GBP Japan Launch
Enjoy the differences – a creative experiment!
by Hikaru Hie, co-leader of GPB Japan
Mana Mukaiyachi and I were able to launch Global Play Brigade Japan on February 4th this year! We've never met in person, but we found a lot in common at our very first meeting. Each of us is trying to make the world a better place by using art, play, and performance, and after that first deep dialogue, we came up with the theme of our very first GPB Japan event:
Enjoy the differences – a creative experiment!
It's okay not to be standard - appreciate who you are. Appreciate who others are.
The inspiration for this theme is the overwhelming pressure in Japan to conform. You may have heard the word “同調圧力” which means "peer pressure," or, "harmonizing pressure". We may not want to be and act the same, but we feel a pervasive pressure to behave the same as others. In fact, the word “違い" (chigai), which means "difference,” is so similar to the word “間違い"（machigai), which means "mistake," that they are sometimes used interchangeably. This invisible pressure hurts us so we want to spread the message to appreciate differences around Japan through playful activities and dialogue.
We had several GPB founders from all over the world as guests at this first GPB Japan meeting, reminding us that we are connected to a global network. Mana warmed us up with some games, I introduced the principles of improv, and we played with those ideas. We ended with a group dialogue to visualize how incorporating play into our professions would better the world.
You can imagine that the 90 minutes just flew! We all left energized and empowered after connecting with people from Japan and outside of Japan. Our next gathering will be on May 6th Saturday at 10:30 a.m. – noon. If you are interested,
please register yourself here.
