Global Volunteers Student Group Shares Its Activities at Poster Session
Global Volunteers Student Group Shares Its Activities at Poster Session
2025.12.18 updateNews
The student organization Global Volunteers (Globola) participated in the Pre-Christmas Event poster session on December 18, introducing its ongoing activities. During the group’s scheduled presentation slot, the fall-semester coordinator (a student leader) gave a brief talk in front of the poster, answered questions from attendees, and connected with students from other organizations.
Global Volunteers is a student community dedicated to making cross-cultural exchange more accessible by creating spaces where international and Japanese students can meet naturally and interact. While OUS has many international students, language and cultural differences can still limit opportunities for meaningful connection. In response, the group aims to serve as a “bridge” between international and Japanese students by offering welcoming, easy-to-join events that help students build friendships across cultures.
This academic year, the group planned and hosted a wide range of exchange events both on and off campus, including a welcome event for new students, an exchange program with Chihlee University of Technology in Taiwan, exchange activities with visiting groups from the United States and Brazil, international student gatherings (such as a sports day and a Christmas party), and a bus trip to Hiroshima. At these events, members communicate in both Japanese and English and incorporate games and small-group activities to help conversations start naturally—even among people meeting for the first time—encouraging connections across nationalities and class years. The group also uses sports as a way to bring students together, holding a sports day at Shigeto Arena featuring relay races, a ball-toss challenge, and an obstacle course, creating opportunities to build teamwork and rapport regardless of language.
The group also emphasizes cultural exchange through food, running a “World Food” booth at campus events and local community programs. At the Human Rights Festival held at Okayama Dome on Sunday, December 7, the group operated a booth and donated its proceeds—15,657 yen—to support disaster recovery efforts in Sri Lanka, showing how exchange activities can also lead to meaningful support. In addition, on Saturday, December 13, the group held a bus trip to Hiroshima, visiting Peace Memorial Park, the Peace Memorial Museum, and Hiroshima Castle, and sharing time to reflect on history and peace.
After the poster session, not only the presenter but also members who attended as listeners took time to debrief, discussing what could have been done better and what to improve next time. The group’s advisor commented, “A major takeaway wasn’t just the outcome, but the fact that students were able to identify concrete areas to improve moving forward. Opportunities to step back, organize what we’ve done as a group, and present our activities in a clear, cohesive way are actually pretty limited—so this presentation was a valuable experience for everyone involved. Next time, we want to come back with even stronger, more effective outreach.”
Global Volunteers is a student community dedicated to making cross-cultural exchange more accessible by creating spaces where international and Japanese students can meet naturally and interact. While OUS has many international students, language and cultural differences can still limit opportunities for meaningful connection. In response, the group aims to serve as a “bridge” between international and Japanese students by offering welcoming, easy-to-join events that help students build friendships across cultures.
This academic year, the group planned and hosted a wide range of exchange events both on and off campus, including a welcome event for new students, an exchange program with Chihlee University of Technology in Taiwan, exchange activities with visiting groups from the United States and Brazil, international student gatherings (such as a sports day and a Christmas party), and a bus trip to Hiroshima. At these events, members communicate in both Japanese and English and incorporate games and small-group activities to help conversations start naturally—even among people meeting for the first time—encouraging connections across nationalities and class years. The group also uses sports as a way to bring students together, holding a sports day at Shigeto Arena featuring relay races, a ball-toss challenge, and an obstacle course, creating opportunities to build teamwork and rapport regardless of language.
The group also emphasizes cultural exchange through food, running a “World Food” booth at campus events and local community programs. At the Human Rights Festival held at Okayama Dome on Sunday, December 7, the group operated a booth and donated its proceeds—15,657 yen—to support disaster recovery efforts in Sri Lanka, showing how exchange activities can also lead to meaningful support. In addition, on Saturday, December 13, the group held a bus trip to Hiroshima, visiting Peace Memorial Park, the Peace Memorial Museum, and Hiroshima Castle, and sharing time to reflect on history and peace.
After the poster session, not only the presenter but also members who attended as listeners took time to debrief, discussing what could have been done better and what to improve next time. The group’s advisor commented, “A major takeaway wasn’t just the outcome, but the fact that students were able to identify concrete areas to improve moving forward. Opportunities to step back, organize what we’ve done as a group, and present our activities in a clear, cohesive way are actually pretty limited—so this presentation was a valuable experience for everyone involved. Next time, we want to come back with even stronger, more effective outreach.”