This May Term I am leading a group of 14 students to Tochigi, Japan for a video documentary project for an NGO called Asian Rural Institute (ARI). This documentary will document the organization’s 50 year history and stories of their graduates. Here is a description of what ARI is from ARI’s website:
ARI was founded in 1973 by Rev. Dr. Toshihiro Takami the aim of the program is to invite and train local grassroots leaders to more effectively serve in their communities as they work for the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized. Each year from April to December we bring together about 30 leaders from countries primarily in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific to take part in our Rural Leaders Training Program. The training focuses on sustainable agriculture through integrated organic farming techniques, community building, and servant leadership. Its community based and hands-on learning is emphasized in all areas. Working together we grow and share our own food. At the heart of the program is the concept of ‘Foodlife‘ – a term designed to recognize and value the interdependency between life and the food that sustains all life.
Our class will join the 2023 cohort at the ARI school in Japan. We will live, eat and socialize with a cohort that is made up of community leaders from countries all over the world. These leaders as well as the staff of ARI use English as a common language, which will make it easier for our group to interact with our subjects.
Large projects like this provide students a real life industry experience of what it is like to work on a crew together with individual assignments that contribute to the whole. In the past these projects have not only contributed to the learning outcomes of our program but they have also won awards and recognition for our students and institution.
It’s hard to believe in two days we will be on our way to the other side of the world. We are currently deep into the packing and making sure we have all the gear we need and not anything we don’t need. We have a great group of students on the trip and only one of them has ever been to Japan. It is our hope to keep this blog updated daily with insights from our students. Please check back and follow our social media on Instagram and Facebook.
Kyle Hufford
Associate Professor of Communication
