Women's Initiative for Sustainable Empowerment

Dear supporters:

We express our heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support. Our flagship social innovation program, 2024 WISE in Zenkoji Nagano, was a tremendous success, thanks to the dedication of our talented mentors and facilitators. We were delighted to welcome 29 participants from various countries, including the Madagascar, Tunisia, Thailand, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Venezuela, Colombia, Vietnam, Namibia, Kenya, Spain, and Japan.

Our esteemed mentors included Mr. Tatsuya Matsui, a globally-active robot designer and artist; Mr. Michael Brown, co-founder and CEO of senior communication service provider KK nabetomo; and Ms. Shino Tsuchiya, founder of Impact Hub Tokyo and a professional community builder. The program took place at Zenkoji Yakuoin, a traditional temple where we shared invaluable moment.

The winning teams, composed of four energetic women, showcased innovative ideas such as an avatar anonymous consultation service for those suffering from menopause. Additionally a team led by a student from Madagascar, presented a micro-financing method to improve the well-being of vanilla farmers in Madagascar.

We sincerely hope that the experiences they shared here will create a ripple effect, ultimately bringing about positive change on a broader societal level. As you may be aware, rural areas like Nagano, younger generations and women continue to face challenges stemming from unconscious bias and traditional gender-based roles imposed upon them. Breaking free from the conservative mindset deeply rooted in tightly knit communities remains a significant hurdle for them. JSIE remains committed to providing opportunities for these younger generations and women to unlock their full potential.

We would like to extend special thanks to our supporters at GlobalGiving for their invaluable assistance in running this program. Once again, thank you for your continued support. We are thrilled to announce that we will be continuing this project for 2025!