Event

Intercultural Communication in Practice: Insights from the (Foleshill) Field

Saturday, July 24th, 2010, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Speaker: Minoru Yoshioka

This presentation will share some insights and lessons learned by the presenter, Minoru Yoshioka, who lived and worked in a ‘hyper diverse’ area of Britain. Foleshill and Hillfields are two neighbourhoods in the city of Coventry, where the national-award winning community organisation FolesHillfields Vision Project is based. These neighbourhoods are blessed by diversity – 28,000 people, over 50% Black and Minority Ethnic with over 47 languages spoken – yet are struggling with disadvantage. They are also two of the two neighbourhoods in the top 10% of UK government indices of poverty and deprivation. FHVP is a non-profit organisation trying to bring local people of different communities together to interact, listen to each other and develop understanding of their differences and commonalities within a global perspective. Having volunteered and worked at FHVP for three years, Minoru has experienced the hardship and joy of working in a real multicultural context. In this presentation, he will identify some of the key issues and share much recognised best practices of community cohesion.

Minoru Yoshioka obtained his MA in Peace and Reconciliation Studies at Coventry University in 2007. While in Coventry, he joined the FHVP project first as a volunteer and then as a key staff member responsible for Youth Work and the development of Men's Health Work. He recruited for and ran FHVP's intercultural, community bridge-building Youth Group, established projects on health issues as a way of bringing together ethnically diverse groups of local men and helped maintain a regular safe drop-in space for local people at FHVP. While in Coventry, Minoru did volunteer work at a night shelter for destitute Asylum Seekers and actively campaigned for human rights for Asylum Seekers and Refugees. He is currently working on setting up a project for Japanese and non-Japanese residents to work together to build a better community in Chita City, Aichi, and teaching JHS English.

Organization: East Shikoku Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (East Shikoku JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 500 yen

Venue: Kochi University Asakura Campus, room 136

Location: Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan

Contact East Shikoku JALT

Darren Lingley