Zen & the Art of Civil Society Development

Just got back from Japan where the new government is pushing for major reform for civil society and the non-profit sector. This is a huge opportunity as they have just seen a shift in governing party for the first time in 50 years! This change opens the door for an entirely new direction for civil society in Japan, but how can they balance deep tradition with social innovation?

I was invited by the Japanese Cabinet Office to lead a delegation of 13 young leaders of British charities, from Age Concern/Help the Aged, RNIB, RNID, Town & Country Housing Group, Council for Disabled Children, Northern Ireland Youth Forum, NCVYS, Fairbridge and Young Lives. This was an exchange program to connect young leaders from the UK, Germany, Finland and Japan organised by the Japanese Government.

There were so many fascinating aspects to the visit that it is hard to know where to begin. Japanese culture is based on respect and a high degree of courtesy and this is underpinned by a deep sense of order and inner calm which leads to an important balance in their way of working. They believe in ‘Ikigai’ – motivation in life; and the basis of ‘Akarui kokoro’ – a healthy mind; these concepts give them a deep sense of purpose in life.

We were shown some incredible social projects across the country and saw how the philosophy of Japanese people informed their working culture. Part of this approach is a very high sense of responsibility which leads to an incredible level of local involvement in decision-making, something the UK could learn from!

But at the same time there is a thirst for modernity, like the hundreds of screens and flashing images in the hip Shibuya district of Tokyo and young Japanese people are keen to move away from closed hierarchies and build more flexible social organisations.

So we were keen to share some of our good practice with the Japanese partners and our meetings included a detailed Non Profit Organisation Management Forum which gave us the chance to debate key issues for effective management. Here the UK participants brought in some useful approaches to developing transparency, good governance and advocacy skills to demonstrate how an organisation can communicate more effectively with its own members and with public authorities, to act as a channel for constructive dialogue. Many of our Japanese partners were hungry to learn from the campaigns of UK organisations and we look forward to welcoming them to visit us here in the future.

I became conscious of how programmes like this provide a great opportunity to build an awareness of civil society and the role it can play to change the perspectives of people around the world. In my farewell speech to the 35 year old Parliamentary Secretary of the Japanese Cabinet Office I mentioned some of the lessons from Japanese culture and he smiled and explained his own background in the non-profit sector, I just hope he can take forward the essential reforms for Japan while maintaining the best elements of tradition and mutual respect that create such harmony in this fascinating country!

• Useful ideas from Sam Gowan, one of the UK participants
• Adrian Sell, another UK participant offers analysis of older people's care in Japan