The Hyogo International Association’s Cultural Exchange Publication

Vol.101
Mar2021

The Establishment and Operational Training of the Wide-Area Multilingual Disaster Support Center

Simulation of the process
to support foreign residents during disasters
The Hyogo International Association (HIA) has decided to establish the Hyogo Multilingual Disaster Support
Center to share multilingual information and facilitate support from related organizations in the event of a largescale disaster, and since several years ago, has been preparing a manual to respond appropriately under thesecircumstances. We have now completed two manuals, a manual for staff during disasters and a manual about theestablishment and operation of the Hyogo Wide-Area Multilingual Disaster Support Center. We also have prepareda system to train all of our staff; the first training was held on November 26, 2020 (Thursday).
First, Mr. Doi Yoshihiko, a representative from the Japan Council of Intercultural Community Coordinators (JCICC), summarized the history and the role of the Multilingual Disaster Support Center to our staff. Our staff thenreceived an explanation on our association's manual before proceeding to the simulation training.
During the training, our staff experienced collecting, examining, and prioritizing information necessary for foreign
residents, as well as the procedures for translating and sending out information.
We will continue to have the training to prepare for future disasters.

2
Collecting information from related organizations

1

3
Designated staff prioritizing the information

Confirming the information on the manual for disasters

6
Mr. Doi Yoshihiko, the lecturer,commented on the simulation training

5
Confirming the procedures in themanual4
Preparing the documents for translation (We also
worked on translation for this simulation.)

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INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE CARAVAN PROJECTIf a member organization of the Hyogo Consortium ofInternational Associations wishes to hold an event, we will
dispatch a CIR to different areas in the prefecture free of charge.
Currently, there are three Hyogo Prefecture CIRs from South
Korea, China, and the United States. The purpose of dispatchingthem is to let more citizens in the prefecture interact withdifferent cultures. Please take advantage of this opportunity.

Korean culture lecture at Amagasaki Cityby Korean CIR Jo Huieun

CONTENT OF THE EVENTS•••
Quiz on American Culture at Himeji Cityby American CIR Yuan Lei

Papercutting at Kakogawa Cityby Chinese CIR Wang Qiusheng•Seminar on International
Understanding (CIRs introduce
their country’s culture)
Introducing foreign culture andactivities to children
Making crafts such as
papercutting and art
International food cultureclasses

What is a CIR (Coordinator of International Relations) ?
CIRs are invited by local governments from other countries through the JET Program. They help carry out various international exchange activities.
The JET Program is a project carried out by local governments in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and CLAIR (Council of Local Authorities forInternational Relations).

VIDEO ON EGYPTIAN FOOD CULTURE AND
SWEETS RECIPESThe first seminar on food culture of 2020 was an interview
with Gina Fujiwara, an Egyptian chef and owner of an
Egyptian restaurant in Kobe, at the Hyogo Prefectural Kobe
Life Enhancement Center on November 27, 2020.
She cheerfully explained Egyptian food and interesting
similarities between Egypt and Japan and taught us the recipefor Roz bi Laban, Egyptian rice pudding.
The video for this interview and recipe and cooking video on
Roz bi Laban is uploaded on the HIA homepage. Please visit
the URL below and try to cook this recipe at your own home.
“Roz bi Laban” means rice andmilk in Arabic

URL：https://www.hyogo-ip.or.jp/torikumi/tomonokai/shokubunka.html

HIA Created Multilingual Pointing Boards Used at Evacuation Centers
HIA created multilingual pointing boards used at evacuation centers in cooperation with Disaster
Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI), community groups for foreigners, and the Council ofLocal Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). During disasters, foreign residents can also becomevictims. For those who have difficulty communicating in Japanese, these pointing boards are designed forevacuation shelter operators and disaster-affected foreigners to interact by pointing with a minimum levelof communication. In the future, along with promoting the spread of pointing boards and cooperate withmunicipalities and each international exchange association in Hyogo Prefecture, HIA will continue tofurther support foreigners under disasters.

The multilingual pointing boards are in 13 languages, English, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional), Korean, Tagalog,
Portuguese, Spanish, French, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, Indonesian, and Nepali. By using these three types ofboards, you can confirm the language and other necessary information to support disaster victims, such as any problems
they have, their physical condition, and dietary restrictions for religious reasons. For further information, please check theHIA homepage, and you can download it for free.

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Hyogo Friends

On a sunny autumn Saturday, children have beenpracticing Vietnamese alphabets since early in the morning.
“Done! Can you take a look at my work?” the children said
enthusiastically to Ms. Duong Ngoc Diep, who organized
this mother tongue class and the co-representative ofVietnam Yume KOBE.
This class, held at the Takatori Community Center, wasstarted by Vietnamese residents in Japan for children withVietnamese roots to study their mother language. The classhas been held for more than 20 years, and it has been over
10 years since Ms. Diep took over. She works as a teacher
for the mother tongue class from 9:00 to 10:30 and a teacher
for learning support until 12:30. After 13:30, she works as acounselor for middle school students from Vietnam. Shesays with a smile, “I am exhausted when Saturday is over,
but the kids are really cute.”
Most of the children who go to the mother tongue classwere born and are attending elementary school in Japan, so
they are good at Japanese. However, when it comes toVietnamese, they can speak it but are weak in reading andwriting. Their parents bring them to this class, hoping thatthey will get better at reading and writing Vietnamese.
Each child is at a different level, so Ms. Diep teaches thechildren one-on-one with content suited for each child sothey can enjoy learning Vietnamese at their own pace. In
this mother tongue class, children first learn how to write
the alphabet then learn how to put words together.

Vietnam Yume KOBE

Children who have been attending the class since early
elementary school can read anything once they reachedsixth grade. Ms. Diep usually uses elementary school
textbooks from Vietnam. However, some contents are notcompatible with the Japanese lifestyle, so she would
sometimes use Vietnamese teaching materials for Japanesepeople. She wants to make materials that fit each kid’s levelbut is concerned she does not have enough time.
The children quickly got along with their classmateswhom they are connected to by the Vietnamese language,
and they would ask their parents to let them go back to theclass again. When the class was closed due to COVID-19,
there were many phone calls saying, “My kid(s) is/arelooking forward to attending the class again very much.”
Ms. Diep said, “Because I am everyone’s mother,” she willcontinue to work closely and warmly with children who
have Vietnamese roots.

Studying in the classroom

The teacher checking
the student’s work

WE HELD WORKSHOPS ON MULTICULTURALISM

A Look into
Multiculturalism

In collaboration with an NGO, we held an online workshop for those
who often interact with foreigners, including local municipal staff,teachers, Japanese language teachers, and volunteers, to deepen theirunderstanding of multiculturalism.
DateOctober 29, 2020 (Thu), November 1, 2020 (Sun), November
5, 2020 (Thu), November 8, 2020 (Sun)

Held online (via Zoom)
Content
First: Introduction
Second: Education for children with foreign roots
Third: Initiatives of multiculturalism in the region
Fourth: Current support for refugees and migrants

Screenshot of the workshop held on November 1stTHREE WORKSHOPS FOR SUPPORTERS OF JAPANESELANGUAGE EDUCATION
Three online workshops were held for volunteers working to support
Japanese language education for foreign residents.
December 12, 2020 (Sat): Workshop on Japanese education andlearning support for children with foreign roots
December 20, 2020 (Sun): Workshop for volunteers to help foreignresidents to learn everyday JapaneseJanuary 16, 2021 (Sat): Workshop for utilizing ICT teachingmaterials

Screenshot of the workshop held on December 12th

JAPANESE LANGUAGE CLASSES FOR FOREIGNRESIDENTS

Practical Japanese Course

Beginner Japanese Course

This course is held with the goalof being able to take necessary
actions in daily life such as
during shopping and disasters.
In-person lessons are conductedwith necessary infection
prevention measures.

With the goal of communicatingin basic Japanese, we held online
classes (the second term; twice aweek, 5 times total) to learn
necessary Japanese grammar andvocabulary.

PeriodAugust 19, 2020 (Wed) toSeptember 11, 2020 (Fri)PeriodPeriod
October 19,19, 2020
2020 (Mon)(Mon) totoOctoberDecember15,2020(Tue)
December 15, 2020 (Tue)

Enquiries

Hyogo International Association

Screenshot of the participants for the online courses

SPECIAL THANKS
Ms. Yuki Tatsumi Mr. Hiroki Shima
Ms. Keiko Iteya Ms. Rio Matsumoto

HIA Website:
http://www.hyogo-ip.or.jp/

TEL (078)230-3260
FAX (078)230-3280
Hyogo International Association 2Fl. IHD Center, 5-1, 1-Chome, Wakinohamakaigan-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0073