Onsite Konshinkai report

AJSV onsite Konshinkai was held on 24 November. With over 40 people in attendance, it was a great night.

We all enjoyed this long awaited in-person Konshinkai event. After being through the lengthy lockdown, everyone was delighted to catch up with both familiar faces and new.

The venue (The Bank on Collins) was also great and spacious creating a fantastic atmosphere. It was an event you wouldn’t want to miss. We hope to see you all next time!

AJSV Mentoring Program update 

On Wednesday 13 October, AJSV launched the 2021 AJSV Mentoring Program through an online event. The event was a success and included open remarks from Saito-San, Deputy Consulate General of Japan to Victoria and a panel regarding the role of mentoring in professional development, opportunities for success and lessons learnt with Ross Ciaravolo (AJSV), Izuhara Takero-san (ST Solutions Australia - SoftBank) and Eleanor Gray (State Street Trust Bank, Fukuoka). Each specialist provided insight into the role that mentoring has played in their professional development and network building, including questions from the audience about best practice. The panelists provided these top tips to get the most out the program.

• Ross - understanding. Including of yourself. Things that you may find to be objective truths, are subject to other perspectives/interpretations. A lot of the times your initial impressions change as you understand more. Also reduce apprehension about challenges that people face when building a career. Important to build yourself; hard to do on Zoom. We all look a bit different on screen to real life; we are human beings, and not always as authentic on screen. Mentoring is a natural human behaviour to help get you through life. Goes back to prehistoric times. Big part of Australian first nation peoples, Eastern culture - China Japan India, Western culture going back to Ancient Greeks. If you don't be natural during mentoring session, won't get good outcome.
• Izuhara - communication is very important. Understand who you are. Set goal of what you want to achieve during this program together; want to keep in touch with mentee after the program.
• Eleanor - knowledge beneficial for mentor as well. Be as honest as possible. Have goals and a vision for what you as mentee want to gain in the relationship. e.g. finding job in Japan.

This was followed by information regarding the AJSV Mentoring Program and next steps for those in attendance. A total of 28 (attendee list pending) people attended, including representatives from the 2021 cohort, AJS NSW and ACT, Melbourne University Japanese Club, contacts of the Japanese Consulate and wider AJSV Members. The event was not recorded, however a summary doc was provided to the cohort. The partnerships have been allocated already and this program will conclude in mid December.

Annual Kyoto Writing Competition

AJSV is pleased to support Australian writers to enter Writers in Kyoto's Seventh Annual Kyoto Writing Competition. If you love writing, it's a great opportunity to work on your Kyoto piece and win a great prize!

• Theme: Kyoto (English language submissions only)

• Deadline: March 31st, 2022 (23:59 JST)

• Genre: Short Shorts (unpublished material only)

• Word Limit: 300 Words (to fit on a single page)

• Form: Short poems, character studies, essays, travel tips, whimsy, haiku sequence, haibun, wordplays, dialogue, experimental verse, etc. In short, anything that helps show the spirit of place in a fresh light. A clear connection to Kyoto is essential.

Learn More