Kobe’s future 20 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

In March 2014, Mr. Funahashi held TEDxSannomiya, an event designed to spread and share valuable ideas, and it received excellent feedback. He continues to make new initiatives such as the Kobe IT Festival, the biggest IT festival in Kobe, connecting local communities and IT.

At the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the area I lived in was not affected much, so I may not have much to talk about. If I have something to say, it would be about the future, such as how Kobe is going to develop 20 years after the earthquake.

“Information Volunteers” started by university students

At the time of the earthquake in Kobe, Mr. Funahashi was in his second year at university. The faculty of Intercultural Studies at Kobe University where he studied was focusing on IT education, so he could use their computer room, which had more than 20 Macintosh computers permanently connected to the Internet- still a rarity back then.

There was lots of information about people, from inside and outside Japan, volunteering to support the disaster-struck areas. I discussed with some friends that we should make use of such information, and called for ideas at the department gathering in early February. About 300 students offered to help us.

The year 1995, when the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake occurred, is referred to as “the first year of volunteerism” which changed the history of volunteer activities in Japan. It was also a year when people began to exchange information online with the instant spread of the Internet. 1995 could also be referred to as “the first year of information volunteerism.”

I formed an organization called the “IVN Kobe University team,” and 4 to 5 members including myself brought in sleeping bags and spent nights in the computer room. We updated the online status of support activities and edited information on Ajisai Net, which was run by Kobe City, printed them out, and posted them at evacuation centers. We also shared the status of relief supplies and the life of people at the evacuation centers online.

The information volunteers remained active until around April that month when University classes resumed. Mr. Funahashi continued to participate in the Hanshin earthquake local NGO relief liaison meeting.

I had an opportunity to take part in support activities, surrounded by many people who came from all over the world to help the disaster-struck areas. A part of the activity log recorded at the Disaster/activity log room, which began as a section meeting in July, is today still available as part of the Disaster Materials Collection at Kobe University.

Photo: “Disaster/activity log room” began to keep the records of the disaster-support activities in the Disaster/activity log room.


Encountered Kobe Digital Lab, and organized the Kobe IT festival

Mr. Funahashi put aside his volunteer activities for a time to study at a research lab at Kyoto University. After that, he started working for a think tank in Kyoto, with aspirations to contribute to society. Facing difficulties in realizing his goal, however, he began looking for a job in Kobe with the birth of his second child.

I met Ichiro Nagayoshi, the CEO of Kobe Digital Lab, and quickly felt empathy for his idea of using the company’s profit to support the cultural projects and earthquake reconstruction projects. I decided to join the company at once. I used to have the impression that I could only contribute to society by working for an NPO or volunteering, but his words totally broadened my horizons.

Mr. Funahashi began working in the office with such a liberal atmosphere, and had an opportunity to hold an IT event as an independent plan.

When I visited Tokyo and Osaka for IT events, I always met interesting people from Kobe, but somehow I didn’t have a chance to meet them in Kobe. That was why I organized the Open Source Conference in 2010 for the first time to spread source code, the strings of characters that act as the source of computer programs and software.

The event was a huge success, but the people who gathered for the event were core fans of open source. Mr. Funahashi thought that it would be difficult to give back any benefit to Kobe unless the events were easy to understand for the general public. So in 2011, he organized the Kobe IT Festival for the first time in Kobe.

At the festival, we incorporated music, interactive art that responds to the movement of people using computers and sensors, as well as programs for kids. Many people participated in the event and enjoyed it.

The Kobe IT Festival has been held now for five consecutive years, and we invite special guests from Kobe or people who you would not normally have a chance to meet even at events in Tokyo.

Boosted by the festival’s success and the development of Kobe medical industrial town, as well as the “Kei” supercomputer, the computer graphics festival, SIGGRAPH ASIA, will be held in Kobe in 2015, the first time in six years it will be held in Japan.

Photo: The Kobe IT Festival 2011 was designed to involve children and achieved great success


TEDxKobe started “to spread greater ideas”

Funahashi now also works as organizer ofTEDxKobe. TED is a non-profit organization that since 1984 has organized lecture presentation events around North America, under the belief of “Ideas worth spreading.” After the organization changed its rules in 2009, now any organization can today share similar experiences with TED all over the world, as long as they obtain a TEDx license. Over 10,000 events have been held globally so far.

I had an opportunity to talk to people who wanted to hold TEDx in Kobe, and so we obtained a license as an organizer. At TEDx, speakers give easy-to-understand presentations So I thought that anyone could take the ideas with them and practice them in their own field.

When he obtained the TEDx license in June 2013, he started activities with a small-scale program called TEDxSannomiya and first held that event in March 2014.

I have organized numerous events before, but I didn’t have opportunities to see people expressing gratitude for the event. At TEDx, not only the participants but also the speakers gave thanks for the event. It made me really happy.

As a rule of TEDx, an organizer who had not participated in TED before could only organize an event with up to 100 participants. Funahashi continued working toward acquiring the TEDxKobe license.

I didn’t want to be satisfied with just TEDxSannomiya, but wanted to hold events under the name of “Kobe.” The week after we held TEDxSannomiya, I participated in the main TED 2014 event “TEDActive 2014” in Vancouver, Canada, and conveyed my thoughts to a license manager. In June 2014, we were finally given a license to hold TEDxKobe.

Photo: Surrounded by versatile staff members

Photo: TEDxSannomiya was successful, generating connections between future ideas and people

University students who worked for TEDxSannomiya, members who support the Kobe IT Festival, designers, architects and engineers who create visuals and space designs—so many people had given help in making the events happen. I am continuing these activities, hoping that TEDxKobe will become a meta-community that connects communities all over Kobe.

Creating communities with diversity in Kobe

On January 17, 2015, 20 years after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, I held “TEDxKobe Salon vol. 2”, creating an opportunity for people to face their own “walls”.

Different people have different ways of dealing with the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. I thought that this event would be an opportunity for people to face their “walls” or the past and help deepen understanding within themselves and with others.

By continuously building up small activities, Funahashi is now working to create communities with greater diversity. He says he has a wish.

The word “community” comes from “com” (each other) + “munus” (sending gifts). I think that sharing different ideas will help generate diversity and develop Kobe into a community with real connections. Kobe today has a variety of communities, but we may not necessarily have opportunities to connect with each other. I hope that we can create more “points” where communities interact with each other and form multi-cultures and diversity.

Photo: The word “community” comes from “com” (each other) + “munus” (sending gifts)

(Photographed by Natsumi Morimoto, interviewed and written by Aya Yamamori)