アジア太平洋障害者連携フォーラム|パキスタンフォーラムでの学びと実践

Question A: Please share your thoughts on the power of sport.

Laxmi: Sport is a powerful tool. As I mentioned earlier, it improves the physical and mental well-being of people who suffer disabilities and also helps develop positive views in society toward disabilities. Young women and girls with disabilities can develop confidence through sport. Usually they are only afforded a few opportunities to enjoy physical exercise. Every time I organize such events, they provide me with feedback related to how these events boosted their self-esteem.

Question B: Please detail how you utilize AI.

Lin: Last year we connected with an AI technology company and in conjunction with the company, we developed a system for people with severe disabilities that can be operated by talking, using Google and other tools. For instance, you can turn the light on by using Google and a smartphone, simply by talking to your smartphone. We are also developing a system to operate electric beds. Because they are expensive in Taiwan, we would like Taiwan's policies to incorporate funding for such systems. I want the government to adopt a policy to enable people to access these systems more easily.

Question C: Mr. Ota, from the perspective of managing social businesses, do you have any advice for these group initiatives?

Ota: Laxmi, I would like to know which part of your business is currently operational and has become sustainable. I would also be interested to know whether you are aiming to obtain support for your activities, whether you intend marketing a product, and what kind of framework you are thinking about.

Laxmi: We rely on international funding for most of our projects. For instance, because most of our members are young women with disabilities, we obtain funding from organizations for women's rights as well as feminist organizations. Although we have a few activities that are funded by a project group in Nepal, there are not many of these. Therefore, as I explained earlier, we would like to start a social business. We would like to implement social businesses in disability-related schools, hotels, and such.

Ota: Thank you for elaborating. Initially, we attempted to sell a house brand for UNROOF. However, because it did not materialize as expected, we approached an OEM company. I believe your endeavor involves a larger concept and scale and thus, it is difficult to make comparisons from the same standpoint. However, I would like to provide an explanation on a business that may be related to Kaewkul's work.

Deafsapo is an independent company that is not part of Borderless Japan. The director of the company, who is a woman, has a hearing impairment. Both her and her husband work for us at JOGGO as content marketers. As they have worked longer than JOGGO has existed, they have set an example. She has an extremely positive attitude and is able to read others' lips and communicate in sign language. Deafsapo targets children with hearing impairments. As the director is deaf herself, both her and her supporters can create and provide learning materials that they know others will find easy to follow.

Sometimes as children develop, they acquire speech problems. The company provides counseling and advises such children and their parents. These two aspects, on which the business is conducted, provide sufficient monetization. It is noteworthy that they earn extra revenue through additional awareness-raising activities so as to achieve greater recognition from society.

Although they are my partners, the couple are also YouTubers. Their video has been viewed 1,724,795 times. Although I am uncertain of the details, half of their revenue is earned from this video. They are not in favor of being too stoic and accordingly have chosen fun as one of their keywords to conduct the business. This is evident in the video: 80% is fun and 20% serious. They poke fun at each other the whole time and make videos about behind-the-scenes stories of their actual work as presidents. Of the many videos they have made, while most have had over a million views, some have even been watched 1.72 million times. Although the number of videos people post on YouTube varies, it is noteworthy that by choosing this format, they have been able to establish their educational business and offer counseling at the same time. In fact, social learning materials are easy to follow on YouTube. I believe this format enables them to convey their message in a way that is easy to understand, thus serving their purpose.

Kaewkul, earlier you mentioned that you wanted to get involved in tourism by using sign language. I have visited Thailand twice. There are many places in Thailand that I love. However, currently, there are not many overseas customers because of COVID-19. Although a difficult situation, one can still show people Thailand's great spots and tasty food. This is one alternative and just one example that could be developed worldwide until we overcome COVID-19 and customers start returning. Laxmi, Kaewkul, what do you think about such ideas?

Laxmi: That is a splendid example. We have actually been thinking of employing TikTok ourselves because of its popularity among young people. We could spread our message by creating one- to three-minute videos. We could allow people to watch the reality of disabilities such as living with a visual impairment daily. We could also release information about sign language. We have not yet introduced the system yet, but would like to adopt the example you have just given us.

Ota: Thank you. Our JOGGO brand is also going to use TikTok. Employing YouTube simultaneously will achieve synergy, which will be good. Kaewkul, what do you think?

Mr. Nay Lin Soe

Kaewkul: Thank you for your invaluable advice. Although I think YouTube will be wonderful, it involves discussing aspects such as who is going to appear in the video and who is going to edit it. It is essential to have discussions with a team because it will be very difficult to create it alone. I would like to find appropriate people who are interested in appearing in YouTube videos. Knowledge is also crucial to make YouTube videos. I will also have to think carefully about how to generate a profit. Thank you for your wonderful advice, which I would like to discuss and consider with my team members.

Ota: Thank you Kaewkul. I think it is fine to place more emphasis on tourism than YouTube as your main line of business. I am not sure if generating revenue is the best approach. However, if you could focus your efforts on YouTube in conjunction with your main tourism business, you could make progress, even during the COVID pandemic.

Ota: I would now like to discuss AI because Lin mentioned it. Lin, you said you were going to conduct four businesses. I think four may be too many. Are you going to start each one separately or all at the same time?

Lin: I did not mean to say I was going conduct all four. Rather, I hope to select some of the four, which hopefully will blossom.

Ota: I see. You want to attempt a few and select those you think will have the most impact. Thank you. I would now like to switch the screen when talking about AI. ANOSUPO developed a Japanese webpage for this website. ANOSUPO, which is part of the Borderless Japan Group, is committed to solving social issues in order to enable people to work in their own countries legally, with a valid citizenship. I have backpacked in many countries and lost my citizenship in Malaysia and the Philippines. At that moment, it occurred to me that what I wanted to do was to improve the situation for those children who are born without a nationality or citizenship. This is what led to the birth of ANOSUPO. The company also develops AI and also develops it for other companies as a service. Another of its services involves helping businesses and companies with small but necessary tasks that they are reluctant to do. The company's development business requires technologies and technical expertise that only core engineers can manage. Meanwhile, the essence of the second business is to function as an agent for other businesses and companies and assist them with miscellaneous work. You do not need to have specialist knowledge about technology, PCs, and AI. Rather, you can earn money by conducting small updates and/or check a requested piece of work. That is how the business model works.

There is labeling and a bounding box on the left of the screen. It is easy to make slight changes to the image. We advertise that we will take on small amounts of of necessary work that skilled engineers do not want to do. We then commission the work to local people and help them develop their life. When they are able to generate income, which will help operate the main company, they will earn money for those children without any citizenship, thus enabling them to return to their countries, apply for a nationality so they can live a normal life in their country legally. This is how ANOSUPO works.

Although ANOSUPO differs from what Lin is trying to do, what I meant to say is that people can be divided into a knowledgeable group that is engaged in development and a group that comprises those that are not skilled but can get involved in annotation support work, which is expected to have a higher demand in the future. I am not too knowledgeable about annotation support and thus, my explanation may not be adequate. However, what do you think of these cases, Lin?

Lin: We want to become involved in a small amount of in-house development by using AI technologies to make life easier for people with disabilities and addressing various daily needs. We would like to see how much we can do. We want to stay connected to companies, working as a team, employing people with disabilities, elderly people, and other diverse people to address their needs, rather than healthy people.

Ms. Dao Thu Huong

Ota: Samith noted that it is important to win customer trust and he wanted to become involved in e-commerce sales and grow vegetables and fruit. Although the situation varies from country to country and it is unknown what the future holds, given the recent conflict, prices of grains are rising considerably. Some are even warning of a food crisis. We do not know what will really happen. However, only 38% of the food consumed in Japan is grown in the country. Countries, such as Japan, who rely on food imports will suffer from higher food prices even though imports are likely to continue. Increasingly, people are growing vegetables and fruit in their own gardens to overcome the strain on their household income. I would like to share a good example that is already being used.

Compost, which is part of the Borderless Japan Group, is a local business that recycles food. The company creates compost to make pesticide-free vegetables to be consumed locally. There are tons of food scraps. I have been involved in this composting myself. The company sells the fertilizer you put in the compost. Food scraps can be turned into a good fertilizer in approximately three months. The company has enjoyed good sales throughout the COVID pandemic. There are a considerable number of people living in apartments in cities who do not want to throw away food scraps even though composting is easier in detached homes. More and more people are becoming aware of sustainability. Composting is a wonderful way of helping these people grow vegetables at home and reducing food scraps. There is a great need for composting, as a vision and as a product.

There are risks involved in composting, including attracting insects and causing an unpleasant smell in summer. However, because less is discarded, sustainability-minded people will feel good. Furthermore, organic vegetables can be grown with the fertilizer. People who live in small apartments can probably grow parsley, red chili peppers, and even mini tomatoes, but nothing larger. People who live in detached homes with a garden can grow the likes of onions and potatoes with the fertilizer. Composting is extremely popular. If we ever encounter a food crisis, more people will grow their own supplies.

Because the situation varies across the world, home gardening may not be that popular in countries with a high food production rate. However, there is a need for businesses such as this in places with a low food production rate. Although this is merely an example, what do you think, Samith?

Samith: Mr. Ota, thank you for giving me this example.
It is wonderful to hear about these cases. People are involved in composting and also make fertilizers in some areas of Cambodia. I mentioned our intention to make processed products such as dried fruit from agricultural produce. I think producing organic fruit without using chemicals as well as dried fruit from grown fruit without chemicals are important. Even if the prices are higher because of using organic fruit, I consider it to be a good idea. I wonder how we could try experimenting. When I was listening to your story, I wondered how we could use the fertilizer in our business.

Ota: Thank you. Heralbony is another company or a brand I want to tell you about that is advancing successfully in a way I find extremely agreeable. I am actually wearing their mask right now. This is their website. They sell art. Although this is in Japanese, their keyword is, "Be different and shine." By employing this slogan, Heralbony gets its revenue from displaying works of art of people in Japan with intellectual disabilities.

Finally, I wish to share that to ensure a social business is successful, it is imperative that the business has one key sales point that will be widely welcome in the market, something that the market will be willing to choose. Sales pitch varies from company to company. In JOGGO, we do not state categorically that we want to solve Bangladesh's poverty issue. However, on exploring the business further, you begin to find out more about Bangladesh and its craftspeople, which you may find interesting. We all find ourselves in different situations and thus, this is not the only solution. However, experience has shown that the key for a social business is its value if you want it to be sustainable and continue for a long time. It is for this reason that I am sharing the story with you.

Question D: Nay Lin Soe from Myanmar and Dao Thu Huong from Vietnam, I would like to hear stories from you. What did you expect from this event? Was there anything in Mr. Ota's story that you want to apply to your situations? Is there anything you have found interesting that you would like to know more about?

Soe: Thank you, I am going to share my opinion. This event has been absolutely wonderful. Not just for me. I would like to tell my group, partners, network, and many others what I have learned, specifically that social businesses are extremely important for disability organizations such as ours. We cannot depend on support from other people. Rather, it is crucial that we spread our own ideas and earn some kind of income. This I would like to do so as to contribute to our organization and disability movement. Today's discussion was extremely useful. I would like to share what I have learned with my colleagues and create a better future for all of us. Thank you so much.

Huong: During my leadership training, I had the opportunity to participate and get involved in various forums, which empowered me considerably and afforded me the power to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. It motivated me to pursue for the inclusion of people with disabilities in Vietnam. The Collaboration Forum on Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific 2019, which was held in Pakistan, was an eye-opening experience for me. It was a moving experience because I witnessed the incredible work my colleagues from Pakistan had accomplished in empowering people with disabilities. I also learned about the investment approach to creating employment for persons with disabilities. The topic of the conference in Pakistan and of the Collaboration Forum is currently closely connected with the SDGs and CRPD compliance, which I am advocating for in my current work at UNDP.

After this forum, I would like to take the following steps to promote social businesses in Vietnam. First, I would like to share good Japanese models of social business with Vietnamese enterprises through the UNDP project on Business and Human Rights to strengthen the social responsibilities of enterprises. Second, I would like to facilitate a policy dialog between Japan and Vietnam in order to learn from Japan's implementation and monitoring of social business policies. Finally, I believe support policies for entrepreneurs with disabilities, especially after COVID-19, would be helpful for Vietnamese entrepreneurs with disabilities.

Moderator: Shafiq, you gave a presentation this morning. Please share a short message with us.

Shafiq: I listened to all the presentations. I got the impression that a portal that could connect businesses worldwide is necessary. I do not think there is any portal that is specialized in only social business at present. Although some people may be involved in such, I am unaware of this. It would be ideal if someone developed a social business portal to create a platform for people involved in social businesses to conduct business online across companies and countries. Conducting business seriously requires tracking financial transactions and quality control. A delivery and transportation framework is also essential. A portal of this nature could generate social money and create investment opportunities. I do not think this would be too difficult.

Ota: I totally agree with what you have just said. Many people have been doing social business longer than I have. I have met many of these people after they joined and started working at Borderless Japan. I was thinking that there was no mechanism to link us together in one place. However, as I listened to your idea, I started to think it would be wonderful if people with the same ideas could connect and establish a sales channel together. I have a partner in Osaka who is trying to create a portal site for only social business. Although I am uncertain if it will be possible capacity-wise, I intend making enquiries. I will note that I heard the idea of developing a portal from one of the presenters.

As our discussion draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for inviting me to this valuable event. It was an opportunity to renew my awareness that there are people throughout the world who have been working in the field for longer than I have and accordingly have developed a trust relationship with their colleagues. It is extremely inspiring. I have seen people leaving Borderless Japan in the middle of their career because they have been unable to cope with difficult work experiences and relationships. I believe business is something that continues to change its form depending on who gets involved. While some people will continue with the business in its current format, others will do so differently. I often tell people at Borderless Japan that while changing the format is acceptable, the most important thing is to not quit. Once again, this discussion has reminded me how important it is to hold onto your passion and persevere. It has been wonderful talking with you. I hope there will be another opportunity to meet with you again.

Moderator: Thank you. We will have to end the discussion because of time constraints.