News

A meeting was held with representatives from a local gathering for the elderly held in Taguma, Sawara Ward to discuss project planning as a first step toward future initiatives. The meeting was held at a public hall in Taguma, Sawara Ward and attended by 10 members of the gathering, representatives from the Saibu Gas Customer Service Company Limited (hereafter Saibugas), members of the local Council of Social Welfare, and members of the teaching staff of Fukuoka University's School of Nursing. The gatherings were held regularly until a decision was made to suspend meetings because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and employees from Saibugas last attended in February. Since July 2020, gatherings in the region have restarted conditionally under measures to prevent the spread of infections. Therefore, first this meeting with the local Council of Social Welfare, Saibugas, and the university was held to create an opportunity to discuss with residents about expanding the area of collaborative activities between industry, academia, and government and about its cooperative framework. The council, Saibugas, and the university gave an outline of collaborative activities so far, explained their purpose and content, and answered questions from each representative from the gathering. The response from the resident participants was positive and a new understanding regarding the activities was gained. As everyday lives become settled in a new form which includes anti-infection measures, local residents have agreed to cooperate with elderly-care support activities carried out through collaboration between industry, academia, and government.

(Article by Ms. Yoshikawa)