Feb. 22, 2019
Exchange session hosted for grant recipient organizations of Sumitomo Corporation Follow-up Program for the Revitalization of East Japan
On February 7, 2019, Sumitomo Corporation hosted an exchange session for all grant recipient organizations of the Sumitomo Corporation Follow-up Program for the Revitalization of East Japan and related parties.
The Follow-up Program was launched in fiscal 2017 to provide sustained support for revitalization, taking over from the Sumitomo Corporation Youth Challenge Program for the Revitalization of East Japan, a revitalization initiative completed in fiscal 2016. The Follow-up Program aims to assist organizations that seek to solve problems faced by disaster-affected regions, enabling them to take leadership roles in reconstruction.
Events at the exchange session included presentations of reports by organizations and group work aimed at promoting information exchange and networking among grant recipients as well as a poster session to allow attendees to interact with Sumitomo Corporation employees. The exchange session also helped our employees gain an in-depth understanding of the current situation of disaster-hit areas.
In group work, attendees were divided into Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima groups to discuss their current agendas, the strengths of their own activities, and issues that need to be addressed, under the theme, “Creating new communities: What revitalization support efforts revealed.” Group members gave enthusiastic comments such as, “Nearly eight years have passed since the disaster, but we must make further efforts from this point onwards,” and “There is still a lot to be done.”
Tsutomu Morikawa, president of Sumitomo Corporation Tohoku, who also attended the session, expressed his commitment, saying, “I was impressed by the high level of activities undertaken by the organizations. We are determined to continue working with them to make Tohoku a more comfortable place to live.”
