European tour

Date and Time

September 14th - 21st, 2024

Participation

Matsuura (Representative Director), Tanaka (Godai Co., Ltd.), Takahashi (Manabu Design Co., Ltd.)

Purpose of visit

The visit will include concrete discussions for the November event, meetings to share ideas on the Foundation's theme of "Making the world a better place," and meetings with relevant parties in each location to strengthen collaboration and deepen communication from next year onwards.

Contents of the visit

Italy (Trieste)

・Illy Foundation: Meeting with Chairperson Anna Illy

In preparation for his speech at "Coffee Cultures United" on November 5th, he once again explained the meaning and intention of "This is Me" to Anna Illy, and had numerous discussions about the specific content of his speech.

Netherlands (Amsterdam)

・Studio KU+: Interview with Kaita Shinagawa/Artist: Satomi Minoshima

We met with Kaita Shinagawa, an Amsterdam-based "model" architect, and Satomi Minoshima, an artist based in Eindhoven, at Shinagawa's studio, Studio KU+. In addition to sharing the themes and activities of our foundation, we exchanged a wide range of information, including the current situation in the Netherlands.

・Tenki Coffee Yamagiwa

We met with Tenki Coffee Director Yamagiwa and shared our foundation's themes and activities with him. We also exchanged a wide range of information, including the current state of the coffee industry in Europe and around the world, and ideas for collaboration on future activities.

Austria (Vienna)

- Meeting with UNIDO Deputy Director General, Mr. Hideki Murakami

I visited the United Nations UNIDO Headquarters and, in preparation for my appearance at "Coffee Cultures United" on November 5th, I explained the meaning and intent of "This is Me" and discussed and adjusted the specific content.

Helsinki, Finland

・Meeting with Frank Martella, Assistant Professor at Aalto University

Each party introduced their ideas, which are the theme of our foundation, "Making the world a better place," and Martella's philosophical ideas, and engaged in a productive dialogue with a view to further collaboration next year and beyond.

thoughts

It was an energetic and stimulating experience to meet and talk with people who are active not only in the EU but also around the world. The session, which was based on our foundation's theme of "Making the world a better place" and shared the ideas of each person we met, led to a future-oriented dialogue that contained new possibilities in every word.

It was striking that all of them had one thing in common: they were doing their work for someone other than themselves. It made me realize that the Buddhist term "altruism" may be a universal way of thinking that is linked to the theme of "making the world a better place, even if only a little."

They all exude a vibrant energy, and our foundation would like to absorb even more of this energy and spread it even further.

Tanaka's comment:

During this EU business trip, I was on the move every day, and it was a tough 8-day trip, visiting Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and Finland. I met with relevant people in each place, and was able to advance concrete discussions about the November event and further strengthening our partnership.

Italy (Trieste)

I am very much looking forward to visiting the Illy Foundation and experiencing the charming yet strong-willed personality of its president, Anna Illy, and hearing her speak in person to the participants on the day of the event.

Netherlands (Amsterdam)

I had the opportunity to meet three Japanese people who are working in Amsterdam. Although each of them is in a different field, I felt that their activeness gave me courage and the strength to move forward.

Austria (Vienna)

I visited the United Nations UNIDO Headquarters to meet Deputy Director Murakami. He took me to places that regular tour guides can't go to, and it was a memorable experience to learn about how he came to work at the UN and his strong desire to contribute to society.

Helsinki, Finland

Frank Martella, an assistant professor of philosophy at Aalto University, was a fast-talking, talkative and energetic person. He always tries to keep an open attitude to new ideas and opinions, and it was a great benefit to be able to have a constructive exchange of opinions towards next year's event.