Thinking about Hahajima's future and life with COVID-19 through online roundtable discussions at Hahajima Bukatsudo!
Each month on Hahajima, island residents host the Hahajima Bukatsudo, a space where participants can discuss a broad range of topics. This report will cover the two roundtable discussions held in 2020. These discussions focused on the topic of dealing with COVID-19. Participants discussed what measures were needed from island residents living on an island with a weak medical system.
At the first roundtable discussion held in late August 2020, participants shared their own observations and individual measures for dealing with COVID-19 on the island. For example, in response to the question, "What would you do if somebody on the island became infected?" the participants expressed opinions such as, "I would think about what we could do on our own to help--shopping on behalf of the infected person, for instance."
In September, a COVID-19 case was confirmed on the neighboring island of Chichijima. This prompted participants to discuss more concrete measures during the second roundtable discussion held in late October. Based on the assumption of "life with COVID-19," participants exchanged opinions on how they could hold the Christmas Children's Festival that has long been a tradition among Hahajima residents.
The Christmas Children's Festival is a community event hosted by Hahajima's social welfare council that has been held for over 30 years on the island with the cooperation of local organizations.
First, an advisor from Bakatsudo, Inc. (professionals who specialize in energizing discussion spaces) spoke about how it was important for the participants to come to a collective understanding of the event's purpose before beginning to discuss how to implement the event.
Participants mentioned several reasons for holding the event, including leaving the children with memories of being loved by people in the community, feeling joy as an adult by seeing the children's smiling faces, and preserving an event that represents the island's charm. Participants then discussed concrete measures for holding the event.
People who live outside of Hahajima also attend the Hahajima Bukatsudo, and this allows for a variety of opinions to be exchanged. "It's important for many people to talk about community issues at a forum like this as though they are personal issues." "Even if we didn't reach a conclusion, many hints were raised." "There is value in simply having a discussion first." As such statements suggest, the participants appreciated the value provided by the Hahajima Bukatsudo, as it enabled them to hear each other's diverse ways of thinking.
