Resilience refers to the ability to return to the usual shape after being bent, stretched, or pressed. In terms of the current underpinnings of life, everyday routines have been replaced with unfamiliar circumstances such as the restrictions of movement due to the COVID-19 crisis, an obstacle having global implications.  This has brought the realization that we are living in a world with societies facing problems that are more complex, higher risk, and, in a sense, have less human solidarity.

      The State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (UNV, 2018) published with the theme of “the thread that bind,” and focusing on the topics of “volunteerism and community resilience,” states that volunteer activities itself have the potential of influencing social recovery. Through the establishment of resilient communities, scattered resources within the community may converge through volunteerism.

      This 22nd academic conference is very unique and special in terms of being “voluntarily planned by university students.” They have been involved from the preparation stages of scheduling sessions, to organizing and ultimately facilitating several of the symposiums in the conference. The students may benefit from the experience of gathering information, negotiating, and convincing others, while expressing their own ideas through written and spoken discourse. The encounters with those from different generations, genders, occupations, habits, and nations may promote and improve their resilience to some extent. The students may be able to interact with their future role-models through these activities. You may feel that such a role is being undertaken in these international volunteer activities. 

       The 22nd conference will be organized and implemented in an online setting. I do hope that all of us can contribute as driving forces for improving resilience for not only ourselves but to others in this conference through dialogue and empathy—ultimately enhancing our imagination and understanding as we go forward.