27/01/2020 “Kick-off Meeting for EPA Returnees”

On 27 January 2020, a kick-off meeting was held at Osaka Long Life for our project “Vitality-Producing Entrepreneurship, Advocacy, and Research with an Eye to Aging and the Movement of People in Asia: Interactions between Ex-EPA Nurses from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.” One returnee from the Philippines, two from Indonesia, and two from Vietnam gathered to discuss their experiences working at Japanese hospitals and facilities under the EPA program, their activities after returning to their home countries that drew from those experiences, and their future aspirations.
Project co-representative Yuko Hirano (Nagasaki University Professor) also gave a lecture on a pillar of this project: the possibility of sharing knowledge and skills related to oral swallowing care among countries.
Hideo Tone from the Toyota Foundation, which supports this project, also participated. University of Tokyo graduate student Antonia Bea Lee prepared a number of games for everyone. This enjoyable ice-breaking session allowed participants who had never met before to get to know each other quickly. Long Life provided us with quite delicious halal boxed lunches.