[Original by Miki GOTO (January 11, 2023); Translated by Y. Miki/F. Farina] This article was written just before the outbreak of the recent armed conflict in Sudan. Hi everyone! My name is Goto and in charge of the Sudan project. I joined JVC last May and made my first business trip to Sudan in November 2022. Mona, our local staff member, gave us warm welcomes at Khartoum airport in the capital when we arrived. We had only been talking through the screen at Zoom meetings before, so I was able to finally meet her in person. We arrived at the office smoothly, thanks to her having taken care of my…
We made a press release on the revision of the Development Cooperation Charter (DCC): “Call for a Charter that truly stands for Human Security!”
On December 9, 2022, a report was submitted by the Advisory Panel on the revision of the DCC to Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister for Foreign Affairs. We, as members of civil society, held a press conference at the Japan National Press Club hosted by the NGO-side coordinator of the ODA Policy Council and the NGO-side committee of the Partnership Promotion Committee for the NGO-Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Regular Consultation Meeting. —– Press Release: “Call for a Charter that truly stands for Human Security!” December 9, 2022 -Will the government use development cooperation as a “diplomatic tool” and relax the non-military principle? Civil society blew a whistle on the report…
Staff Interview: Miki GOTO (Laos & Sudan Projects)
[Original by Toko ODATE, 2022 Public Relations Intern (March 22, 2023); Translated by K. Takemura/A. Taguchi] In this issue, we focus on the careers of JVC staff members and trace their paths to becoming NGO employees. We hope it will provide some hints for those who are interested in pursuing international cooperation as a career in the future. First of all, please introduce yourself. My name is Miki GOTO, and I am in my first year at JVC. I am in charge of the Laos and Sudan projects in the Tokyo Office. My hobbies are jazz dancing and camping. I got my car license in order to go camping (laughs).…
Appeals regarding the revision of the Development Cooperation Charter (DCC) proposed by 19 NGOs
On September 9, 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced the revision of DCC. Even though it is an important document that is the basic principle of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), the government has started the revisioning procedure without enough explanation about why it is necessary to revise it, or how civilian opinion will be broadly reflected in it. Three nongovernmental organizations, Mekong Watch, Friends of the Earth Japan (FoE Japan), and Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society（JACSES）first called for submitting a written request to MOFA to clarify the issues of ODA and points to be reflected in the revision. JVC also agrees to this…
JVC’s local staff in Jerusalem visited Gaza (Part 3)
[Original published in note.com by Masaya SAIKI, Intern for the Palestine project (March 15, 2022); Translated by Y. Miki/F. Farina] Ms. Ayat, one of our local staff in Jerusalem, visited Gaza. Here is the report on the final day of her visit following part 2. — Drinking coffee in the morning with the sunshine in Gaza is “a great ritual to start the day” for me. Unfortunately, though, a taxi to the place I was visiting had arrived. I always wanted to check out the view of Gaza from the top, and when I went up to the roof of the building I was visiting, there was a lot of…