Nagasaki International University and the International Gaming Standards Association hosted a special symposium on international tourism human resource development in Kyushu-Nagasaki on Saturday, targeted towards the educational community of Kyushu and the rest of Japan.
The special online event, supported by Nagasaki Prefecture and Nagasaki IR Promotion Division, boasted four individual sessions featuring a range of specialist speakers with the primary goal of getting the educational community on board with starting IR and theme park specialized “Human Resource Development” programs, as well as a focus on training programs for middle-management and above in the Japanese hospitality industry.
The event is one of five planned to take place over the next 12 months.
Among the speakers was Inside Asian Gaming Vice Chairman and CEO Andrew W Scott, who featured on a discussion panel alongside Ms Masako Shimauchi, Specially Appointed Professor of Nagasaki International University.
The panel saw Ms Shimauchi ask about the integrated resort industry, with Andrew offering his thoughts on how the international IR community can merge with Japan, and the importance of educating those from Japan and from the West on adapting to each others’ cultural differences.
Ms Shimauchi, who runs a school in Chinshinryu teaching the traditional Japanese tea ceremony Sado, explained the long history of Sado which dates back to the 14th century and has a 300-year history in Nagasaki alone.
“I want students of Sado to experience local culture and utilize this experience as a bearer of history,” she explained.
“They can then develop how to improve this experience and utilize it. I want students to pass this down to others, otherwise this kind of old culture won’t be handed down to new generations. To do so, we need to add new sensibilities and connect new ideas and ancient culture properly. This is one of the ways to inherit cultures.
“From this point of view, developing human resources is not far away from experiencing this themselves, by having an interest, researching and telling people what they have experienced.”
The symposium featured a total of five speakers and attracted 151 attendees.
