead to an attractive academic program? A small university in a small town has already made the first step to find an answer to the big questions. Endnotes: (1) The name commonly refers to the first comprehensive policies aimed for international students, announced in the Proposal for the International Students Policy in the 21st Century in August 1983 that promoted international understanding and cooperation in the education and research fields at higher academic levels. The plan specified a target to increase the number of international students up to 100,000 by the early 21st century, the same level as France. (2) With the goal to develop international student exchanges for community building, UMEX has a unique characteristic where the university, local community and administration cooperate and coordinate each other since its launching. Refer to http://umex.ne.jp for detail. (3) In the 2004 Global Business School Ranking, the Economist Intelligence Unit underscored a high reputation for IUJ, ranking its MBA program at 82nd. This was the first time for an MBA program offered in Japan to make it to the ranking. (4) The report was undertaken at Yamato-machi Niigata by the Office of Interdisciplinary Social Studies, the Department of Advanced Social and International Studies at the University of Tokyo between April 2000 and March 2002 to study influence of globalization and changes in the local community. The report was published in March 2003. Professor Toru Nakanishi is a former faculty at IUJ and, for that reason, selected Yamato-machi and IUJ as his research subject. (5) Ibid, pp.114-124. (6) The plan was sponsored by the Nakajima International Foundation, and the project was titled the Construction of Supporting System for Exchange between the Community and International Students at the Uonuma region in Niigata. The project was approved for three years between fiscal 2001 and 2003 with the overall subsidy of 15 million yen. (7) JAFSA was launched in 1968 based on the workshop composed of university faculty members who were in charge of international students. The organization aims to enhance expertise of the Japanese people who work for international education and exchange, foster specialists in the field and cooperation among them, and improve the quality and standard of international education and exchange at the Japanese schools. As of September 2003, the member schools number 171, while there are 7 supporting members, 416 private members, and 24 student members. The chairman is Yukiyasu Sezai, President of Nihon University. (8) The Administrative Inspection Bureau of the Management and Coordination Agency edited and published in 1993 the report "Aiming for 100,000 International Students: the Current Status and Issues of Policies for Accepting International Students." In the report, the Agency pointed to the need for building close local cooperation between the government and the private sector in accepting international students by helping international students understand Japan better while encouraging the local people to participate in the international exchange. (9) The meeting set up an executive committee for the first time at a national level and was co-hosted by Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan Foundation and the Council for Local Authorities for International Relations. The meeting was convened at the JICA Tokyo International Training Center on August 23 and 24, 2003. |
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Uonuma Association for Multicultural Exchange UMEX Salon in International University of Japan [Map (IUJ)] Mailbox: 35-7 Yahata, Minami Uonuma-shi Niigata 949-6609 Japan |
TEL: +81-25-779-1520 FAX: +81-25-779-1520 E-Mail: office@umex.ne.jp |