Plenary Session
Japan Society for International Development (JASID)
27th Spring Conference
“Ancient Futures: Development in the Hands of the People”
People’s Actions and Theories: Ecovillages, the Pluriverse, and Decolonialism
Although only a few months have passed since the conference theme was set at the end of 2025, the world has become increasingly turbulent following the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel at the end of February 2026. Beyond the direct violence of conflicts and wars that destroy people’s lives and the environment, we are also witnessing the rise of structural violence, such as growing anti-immigrant and anti-refugee movements in Japan and other countries.
In this context, we feel a strong need to confront both direct and structural violence. Concepts such as “supple interdependence” and “radical otherness of the other” offer important perspectives for resisting structural violence.
- Date and Time: Saturday, June 27, 2026, 16:30–18:45
- Venue: Room 3201(for Japanese-speaking participants), 1st Floor, Building 3, Shirokane Campus, Meiji Gakuin University
A separate room will be arranged for English-speaking participants, and the room number will be announced at a later date. - Program (Language: Japanese)
Language: Japanese (Simultaneous English interpretation available)
16:30– Opening Remarks
Shinichi Shigetomi, Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Meiji Gakuin University
16:40– Introduction
Megumi Hirayama, Chair, The 27th JASID Spring Conference Organizing Committee
16:50– Keynote Lecture 1
"In order for every person in the world to be able to live on their own will"
Nao Kondo, Practitioner, Board Member, Policy Design Institute for Next Generation; Ecovillage Practitioner in Japan and Abroad
A "social experimenter" who experiments with various new ways of living and spreads them to the world in order to create a world where people all over the world can live with peace of mind. He has created and lived in ecovillages in Tanzania and Minami Izu. He is also involved in activities to create alternative education in Saga and Denmark. He established a smart ecovillage in the disaster-stricken area of Higashi-Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, and is engaged in activities to spread the smart ecovillage concept throughout Japan, which utilizes DAO（Decentralized Autonomous Organization) to accommodate disaster victims in emergencies. “Social Experimenter” of new living way in the world
17:25– Q&A
17:40– Keynote Lecture 2
"Is the Pluriverse Transcultural and Context-Independent?"
Shu Kitano, Professor, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Dokkyo University
Professor Kitano specializes in international development, peace studies, and food and agriculture issues. Before pursuing academic training at Cornell University—where he earned both his master’s and Ph.D. degrees—he served in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) as an agricultural economist. Although he initially planned to build an academic career as a researcher in public policy, his encounter with Gustavo Esteva, a prominent post‑development theorist, changed his trajectory. Influenced by Esteva, Kitano published several books, including “The Birth of International Cooperation” and “The Post‑Development Movement and Local NGOs in Southern Mexico” (both in Japanese). In 2011, he was introduced to Arturo Escobar through Esteva. After ten years of effort, he published the Japanese edition of Escobar’s classic “Encountering Development” in 2022, providing both translation and commentary. In recent years, he has been intensively engaged with decolonial thought, and he is currently preparing Japanese editions of works by other decolonial theorists, including Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Aníbal Quijano.
18:15– Q&A
18:40– Closing Remarks