On May 12th, 2025 the Faculty of Global Engagement welcomed Brian Collins to Morita Hall, where he delivered a lecture entitled "Creating the Magic for Disney" to an audience of approximately 150 students from all departments throughout the university.

In addition to his long career with Disney, Collins is also an instructor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, one of the world's most prestigious schools in tourism and hospitality.

In his talk to KUFS students, Collins shared his experience as an Imagineer, helping to create magical experiences for visitors to Disney theme parks. He showed the important role that storytelling and creativity, along with innovation, plays in creating the magic that so many people have come to love.

One important question he posed to the audience was, "Are you crazy enough to change the world?" This theme ran through his message, and he encouraged our students to be unique, push boundaries, and to think and act in different ways than others.

Collins also addressed technology - especially advanced technologies like A.I. and robotics - can be used to enhance human interaction and story-based connection. The future of hospitality seems bright and limitless.

Finally, Collins ended his talk with some group photos and a question and answer session with interested students.

The promotion of this event was made possible by the hard work of two Global Studies students, Nodoka Okada and Akemi Nakashima, in collaboration with two students from the Global Tourism department, Mako Iwamoto and Nodoka Kawahara. All four students designed the posters and social media posts that promoted the event in advance and afterwards. It was a job well done!

Introduction to Service-Learning: Learning through Engagement with Communities

On May 9th, 2025, the Community Engagement Workshop A class (for second-year students) welcomed Professor Atsuko Kuronuma from International Christian University for a guest lecture on Service-Learning. This course serves as preparation for students’ community engagement projects planned for the fall.

Professor Kuronuma introduced three key concepts - service, reflection, and reciprocity - that invited students to rethink the meaning of meaningful community engagement. She also provided a useful framework for mapping community engagement within the broader field of service-learning.

We were also joined by visiting students from Utah State University, who actively participated and brought diverse perspectives to the discussion. We deeply appreciated their involvement.

Professor Kuronuma’s lecture was rich in interactive activities and beautifully embodied the philosophy of service learning. One group activity asked students to rank various actions, such as disaster relief or military service, in terms of their value as “service.” This sparked thoughtful conversations and highlighted both cultural and individual differences in perception. While some students saw military service as highly valuable due to its physical and emotional demands, others hesitated, pointing out the complexity of its role in society.

Through this experience, many students came to understand service not merely as an act of helping others, but as a reciprocal relationship in which both sides learn and grow. Reflection, too, was reframed - not just as writing in a journal, but as a process of personal and social transformation. The “What? → So what? → Now what?” model of reflection particularly resonated with students.

The lecture also helped students clarify the differences between volunteering, internships, and service-learning. What sets service-learning apart, they learned, is its academic foundation and its focus on mutual benefit. One student reflected, “It’s not about what you’re doing, but why and how.”

Professor Kuronuma emphasized the importance of the hyphen in service-learning, describing it as the bridge between action and learning. That bridge, she explained, is built through students’ reflective engagement with their service experiences.

This lecture left a strong impression on the class and provided valuable tools and insights for their future community-based activities. We are deeply grateful to Professor Kuronuma for her inspiring and thought-provoking session.

For four days students from the Department of Global Studies (DGS) at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (KUFS) engaged in hands-on learning as part of a Community Engagement Project (CEP) in Sakai City, immersing themselves in activities that directly addressed the city’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From January 30 to February 2, sixteen DGS students representing eleven different countries, participated in the initiative, led by Associate Professor Angus McGregor and organized by Atsuo Itsuji, Director of Wellness Inbound Association. The project provided students with an opportunity to learn how Sakai City collaborates with various stakeholders to create a livable and sustainable community in alignment with the United Nations SDGs.

Preparations for this project began in the spring term through the Community Engagement Workshop class, where students studied Sakai City's history, SDGs platform, and the challenges faced by new immigrants. In the fall term, students conducted interviews with key stakeholders involved in areas such as education, human rights, employment, and disaster preparedness, which helped lay the groundwork for their field activities.

During their time in Sakai City, students participated in a series of workshops led by city officials on the SDGs platform and disaster preparedness initiatives. A visit to the city’s disaster preparedness center provided a deeper understanding of Sakai’s efforts to mitigate risks from natural disasters. Students learned about infrastructure designed to protect the city from floods, fire drills, and emergency response strategies. A Japanese student reflected on her experience using the earthquake simulator, saying, "It was especially scary since we are all aware that a big earthquake has been forecast for Japan for the coming decades. The simulation felt very real and left me feeling uneasy.”

Another major component of the project involved cultural exchange with Sakai City's Brazilian and Filipino communities. At Projecto Construir Artel (PCA), a non-profit organization supporting the Brazilian community, students helped prepare meals for the Kodomo Shokudo, a program providing food to local children and adults from the Brazilian expatriate community. They also led Japanese and English games for younger participants.

With the Filipino community, students conducted interviews with three mothers who shared their experiences as international residents navigating issues related to employment, education, and social engagement. This provided students with valuable insights into the daily lives of Sakai City’s diverse population.

On the final day of the CEP, students attended a cultural exchange party organized by the Sakai City Philippine Exchange Association. The event featured presentations on Filipino culture, traditional dances, and a Boodle Fight banquet—a communal meal where food was arranged artfully on banana leaves spread across long tables. Guests stood around the tables filled with chicken, sausage, grilled pork, fish, shrimp, vegetables, rice, and noodles, sharing stories, laughter, and cross-cultural learning.

Many students expressed that the experience was both eye-opening and transformative. A student from the United States remarked, “This CEP provided me with an invaluable experience, which is different from my normal KUFS campus life.” Similarly, a Chinese student shared, "This project helped us learn from the real-life experiences of local residents and understand how Sakai City is working to create a community that welcomes everyone."

The Community Engagement Project in Sakai City exemplifies DGS’s commitment to fostering global citizenship through experiential learning. By engaging with local communities and sustainability initiatives, KUFS students deepened their understanding of the complexities of sustainable development and cross-cultural collaboration—valuable lessons they will carry forward in their academic and professional journeys.