[Special Feature: Looking Toward CGS's 10th Anniversary]
Naoko TAKAYAMA
counselor, Support House Jomu, NPO
[The article below is the same as the article that appears in the sixteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter.]
Naoko Takayama is a counselor at the women's support organization Support House Jomu. Over the years she has been involved in a number of CGS activities, such as teaching the "Self-Respect Workshop" in 2008 and writing articles for our newsletter. She shares her views on CGS here.
My lectures and workshops always aim to "connect knowledge to awareness and awareness to action." In my work with CGS, I have been amazed at how quickly the participants demonstrated their changing awareness to apply the knowledge they gleaned from my lectures or workshops in their everyday lives. Their abilities seem to be nurtured by the liberating atmosphere of CGS, which is not concerned with how things should or must be. This receptive atmosphere, which seems to transcend differences, results from the way CGS confronts social problems and concepts concerning diverse forms of gender and sexuality.
As a counselor, I specialize in women's issues, and at Support House Jomu, we endeavor to provide women with a sense of safety and security. Furthermore, my involvement in CGS activities, including the newsletter I receive on a regular basis, affords me the opportunity to think about how all kinds of difference can be transcended to empower our relationships with others.
The openness and receptiveness of CGS stems from the energy of its staff, who help to determine the direction of CGS as they continually debate problems and confront challenges without being restricted by concepts. I have witnessed the growth and development of CGS and its people through its activities.
The management style of CGS is a guiding light to rejuvenate other institutions to transcend differences. In my view, the creation of more open and receptive places like CGS will help to make a more livable society.