Nozomi Kanda (神田望美)

Nozomi Kanda is the head of Power of Japan, a non-profit organization she founded to organize relief projects in the Fukushima region. From supplying goods to removing debris in the region, she has led various support programs in the afflicted regions immediately after 3-11. The group is also actively involved in “Takidashi” (cooking at emergency shelters) and charity through fundraising sales.

A native of Futaba-machi, Fukushima, Ms. Kanda will speak about her personal experience in the Tohoku Northeast Japan region and the plight of the afflicted regions she has witnessed through her volunteer work. She graduated from Kanda Foreign Language University with a degree in Spanish in 2005.

For more information on Power of Japan click here.

Keiko Kiyama (木山啓子) 

Keiko Kiyama, Secretary General of JEN (Japan Emergency NGOs) as well as the co-chair of Japan Platform, has been serving refugees, displaced persons and victims of natural disasters since joining JEN in 1994 as an original staff member. From 1994 to 2000, she worked as the regional representative for former Yugoslav countries where she and her teams implemented hundreds of projects in many different sectors, including various UN projects.

Currently, JEN is working in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, Haiti and Tohoku. The number of beneficiaries of JEN’s programs adds up to more than 100,000 every year. Ms. Kiyama obtained an MA in Sociology from SUNY, Buffalo. “The woman of the year 2006” was awarded to Ms. Kiyama by the Nikkei Women’s Magazine for JEN’s continuous work on peace-building in various parts of the world. In 2011, JEN was awarded “Foreign Minister’s Commendations for FY 2011” from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

For more information about JEN click here.