A stimulating and inspiring Symposium on Feminism and Intersectionality in Okinawa 2025 organized by Professor Ayano Ginoza at the Research Institute for Islands and Sustainability, University of the Ryukyus, and with support by the Human Rights Center, Harassment Counseling and Support Center, Ryudai Rainbow and Gender Equity Promotion Office at the University of the Ryukyus, and Intersectional Feminists of Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST).

Excited to have my former student at Cal State East Bay, Giselle, join me at the symposium. She and Madison were part of the UCSC Okinawa Memories Initiative summer study group representing Cal State East Bay, along with students from UC Santa Cruz and Cal State Monterey Bay. I spoke on “Cine-poetics of Archipelagic Relations: Creative Praxis Toward Decolonization and Deimperialization” in the context of Okinawa and my new short video What We Never Forget For Peace Here Now. Discussions followed, including on the historical colonial and World War II war connections between Taiwan and Okinawa, and decades of unspoken trauma between Okinawa and Taiwan surfaced in conversations.

FIO aims to create a platform for meaningful exchange between students, academics, artists, and community members from Okinawa. Grounded in diversity, equity, and inclusion, FIO seeks to foster communication frameworks that encourage engagement, innovation, and overall well-being across disciplines and communities. This unique gathering highlights emerging local and transoceanic networks shaped by Okinawan ways of knowing, relationships, and connections to the islands and oceans.

The program will feature four plenary dialogues with transoceanic voices alongside interactive workshops on Ryukyuan languages, care, justice, identity, and community resilience. Presentations and posters will foster undergraduate research, emerging and ongoing academic inquiries, and community-based initiatives vital to sustaining our lives and collective well-being.

Be the Change Okinawa

(Photos by Giselle Flores, Tosh Tanaka, Anita Chang)