Japan Study Tour (JST) alumni came together in October 2018 for an afternoon of sharing best practice, including work in supporting people with early onset dementia and Alzheimers, together with other professionals from the UK and Japan, to discuss ideas about collaboration and professional networks.
The event was organised on the UK side by Clare Jones, Senior Occupational Therapist at Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust based in Northallerton (JST 2018), North Yorkshire, with coordination on the Japanese side by Toko Chihara, Senior Mental Health Nurse at the Trust. Clare presented on how the visit to Japan on JST had impacted on her work and projects to further link with professionals in the area of early onset dementia and Alzheimer’s in both countries which are facing similar challenges with an ageing population.
Colleagues from Arima Kougen Hospital in Kobe City Hyogo Prefecture, in the UK for a study visit to Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust also took part in the afternoon to present on projects in Japan, specifically the Arima Highlands Village project which renovates traditional minka style houses and adapts them for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia to live in a community so they can live in a familiar environment with additional support facilities.
The group from Japan, lead by Mr Minoru Suzuki, CEO Arima Kougen Hospital presented on how the Highland Village project had been developed out of a series of empty traditional houses, and on the collaboration of the private sector, local government and academia to promote the creation of a local network which uses the resources of the village community and focuses on human contact between dementia sufferers and people living in the area.
The event was held at Southwark Cathedral by arrangement of David Quirke-Thornton (JST 2018) Strategic Director, Children’s and Adults Services Southwark Council and was attended by staff from Southwark and NHS across south London. Additionally, JST alumni from the 2018 attended and presented, including Lily Kwong, Regeneration Officer at Haringey Council and Krzysztof Mikata-Pralat, Director of Fulham Good Neighbour Service to present on projects connected with the theme of the event.
Over 200 UK local government and public sector professionals have taken part in JST hosted by local authorities throughout Japan, and 2019 celebrates the 25 years the tour has been running. JST alumni return from Japan and continue to maintain professional links through the JST network supported by JLGC as well as with the host authorities in Japan.
JST alumni will meet in March this year for an event to discuss JST legacy and how to build sustainable partnerships with Japanese colleagues in the public sector at Japan House London, to hear feedback from this year’s tour group who visited Miyagi Prefecture in January, as well as meet with previous years’ alumni to discuss post JST links with Japan.
The event is also open to public sector professionals interested in future Japan Study Tours as well as more general links with Japanese local authorities and the work of JLGC. For more details about the event please contact mailbox@jlgc.org.uk
N.B. This is a networking event for public sector professionals and the venue has limited capacity. We welcome interest from UK and northern European local government and public policy professionals.
