This evening, I went to an event that a friend told me about called “Kansai Rise”, in the Hommachi area of Osaka. The basic premise of this event series is to help people involved in social activism and volunteering connect with each other and network with like-minded individuals

This time, I was just a spectator and had the chance to listen some interesting stories, such as Shohei Nakamura’s presentation about the first TEDxOsaka event, which he coordinated. I begun thinking about how education, and English education specifically, can have a role in these events.

Special events like this always motivate me to do even more in the communities which I’m actively involved in, lately I’ve really been thinking about what we can do to mobilize JETs, JET alumni, English teachers, and Technology advocates more. We as JETs have an extraordinary network of professionals, all hungry and all actively looking to make a difference.