Study Groups Held for Creating a New Way to Travel to Hachijojima from the Perspective of Altruism
The Re:TABI with Nanairo Hachijo project (hereinafter called "Re:TABI," a portmanteau of rita which means "altruism," and tabi which means "travel") is using altruism as a keyword to create a platform for a way to travel in which people can more thoroughly enjoy Hachijojima.
Under the brand concept of "A rainbow-colored island where you can restore your colors" Hachijojima has been using social media to put the spotlight on people who are active on the island to convey the island's appeal. Digging deeper into this concept resulted in the realization that a common factor among those working actively on the island was that they were people who contributed to Hachijojima (while forgetting themselves). In other words, they had an excellent balance of self-interest and altruism. This led us to propose the creation of a new way to travel from the perspective of altruism.
As one such effort, on October 25, 2022, we released Hachijojima's Sawa no Komichi (footpath in the valley) audio guide on the travel audio guide app ON THE TRIP.
(Screenshot of the app display) https://on-the-trip.net/spots/535?locale=ja&fbclid=IwAR3r3bujykBquPsKGxsc_cb9m1GYj3MtKL0qdvii6gS0blaXJbfz2epWIQk
Taking this opportunity, we invited Professor Asa Ito of Tokyo Institute of Technology, who is attracting attention for establishing "Rita-ism" (the discipline of altruism), to Hachijojima to learn about altruism anew. We held an internal study group for the project members and an open study group that included people from both in and outside the island.
The open study group had more than ten local participants as well as numerous participants from outside the island who participated online. Professor Ito gave a lecture on the concept of altruism and its mindset. The keyword was filtering. We tend to think of altruism as giving something, but doing something for someone proactively can actually be an unwanted action or an imposition for the recipient, or create a relationship of dominance by the giver.
Plants that grow at the foot of a tree grow thanks to the light filtered down through the leaves. However, the tree is not filtering light for the sake of the plants. Isn't altruism in the true sense something that is filtered down from where there is no intent of giving or will to impose or control? With the professor posing this question, the participants each presented their thoughts.
After the study groups, we had Professor Ito actually use the app and listen to the Sawa no Komichi audio guide while strolling on the footpath to experience the various discoveries.
Going forward, we will further use this app to expand the potential of an altruistic way of traveling in Hachijojima, or Re:TABI, through the monitor tour and other activities.