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“Can you feel close to African and South American countries while being in Japan?”
“What kind of country is Madagascar? Africa? Asia?”
“What’s the difference between alpacas and llamas in Peru?”
To answer these questions, a month after returning to Japan, the second edition of the event “Feel the World through the 5 Senses” was held, organized by Global Learning Center 3L—MIEL. Day 1 focused on Madagascar 🇲🇬 in Africa, and Day 2 on Peru 🇵🇪 in South America.
As usual, we had last-minute announcements due to my health issues, and although we had to postpone the event by a week due to a typhoon—which led to many cancellations—both days were fully booked in the end. Learning from the last event, we made sure this one provided valuable learning experiences for both participants and organizers.
📺⬇️Here is a 2-minute introductory video about Global Learning Center 3L—MIEL⬇️📺
Contents
Return and Preparation:
I returned to Japan from Africa in the summer of 2024. Coming back after 18 years overseas was honestly nerve-wracking. After my return, I immediately started preparing for activities!
… or so I had hoped. Instead, my body, accustomed to a fast-paced life of international travel, fell ill during the first two or three weeks after returning to Japan. I originally wanted to organize a summer program, but that wasn’t possible. Rather than lamenting, I decided to jump straight into event planning once I recovered. I focused on applying the lessons learned from the event we held in April:
- Even if covering two countries, use a single flyer for promotion → implemented.
- The space felt a little cramped last time due to the large number of people → reduced the maximum number of participants to create more space.
- Creating an atmosphere before participants enter the venue could enhance the experience → used artificial turf, a chalkboard, and decorations.
- The projector was hard to see due to the lighting → purchased a larger screen TV for better visibility.
- Interactions with local people were valuable, so it would be great to continue this somehow → implemented through online connections!
- I’d like to see more people speaking the local language, even just for a toast or greeting → included mini language learning sessions with toasts and greetings!
The event was held at the same location as the last one, in a classroom on the first floor of the former Kinukawa Sewing School in Sumiyoshi, Kobe. As mentioned earlier, after recovering, I began promoting the event just 10 days before the scheduled date. I distributed flyers, used social media, and word-of-mouth, and the participant count started to increase. However, due to Typhoon No. 10, we decided to postpone the event by a week, causing many cancellations. Despite this setback, both days ended up fully booked!
During the Madagascar edition, I was able to connect with a local friend and influencer, Mimi, online, and for the Peru edition, we connected with my Peruvian friend, Christina, who was in India. Although I had hoped to have locals from the Kansai area attend the event in person, it didn’t work out this time. Nevertheless, we did everything we could within our means and shortened the event duration to 2 hours (down from 2.5 hours) to accommodate a variety of activities
Implementation
Once again, preparing food and programs took a lot of time, so I went into the event with little sleep. Thanks to my daughter’s grandfather, who helped as a babysitter, we managed to pull off the event. Below is an overview of the program:
- Icebreaker (Clap with the world map, World greetings to choose from, Everyone plays with sounds, and Relationship building among participants)
- Pre-test (How much do you know about the world and the countries, and how familiar do you feel with them?)
- Introduction to Global Learning Center 3L – MIEL and two stories
- Five-sense stretching
- Introduction to the countries (in a quiz format) and experiential activities (touching, smelling the ingredients of local foods, and participating in meal prep)
- Presentation of world food, drinks, and desserts
- Introducing videos, stories, performances (music and dance) from the countries
- Mini language lessons (French for Madagascar and Spanish for Peru)
- Connecting online with locals
- Local games (In Madagascar, walking with an African cloth and water on your head, and in Peru, playing Yaces, a game with stones and balls)
- Reflection of the day
- Post-test (same as the pre-test)
- Post-event questionnaire
⇧ Just from this information, you might feel like, “Wow, I can really feel the atmosphere!”
But I bet that’s not the case (at least, I wouldn’t fully understand it myself), so I hope the following collage of photos helps to convey some of the event’s atmosphere.”
Photos
⓪ Collage of highlight photos from both events
“I completely understood everything from these photos!”
…is probably something no one would say, so I’ll break down the photo-heavy collage into categories:
①Interaction between facilitators and participants: Participants choose various world greetings and each person greets others with sincerity.
②Participant interaction time: The process of strangers from different age groups and backgrounds getting to know each other.
③Local food: The dishes recreated in Japan from recipes I learned in cooking classes and from friends in those countries. The top-left menu is from Madagascar, and the bottom-right is from Peru, accompanied by a food waste reduction message saying, “Please take only what you can eat, as there is plenty of food.”
④Online session with locals: Guests included Mimie from Madagascar 🇲🇬 and Cristina from Peru 🇵🇪. Participants asked many questions that they wouldn’t normally have the chance to ask.
⑤Post-meal five-senses play: Participants, both children and adults, experienced carrying large water bottles on African cloths in Madagascar and playing Yaces (stone/ball game) in Peru.
MIEL World Picture Book Library
We also enjoyed the “MIEL World Picture Book Library,” which aims to raise awareness of diversity through picture books. Even if you don’t understand the languages in which the books are written, the illustrations tell stories that open doors to new worlds. I started collecting these books about two years ago.
At first, we gathered them ourselves, but realizing our limitations, we enlisted the help of friends from around the world. We have now collected books in 35 languages, with over 120 books. I hope to collect even more to contribute to fostering diversity awareness (We are always accepting donations of picture books in various languages or related to different cultures 🙏).
Global Environment and Shop
In another room, we had a space to showcase and sell customized items and souvenirs I’ve gathered from around the world, as well as items like magnets from different countries. We also had a 3L-themed crocheted doll (bottom left of the photo). Incidentally, the bookshelf in the top-left photo was donated by a nearby greengrocer called “Marché Yukari,” which I transported by cart. We also received other items like the blackboard for announcements (top-right photo) and tables. I displayed shirts, diaries from my time working with international organizations, an eco-conscious artificial grass rug, and crocheted art with therapeutic effects, creating an environment and shop that helped everyone feel connected to the world.
Participant Learning
From the above, I hope you can see that this event was jam-packed with content involving the five senses.
While it’s great to hear that people enjoyed the event, this is also part of the Global Learning Center 3L–MIEL, a place to offer learning experiences that make the world and ourselves more visible (“MIEL”). The goal was to feel a connection to the featured countries and turn that into learning.
We conducted pre- and post-event surveys with about 40 participants over two days. The average score (out of 5) for feeling connected to the countries, one of the event’s main objectives, increased significantly for both Madagascar (1.9 → 3.9) and Peru (2.1 → 4.1)!
Additionally, a follow-up survey showed that 100% of participants said they learned something from the event. The overall event rating and recommendation score averaged 4.7 out of 5.
Participants ranged in age from 3 to 92, including people in wheelchairs and vegetarians. The diverse group included students, international relations professionals, educators, healthcare workers, business people, travelers, three-generation families, and lifelong learners—perfect for promoting diversity.
Here are some specific comments from the participants:
🌍 “There aren’t many events where people of all ages can experience the world through the five senses—it was fantastic!”
🌍 “I loved the interactive world greetings.”
🌍 “It felt very homey and relaxing. If this expands, I think the fun will increase too, like staying overnight or holding it outdoors.”
🌍 “I want to learn about more countries.”
🌍 “The overall structure was well done, keeping us engaged. The five-senses activities opened our hearts, and interactions with others promoted understanding, interest, and learning about other countries.”
🌍 “Using the five senses made it exciting and memorable. It’s just plain fun, and it reminded me to incorporate physical activity when teaching kids.”
🌍 “The content was rich and enjoyable. My high school daughter spent her second and third years of junior high during the pandemic, and she used to be shy and introverted. But now I can see her growth. Looking only at Japan, tests and entrance exams seem overwhelming, but seeing the wider world made me realize that exams are just one small part of life. On the way home, we talked about this, and I feel it’s important for both adults and children to experience the wider world. Thank you!”
🌍 “I think more people will join with each event—please keep at it!”
🌍 “I became more interested in those countries. I hadn’t attended an event like this in a long time, and it was fun to see everyone excited about learning new cultures.”
🌍 “Even though I didn’t know anyone, I had a very pleasant time.”
🌍 “Food is a great way to engage people in international or cross-cultural events, and I had a blast.”
🌍 “I hadn’t imagined what life was like in those countries, but talking to locals online made me feel like I could tell others, ‘Hey, I’ve spoken with someone from there!’”
🌍 “The world picture books on display were fascinating!”
🌍 “I enjoyed communicating with other participants, and after introducing each other, I suddenly felt everyone became friendlier. I was surprised at the casual conversations we had before the seminar ended.”
After the event, I received a letter from one elderly participant, which brought tears to my eyes:
“Thank you for letting this old lady join the young people. It was lovely to see strangers come together and leave as friends. Learning about the world through the five senses may be a first, even in Japan or the world. I wish my late husband, who traveled the world, could have enjoyed this delicious food and wonderful gathering. Thank you, thank you.”
I hope these experiences helped people see the world and themselves more clearly.
Although the event lasted just over two hours, I believe it achieved its original purpose, proving that it is possible to feel close to African and Latin American countries while remaining in Japan and demonstrating some of the lessons learned.
A Symbolic Gesture for 3L (To represent 3L, we raised three fingers!)
Learning from the Organizers
As organizers, we also learned from carrying out the event and from the feedback from participants. Here are some key points:
🌍 With more people participating positively, it could generate more proactive engagement.
🌍 We didn’t have a plan in place to manage last-minute cancellations.
🌍 A membership system might be a good idea.
🌍 We could have included more connections between the featured countries and Japan without overloading participants with information.
🌍 For elderly participants, we could provide chairs with backrests.
🌍 We couldn’t fully explain the stories behind the world items we sold.
🌍 Involving embassies and locals from the countries could create synergistic effects, like sourcing ingredients from their contacts.
🌍 To expand in the future, volunteers and collaborators are essential.
Key Learning from This EventーWrap up
The first event after returning to Japan taught us many things, confirming that the best way to learn is by trying. We will continue to grow from these lessons.
By making the world and ourselves more visible (“MIEL”), we aim to promote diversity and wide-ranging learning. Though it may be a long journey, I hope we can walk it together with many people.
Thank you for reading this article. Have a great learning!
MD