A total of 51 participants attended the colloquium called “Konwa-kai”; 21 were in person, and 30 were online. Under the “The Science of Communities” theme, discussions were held on the research content, challenges of researching communities, and the potential for collaborative research within the institute.
Associate Professor Chiho Ochiai opened with an explanation of the purpose of the event and introduced her research on post-disaster housing reconstruction and communities. This was followed by presentations from Associate Professor Keita Yamaguchi on “Landscape and Community: Practical Knowledge of Collaboration,” and Associate Professor Kenichiro Onitsuka on reconstructing rural communities using ICT.
During the discussion session, despite the differences in academic fields such as engineering, agriculture, and sociology, there was a lively exchange on shared challenges in community-based research, dissemination of research findings, and visions for the future of communities. The colloquium facilitated active interdisciplinary dialogue and is expected to lead to further collaboration and advancement of research across fields.
From the audience, some faculty members from other disciplines pointed out that constantly changing communities can be considered a form of environmental studies precisely because they represent fluid environments, which led to a wide-ranging discussion.
