Bokyu Summit 2024 report

Bokyu Summit 2024 took place on Friday, 23 August 2024, at the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center in Yoyogi, Tokyo. It was the first gathering of participants from business, government, academia and civil society around the theme of Bokyu: learning to protect ourselves and the people we care about from hardship.

In the opening greetings, Grameen Nippon Chair 百野公裕 discussed approaches to addressing poverty, drawing on specific figures. 渋川勉 of the Welfare Policy Division in Fujimi City’s Health and Welfare Department spoke about local government’s expectations for poverty prevention.

In the first part of the summit, six organizations presented their work: proj-inclusive, the Institute of Poverty Prevention, the Bokyu Research Group, Behavior Assist Lab, Life Literacy and the Otani University Shiratori Project. Their wide-ranging experience across business, government, academia and civil society reinforced the importance of Bokyu.

In the second part, participants ranging from students in their teens to working adults in their sixties formed five workshop groups. Using a logic model being developed by the Bokyu Research Group, they proposed activities to introduce poverty prevention more widely, grouped their ideas and presented them. Students offered fresh ideas involving contemporary devices to reach younger generations. Discussion across ages and occupations helped participants imagine the future of Bokyu activities.

The summit was organized by the Bokyu Summit Executive Committee, of which the Institute was a member. Committee members prepared the event voluntarily alongside their regular work. Although this was our first event and there were areas for improvement in its operation, meeting in person generated lively discussion and new ideas, creating an opportunity to carry Bokyu into the future.

We believe there is great value in continuing to bring people working on poverty prevention together. We look forward to your continued guidance and support.