NEWS
2023.06.22
【Report】 The 56th AJI Frontier Seminar was held! Dr. Polina Ivanova: "Co-Creating Social Capital "
On June 13th, 2023, the 56th AJI Research Frontier Seminar took place online. Dr. Polina IVANOVA (Senior Researcher, Ritsumeikan Asia-Japan Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University) gave a presentation entitled "Exploring Interactions between International Students and Civil Society in Japan," based on her recent book, Civil Society and International Students in Japan.
By evaluating the experiences of a diverse group of international students in Japanese universities, Dr. Ivanova investigated how effectively CSO’s, university clubs, ethnic-based associations and informal hobby groups could generate social capital in the short term of a university course, and how successful they were in meeting students’ expectations and needs.
During the pandemic, she observed the failure of ISSO’s to adjust as in-person events became impossible and Zoom did not satisfy students needs for direct social contact and interaction. Many local groups could not adapt to the “new normal” and remained paralyzed. This resulted in isolation, relationship problems, study difficulties, the loss of part-time jobs and employment opportunities that caused many students to suffer from stress, anxiety, insomnia, and depression.
She found that groups who valued intercultural training and allowed students to participate actively were successful in the exchange of information, mutual help, shared norms, forming friendships, and establishing new connections. On the other hand, obstacles included a lack of understanding of the student’s actual intentions and motivations, their short-term periods of stay, and especially in Japan, the absence of an official coordinating agency supporting international students.
Dr. Ivanova concluded that interacting with international students has presented new challenges to the top-down nature of Japanese civil society, and this has generated unusual political activism by creating new organizations and new forms of civic engagement as students proactively searched for solutions outside their universities and usual support groups.
The presentation was followed by and lively Q & A session, in which the audience, many of whom were international researchers asked Dr. Ivanova various questions about how she conducted her research during the pandemic, about students’ difficulties during lockdown, and her thoughts on the particular obstacles encountered by other Asians in Japan. Everyone enjoyed discussing these important and relevant topics with Dr. Ivanova.
Dr. Ivanova delivering her presentation
Please visit the following link for previous AJI Frontier Seminars:
https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/aji/young_researcher/seminar/archive/