On Sunday 9 November afternoon, something special happened in Minato City. Fifty people, aged 6 to 65, from over a dozen countries, and from all walks of life, gathered at the Minato City Industrial Promotion Center for AlterCOP 30 Japan, a bilingual, hands-on sustainability event co-hosted by Ichigo Bloom and the Minato City Industrial Promotion Center, with support from the AlterCOP 30 Secretariat.
In the spirit of AlterCOP, a volunteer-driven series of events held across Asia-Pacific in parallel to the UN’s COP30 climate conference in Brazil, this event invited participants to learn, connect, and imagine solutions to today’s biggest sustainability challenges.
Five workshops, five lenses on sustainability
Participants chose one of five powerful workshop formats developed in Europe and facilitated by certified members of the Ichigo Bloom collective. Here’s what they explored:
- Climate Fresk: Led by Noriko, this workshop introduced the science behind climate change in a highly visual and collaborative way. Participants connected causes and consequences across systems to understand the urgency of action. Learn more about Climate Fresk
- Biodiversity Collage: With Minami as facilitator, this session took participants on a journey through the drivers of biodiversity loss, its ripple effects on life on Earth, and what we can do to protect ecosystems. Learn more about Biodiversity Collage
- Planetary Boundaries Fresco: In the English-speaking group led by Mahi, participants discovered the nine Earth system processes that keep our planet habitable, and the safe space in which humanity must operate to thrive. Learn more about Planetary Boundaries Fresco
- Plastic Collage: Facilitated by Sakura, this group dove into the full life cycle of plastic, from production to pollution, and brainstormed ways to reduce its impact through personal and collective action. Learn more about Plastic Collage
- Digital Collage: Mei’s group explored the environmental and social footprint of our digital lives, uncovering the hidden impact of internet use, devices, and cloud infrastructure, and how to engage with tech more consciously. Learn more about Digital Collage
A space for all voices
The room was buzzing with energy, laughter, and reflection – in both English and Japanese – thanks to a beautifully diverse crowd: university students and educators, business professionals and freelancers, NPO staff and local community members, and even a few parents with their children. Participants didn’t just learn: they exchanged perspectives, asked deep questions, and imagined new possibilities together.
The event was coordinated by sustainability education collective Ichigo Bloom, and made possible thanks to our collaboration with Minato City Industrial Promotion Center, who co-hosted and promoted the event to the local community.
Part of something bigger: AlterCOP 30
This event was one of many taking place across the Asia-Pacific region as part of AlterCOP 30, a volunteer-led initiative amplifying climate education and citizen engagement in parallel to the official COP30 negotiations in Brazil. AlterCOP events are being held in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Want to bring this experience to your organization?
We can organize similar multi-workshop sessions for:
- Companies, as meaningful teambuilding events or staff sustainability training
- Universities, as part of orientation or onboarding for new students
- NPOs, looking to raise awareness around environmental and social issues
- Local governments, wishing to engage residents in participatory sustainability learning
Whether in Japanese, English, or both, and whether for 10 or 100 people, Ichigo Bloom helps create shared learning experiences that spark conversation, connection, and change.
Interested? Contact us or follow us on Instagram or LinkedIn to hear about future public events.
Thank you again to everyone who joined us. Let’s keep learning, sharing, and imagining together!
Ichigo Bloom offers climate and biodiversity collaborative workshops such as the Climate Fresk and the Biodiversity Collage, to raise awareness and ignite change within organizations in Japan.
