Hello, this is Chichi from S-TOKYO!
I recently attended Colive FUKUOKA in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, where S-TOKYO was involved in the event as a partner community. We had a great time with digital nomads from all over the world, including S-TOKYO community members, and would like to report on some of it! （It was a lot of fun!)
Colive FUKUOKA
Date：2024/10/1（Tue）～31（Thu）
Main week：2024/10/22（Tue）～10/31（Thu）
Location：Ohori Park and other locations in Fukuoka City, all over Kyushu
Organizing：Fukuoka city / Planning・Operation：Yugyo Inc. / Supported by：Nomad University、JDNA、The Japan Workation Association、RoccaN Inc.、ELENTO LLC.
Program
In the first half of the period, events were held to allow visitors to experience “living” in Fukuoka City and its potential as a region, including exchange events centered on startup companies, co-working space use, and traditional culture experiences including food. In the later part of the festival, various events were held under the title of “Main Week” from October 22 (Tue.) to 31 (Thu.), in addition to the Kyushu Tour, which allowed visitors to experience various regions of Kyushu.
By bringing together people with diverse values in Fukuoka/Kyushu, the gateway to Asia, and interacting with the local community, the concept of a new sanctuary for digital nomads will be updated as “a place that creates opportunities that transcend borders, race, and gender”, and will spread from Asia to the world as a culture originating in Fukuoka that creates innovation through co-creation among local communities, local businesses, startup companies, and digital nomads.
■ Example of「Colive Fukuoka 2024」
＜Example of Schedule＞
6th（Sun）：Sake Brewery Tour
12nd（Sat）：Zen and Meditation Experience
15th（Tue）：food cart tour
22nd（Tue）～31st（Thu）：Main Week
21st（Mon）～23rd（Wed）：Global Start-up Event「Softlanding」
Organizer：Manabu Community
23rd（Wed）～25th（Fri）：COLIVE FUKUOKA2024 World Nomad Conference
Organizer：Fukuoka City
※Digital Nomad Summit 2024（Organizer：JDNA etc.）
26th（Sat）～27th（Sun）：Synapse Festival
Plan/Operation：RoccaN Inc.
31st（Thu）：Halloween Party
During the main week, I had the opportunity to speak in two sessions at the three-day World Nomad Conference.
「Where to go after Colive Fukuoka」
In this talk, people from six different regions of Japan presented the attractions of their respective regions and reasons why digital nomads should go there.
I took the stage as a representative of Kanazawa, and since he had to give a 5-minute speech only, tried to summarize the charms of Kanazawa by saying,“The charms of Kanazawa are the sense of Japanese tradition and the richness of food! I also introduced the “Coliving Program in Kanazawa,” which will be held in November.
The Shimoda & Kotohira representatives wowed the audience with their speeches while dressed up as Pokemon and they were having a lot of fun. lol
While other teams were also wearing kimonos and bringing guitar samurai, I was waiting alone in the waiting room when Elena from Shimoda, who always manages events with us at S-TOKYO, asked me, “Shall we go out together as Pokemon?” She was so kind...
And so, with Pokémon and others thrilling the place from behind me and literally backing me up, I successfully completed my speech.
I am so grateful to everyone in Shimoda & Kotohira, and to everyone who helped me practice my speech! I hope that all Nomads will come to visit my hometown Kanazawa!
Secret voice sent from A Community Manager
The second session was by community managers, moderated by Ms. Shelly from Hoi An HUB, along with Mr. Duncan from hoppin' Korea and Mr. Harry from TAIWAN DIGITAL NOMAD.
It was a session where we shared our struggles as community managers and exchanged ideas and case studies with each other, and although I was on the speaking side, it was a great learning experience.
For example, the difficulty in drawing boundaries with guests and drawing a line between work and private life. We talked about how we deal with situations where we are constantly contacted by guests but cannot ignore them.
What really impressed me about the topic was the response, “It's good if you don't take over all the community work yourself, but pass the role on to community members a little bit at a time.”In their co-living room, the core resident members give a brief orientation to new guests. When facility problems occurred when the community manager was away, they were able to resolve them with only the members there.
I am sure that they cooperate with each other because of the trust between the members and the community manager. Also, I used to work at a hotel, so I had a strong sense of “guest” to guests, but I felt that it might be okay to welcome coworking guests as “members” who create a nice place together. Through the session, I realized that it is important to build a relationship of trust and psychological safety to reach such a relationship value.
We had to wear tabi (socks) to go up on the stage in the Noh Theater. I took a picture with everyone in the waiting room to celebrate the event! I am very happy that I was able to spend an amazing time with all of you who are engaged in community management in Asia.
Hope to see you all again!
