EMAIL NEWSLETTER Vol. 30 (November 2024 Issue) |
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The Neurodiversity Project Interview Series Begins!We’re launching a new interview series that spotlights cutting-edge research and initiatives related to neurodiversity both in Japan and abroad. The first installment features the “LITALICO Developmental Characteristics Assessment,” an online tool for evaluating children’s developmental traits. We’ve published a report and video, so
be sure to check them out!
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◆ Announcement from the B Lab Secretariat:
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[Report Published] The 2nd B Lab Online Salon
: We welcomed Mr. Dan Oka (Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Center for Medical and Health Data Science, Institute of Statistical Mathematics, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology) to the B Lab Online Salon, where he spoke about “The Secrets to Creating Communities and Regions Where People Feel Good Living.”
The report is now available!
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◆ What’s New from Each Project!: |
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AI.lab is hosting an AI workshop for kids! On Saturday, January 11, we’ll be holding an AI workshop for children titled “AI x the Five Senses: The Magic of the Senses—Create Your Own Scent.” Whether it’s a spicy scent reminiscent of outer space, the sweet scent of soap bubbles, or the fresh scent after the rain, AI will transform the children’s creative ideas into unique scents. We hope you’ll
join us!
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We’ve started a pilot test of “Coded Braille Tiles,” talking braille tiles! Starting Friday, November 1, for approximately three months, we have installed Braille blocks along an 80-meter stretch on the first floor of the Rakutenchi Building (Kinshicho PARCO) for a pilot test, and have encoded nine specific points.This service provides audio guidance to locations such as the entrance to Kinshicho Parco, the direction toward Kinshicho Station, the movie ticket counter, and restaurants. |
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UDC Sumida to Host the Urban Design Center Conference 2024! The Urban Design Center Conference 2024 will be held on Saturday, November 23. This is a valuable annual opportunity for UDC practitioners from across the country to gather and network. We warmly welcome not only those involved with UDC but also anyone interested in community development through public-private-academic collaboration.The main theme is “Enhancing the Value of Urban Spaces Through Public-Private-Academic Collaboration.” We hope you’ll join us. |
In Collaboration with Sumida Ward, We Launched the iU Startup Seminar! In collaboration with Sumida Ward, we held the iU Startup Seminar from August to October 2024. A total of 14 participants—including iU students and members of the general public—took part. By using a certificate issued by Sumida Ward, participants can receive preferential treatment, such as a reduction in the registration and license tax required for company incorporation.
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BFREE 2024 to Be Held! On Tuesday, November 26, we will host BFREE 2024, an industry-academia collaboration workshop on barrier-free technologies and services. The event will feature presentations and discussions not only on technologies and services for people with disabilities (or those requiring support) but also on initiatives to make these accessible to the general public. We look forward to seeing many of you there (free admission).
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◆ B Lab Branch News: B Lab branches are spreading across the globe, both virtually and in person. This month, we bring you news
from B Lab Tanegashima♪ |
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The Furuta region in central Tanegashima has long been famous as a tea-producing area, known for harvesting new tea a month earlier than on the mainland. However, it has been unable to withstand the tide of depopulation, and the number of “abandoned tea fields” is on the rise. Because the tea plants have been left untended, they now stand taller than a person’s height.We have been commissioned by a company that plans and sells wellness-related products to produce sencha using hand-picked new shoots—grown without pesticides or fertilizers, relying solely on the vitality of the tea plants—through a manual processing method.After pilot processing at the local “Kyosei Kobo Sarukani River” (a research base of the University of Tokyo’s Future Vision Research Center), the tea will be completed and sold as a premium-grade tea. We anticipate demand from the yoga and meditation communities. While we already have a track record with black tea and oolong tea, this marks our first venture into domestically produced tea leaves. Please look forward to it. |
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◆ Announcements
from Participating Organizations and Researchers |
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● Yondemy × Springin “Book Review Workshop” Contest: Now Accepting Submissions! (Shikumi Design Co., Ltd.) Everyone has written a book report as homework at some point. However, the impressions you gain from reading a book cannot always be fully expressed through text alone. Why not use Springin’ to express your feelings as “interactive works,” such as games or visual novels? ⇒ For details,
click here
● Please Introduce Companies Promoting Well-Being (ECOTONE Co., Ltd. (Hakuhodo Inc.) – Ken Dōgami, President and CEO) We operate Wellulu, a well-being media platform (250,000 unique users/monthly active users). We’d like to feature companies nationwide that are dedicated to well-being, human capital management, and health management on Wellulu, so please reach out to us. ⇒ For details,
click here
●RoboHon and Pepper are currently collaborating on a limited-time special event at Pepper PARLOR! (SoftBank Corp. · Rie Naoi) “Pepper PARLOR,” a café and dining space that opened on December 5, 2019, is provided by SoftBank Robotics Corp. as a place where visitors can “experience a future where we live alongside robots.” This is a restaurant where the humanoid robot Pepper serves as a staff member, and from November 1 to December 25, 2024, we’ve prepared a special limited-time gift (a Super Special Dance) for Robohon from Sharp Corporation when it visits Pepper PARLOR! This is a special collaboration that transcends manufacturer boundaries.Please be sure to stop by the store. For more details, please visit the Robohon Friends Plaza.
● Metaverse Comprehensive Art Exhibition “ARTLINK” to Be Held!
(Taisho Saito) We are hosting ARTLINK 2024, a new art communication project combining VR and the real world. Fourteen artists are participating. The exhibition features oil paintings (digitized) and digital artworks. Works on display can be purchased via an e-commerce site using a QR code, accessible from either the metaverse or the real-world exhibition venue. ●
November 22: iU Dean to Speak! Sustainability Innovation Network Tokyo (SIN Tokyo) (Sustainaseed Co., Ltd.) A fireside chat featuring startup founders, executives from major corporations, and university professors who are shaping the future from diverse perspectives. Includes company presentations by startups offering solutions to sustainability challenges, as well as networking opportunities. Students are welcome to attend! ⇒ For details,
click here
●My book, *World-Class Explanatory Skills: There’s a “Formula” for Smart Explanations* (SB Creative), was featured in the December 2024 issue of *Public Relations Conference* (on sale November 1) (Koichi Iwasawa, Representative Director, Key Message International Co., Ltd.) My book, *World-Class Explanation Skills: Smart Explanations Follow a “Template”* (SB Creative), was featured in the December 2024 issue of *Public Relations Conference* (on sale November 1), which also included an interview with the author.This book is the first of its kind to explain and introduce the “Message House” framework—adopted by major organizations worldwide—to the Japanese market. ⇒ For details,
click here
● A column series titled “Get a Head Start from India, the World’s Most Populous Country! The Next Trends in PR” (6 installments total) has begun in AdverTimes (Koichi Iwasawa, Representative Director, Key Message International Co., Ltd.) A column series titled “Get a Head Start from India, the World’s Most Populous Country! The Next Trends in PR” (6 installments total) has begun in AdverTimes. As a faculty member specializing in “Multicultural Understanding,” I hope to introduce India’s communication, PR, language, culture, and digital innovation.*Links
to the
first and second installments of the series.
● Guest Speaker at the Mynavi Online Career Seminar 2024 (Shōichi Ōkawa, Ryugaku Sommelier Co., Ltd.) On Friday, November 22, I will be speaking online as a special guest at a Mynavi seminar on the theme “Those Who Can and Cannot Secure Global Employment.”
● We’re Hosting an Online Symposium |
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November 2024, Vol. 30 Publisher: Nanako Ishido Editor: Chika MasudaAddress: 1-18-13 Bunka, Sumida-ku, Tokyo info@blaboratory.org
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