VOICES
The ACE Summer Intensive Program 2024
College of Intercultural Communication
Ms. Saaya Kubo
Collaboration Across Teams for Effective Disaster Prevention
Among six core skills of Critical thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Consilience, Challenge, and Cosmopolitan, I especially enhanced the skill of ‘consilience’ through participating in the 2024 ACE Summer Intensive Program. This experience provided me with new insights into natural disaster management through intercultural communication.
I learned that language barriers and cultural differences have a significant influence on disaster responses. Collaboration between various stakeholders is important for building a resilient society, such as communities, schools, governments, researchers, non-profit organizations, companies, and cooperatives that all have significantly crucial roles to play in ensuring effective disaster preparedness and response.
Although disaster prevention and disaster drills are a familiar concept and practice in Japan, I discovered that there are notable differences in them with other countries. During the final presentation of the ACE program, I learned about the challenges non-native Japanese speakers face in disaster situations. For example, people who do not speak Japanese may face difficulties understanding evacuation procedures or accessing food and supplies during an emergency. By taking part in ACE, I learned the importance of addressing language barriers during emergencies.
Throughout the program, I had the opportunity to enhance my communication and collaboration skills among core skills by collaborating with students from Rikkyo University, Peking University, and Seoul National University as well. Interactions between students from each university allowed me to engage in intercultural dialogue and teamwork, which I find both enriching and educational.
In the future, I would like to further explore the dynamics and the process of trust-building in multicultural teams by leveraging my experience in the ACE program. My experience in the ACE program, particularly working with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds, has inspired me to deepen my research. I value and appreciate the relationships I have built during the program and hope to maintain strong connections with my international colleagues as we continue to develop to become global citizens.
Overall, the ACE program has reinforced my awareness of the importance of effective communication between companies, communities, governments, and other organizations in addressing global challenges. By attending the ACE Summer Program, I have come to see respectful and cooperative communication as a skill I desire to develop, as I would like to contribute to global cooperation as a leader.