Intern Profile

2021

Mina Inaba, Temple University, Japan Ms. Mina Inaba is a junior majoring in International Affairs at Temple University, Japan Campus. Her area of study includes international politics and global issues. She is interested in how different stakeholders cooperate with each other in CityNet to tackle common issues in the Asia-Pacific region, and she hopes to learn some hints for solving global issues. While interning at the CityNet Yokohama Project Office (CYO), she hopes to contribute to the work by disseminating CYO’s activities and raising awareness of common issues that the CYO member cities share.  




      Hinata Shimizu, Yokohama City University Ms. Hinata Shimizu is a third-year student studying International Relations and Politics at Yokohama City University. She is researching mainly in the areas of global issues, democracy, diversity, and gender studies for making this world a better place. At the CYO, she wishes to learn various about how to work on a practical level to solve global issues and to maintain solidarity among various actors. She aims to support in disseminating CYO’s activities and creating opportunities for people through collaborations. Ms. Shimizu also hopes to learn more about public relations work while at CYO.




      Shinichi Ogura, Temple University Japan Mr. Shinichi Ogura is a fourth-year student majoring in International Affairs at Temple University, Japan. He has strong interests in the field of environment and its relation to people as well as the issues that we face today relating to climate change. He wishes to understand the urban challenges further and contribute for the programs of CityNet to help cities address the issues they are facing.          




  Waqas Ahmed Raza, Kyoto University alum and Long-term JICA Training Participant Mr. Raza is a Long-term JICA Training Participant under the Innovative Asia Fellowship. He recently graduated from Kyoto University with a Master of Engineering in Urban Management specializing in Disaster Risk Management. He is an Urban Planner by profession. At CITYNET Yokohama, he hopes to deepen his understanding about how the cities in Asia are changing regarding DRR, identifying urban development issues, mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into urban planning, and community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) to help local communities cultivate resilience against climate-related disasters. He is grateful to the CYO for this opportunity. He hopes the knowledge, exposure, and understanding he would gain while working at CYO would help him further advance his research and practical skills.        




  Alexander Kilmer, Temple University Japan Mr. Alexander Kilmer studies International Affairs and Asian studies at Temple University, Japan Campus in Tokyo. In the future, he hopes to use his knowledge and skills to assist developing countries in creating sustainable infrastructure and securing development aid. At CITYNET he hopes to develop a deep understanding of sustainable urban planning, disaster management, and working with local governments. Mr. Kilmer is grateful to have the opportunity to intern at CITYNET and hopes to help educate more people about disaster preparation while there.        




 

2020

  Tomoko Saito, Temple University Japan Ms. Tomoko Saito is a senior at Temple University Japan majoring in International Affairs. She started the internship at CYO from September 2020 and her interest has long been focused on development of developing nations. “I am excited to work for CYO this fall and learn more about how urban issues are tackled on municipalities’ level. I am interested in education, which CYO has some ongoing projects, I am keen to support those projects in some way”. Ms. Saito looks forward to supporting CYO projects including the upcoming 13th CityNet Disaster Cluster Seminar to be held online and develop her research skills as well as build knowledge towards the ways to cope with urban issues.      




  Tomoki Shima, Yokohama National University As a part of the regular internship program with YOKE (Yokohama Association for International Communications and Exchanges), also a CityNet associate member, CYO offers 100-hour internship as scheduled by YOKE. Mr. Shima majors in Environmental Engineering and Environmental risk management. He researches on measuring the diffusion of soil pollutants and how to manage them. He is also interested in technical corporation. Through this internship, he tries to understand what international corporation is mainly based on corporation of disaster prevention among cities and CYO’s mission and knowledge. “I would like to apply to my research theme and my career pass as an engineer”, said Mr. Shima when asked about his position with CityNet.      




Hangeul Kim, Temple University The regular internship program with Temple University Japan (TUJ) has been continuing since 2013. This year for spring semester, TUJ offered the internship to an exchange student from the Republic of Korea. Mr. Hangeul Kim is an international affairs student at the Temple University, Japan Campus. As a student of international relations, he has interest in how CITYNET works with other municipalities in different countries in cooperation with public and private sectors as an international organization. He took part in several activities including the 13th CITYNET Japan Forum in February and Training on Countermeasures on Nuclear, biological and Chemical Disasters held at Yokohama Fire Academy. He was able to learn how CYO collaborates between the two cities. As an intern at CYO, he was able to develop skills such as translation or editing of publications, especially, in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction. He hopes to utilize his skills in a global corporation or international organization for his career with his experience at CYO.    




 

2019

Meghan Flood, University of Victoria Ms. Meghan Flood is a Geography and Professional Communications student at the University of Victoria, in Canada. She has a keen interest in sustainable urban development and how forms of communication and media can be used as a translation of knowledge from scientist to citizen. As an intern at CITYNET, Meghan is excited to learn more about how cities in Asia overcome urban development and sustainability challenges, and is grateful to be able to support the programs of CITYNET and its members.  




    Taisei Ikema, Kokugakuin University Mr. Taisei Ikema is a student at Kokugakuin University. He studies foreign language and culture, with the goal of being able to communicate with various people with different backgrounds all over the world. He was drawn to CYO to learn more about Disaster Risk Reduction and how CYO works with other municipalities throughout Southeast Asia. Mr. Ikema is grateful to have interned with CYO, and is eager to share knowledge about disasters and what to do in emergency situations with friends when returning to university mid-September.  




      Erin Spence, University of Victoria She is excited to be working with the CYO this summer and learning more about how cities cooperate and share knowledge across Asia. As an intern at CITYNET, she is excited to study how the organisation encourages a higher quality of life in municipalities and urban areas across Asia. She hopes to support CITYNET’s projects and trainings by improving her research and design skills, as well as supporting the organization’s activities for the 2019 Disaster Cluster Seminar. She is looking forward to understanding new ways that organizations and municipalities can cooperate to create effective and localised policies to better serve their residents.    




  Yuuka Takahashi, Kokugakuin University. She is studying foreign languages and cultures in the university and interested in international relations. “From the experiences in CYO, I realise the issues that Asian countries face and how CITYNET supports them. Also, I feel impressed as to how Asian countries help each other. That was an opportunity to consider what I can and want to do for international cooperation. I hope to make good use of what I learned through this internship for studying and thinking about the future.”

     

2018

   




    Kanika Varma, University of Victoria. She is an Anthropology student at the University of Victoria. She is very excited to be working with CYO this autumn. She hopes to improve her research and writing skills by working closely with CITYNET’s projects, she will also spend time helping to promote the many initiatives by the office. Kanika hopes that this experience will teach her more about sustainable city planning and disaster prevention. She plans on using the knowledge gained from this experience in the future years to come in possibly pursuing similar career paths.  




      Karizki Hadyanafi, Australian National University A recent graduate from the Master of Environmental Management and Development program at the Australian National University, is glad for the chance to be a part of the CITYNET Yokohama Office. He is very interested in disaster risk reduction issues, and keen to learn about fostering partnerships for building resilience in Asia-Pacific cities. He is looking forward to his two-month internship, and in his future career hopes to apply the knowledge and experience gained here in his home country, Indonesia.




        Waka Sato, Kokugakuin University As a Law student from Kokugakuin University, she is very excited to work with CYO. She is studying international relations and law, and is interested in international cooperation. She wants to know how international organizations work in her hometown Yokohama, and to help them with their projects. Thorough this internship, she hopes to learn about what urban problems Asian countries face, and how CITYNET tries to solve these problems. She also thinks this working experience will be a great opportunity to consider her future career.




        Kyra Samuda, Temple University Japan As a Psychology student from the University of Pittsburgh, she is currently studying at Temple University Japan, and is excited to work with CYO assisting with communications and marketing. She wants to learn more about sustainable development and what working at a non-profit organization is like. Through this experience, she hopes to gain a better understanding of career options for after graduation. During her 2-month stay, she also intends to study and practice Japanese and woodprint making.




        Liam Marshall, University of Victoria. He is a Philosophy student from the University of Victoria. He is very excited to work with CYO and help promote CITYNET’s many initiatives. He hopes that he will learn much about Disaster Risk Reduction and international cooperation, and that he will be able to use this experience later in his career. During his four-month stay in Yokohama, he also intends to continue studying and practicing Japanese.




          Sarah Kim, Yokohama National University As an Urban Social Management student, she is happy to join CITYNET as she have had a special interest in what CITYNET is working for. She wants to learn how the cities cooperate each other to build better cities and Yokohama contributes to the global community. For her internship for 2 months, she would like to contribute to CYO through the given tasks and actively working together. Through this great chance, she hopes to explore the field with her curiosities and expand her understanding for her future career.




       

Yuki Imaizumi, Meiju Gakuin University Ms. Imaizumi finds every session at CYO inspirational and fruitful, and is looking forward to reflect the lessons she learned to her research. Also, in terms of working international, this experience provides her with a good opportunity to reconsider what kind of efforts she needs to do in the future. “Thank you for your confidence with me, and I am really thankful to be able to join this community.”

 




   

2017

      Erina Iso, Kokugakuin University Ms. Iso is a junior at Kokugakuin University in the department of foreign languages and culture studies. Through this internship at CYO, she got to know many ongoing projects about Disaster Risk Reduction not only in Japan but also in some other countries. Also, she learned importance of sharing knowledge and information about disaster prevention among cities in order to combat natural disaster. She wishes to apply what she learned at CYO to her studies at university and learn more about disaster risk management.




  Ichiro Mozawa, Yokohama National University Mr. Mozawa is a junior at Yokohama National University currently pursuing a degree in Bachelor of Arts in European History and in Postwar Japanese History. While interning at CITYNET, he was able to learn the importance of educating the community about natural disasters. With the experiences gained here at CITYNET, he hopes to work at an international organization educating and preserving history and culture in the future.  




      Rasheedah White, University of Victoria Ms. White is a fourth year student at the University of Victoria completing a Bachelors of Arts in British History with a minor in Pacific and Asian Studies. Her interest in modern day japan centres around the impact globalization has on the nations public policy. While aspiring to become an immigration lawyer, she wishes to examine the attribution disaster and urbanization has had on the displacement of individuals. She is excited for the opportunity to apply her studies and be a part of CITYNET, a multinational organization.  




  Lina Mochizuki , University of Oregon I am currently a senior at the University of Oregon pursuing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Environmental Studies, International Relations, and Japanese, and minoring in East Asian Studies. I aspire to produce innovative and creative solutions to environmental challenges and promote them effectively through various media platforms. With my time here at CITYNET Yokohama, I am excited to expand my knowledge on the various factors that affect disaster risk reduction and to explore the best practices in disaster preparedness.  




  Akiha Suzuki, Meiji Gakuin University I am a 4th year student in Meiji Gakuin University with a major in Public Administration and Developmental Policies. My specific focus is on “Community-based Inclusive Development Policies” and I am going to get Master’s degree on this academic field in the U.K. Working at CYO is such a great opportunity for a person like me who aims to work an international organization in the future.  This experience gives me a broad perspective every time I work, and I am sure there is still possibility that I can learn more from this organization.  I am thankful to be able to contribute to city-to-city corporation and  to the disaster prevention programs.   2016  




    web-version Natsu Hatakeyama, Kyoto University Ms. Hatakeyama is a first year Master’s student majoring in Global Environmental Policy at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Kyoto University. Her interest in the influence of city-to-city networks and global environmental issues drove her to work as an intern for CYO. She will be in the office until the end of January, 2017.  




    Kathryn McGrath, University of Victoria Ms. McGrath will be working with CYO until October. Next year she is graduating from the University of Victoria with an Honours degree in Pacific and Asian Studies and a minor in Business. She has had a longstanding interest in the Asia-Pacific region and speaks both Japanese and Korean. She is especially interested in exploring how local government, policy, capacity building, and community involvement interact in the creation of safe and sustainable urban spaces. She is also interested in international co-operation and is excited to be involved with projects in which various countries work together to develop, implement and share best practices. She is very grateful to work with CITYNET and be able to apply the skills she gained through her degree to make a difference in the world while continuing to learn from experienced professionals.  




  Inaba

Akane Inaba, Ferris University

Ms. Inaba is a sophomore at Ferris University in the Division of Global and Inter-cultural Studies and specializes in Spanish and American politics. She is a member of CITYNET Youth Japan and is interested in international cooperation and disaster education. She is looking forward to learning more about CITYNET projects and how she can help people in need. She wishes to share the knowledge she gains from this experience to members of CITYNET Youth Japan.  




    Tabatha PhotoTabatha Donley, George Mason University Ms. Donley is pursuing her B.A. in Global Affairs, with minors in Conflict Resolution/Analysis and Social Justice, at George Mason University in northern Virginia (U.S.). As a Japanese-American, she has a strong interest in the Asia-Pacific region, and has studied abroad in the Philippines, Cambodia, and Taiwan. At GMU, she is president of a student organization engaged in advocacy, awareness, and service projects for displaced populations such as refugees. She was impressed by and drawn to CITYNET’s commitment to capacity-building and sustainable development, and looks forward to the new knowledge and experiences this internship will bring.  




  SophiaSophia Mayen, University of Victoria Ms. Mayen will be a part of CYO for the next four months. She originally comes from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and is studying Geography with a concentration in Geomatics at UVic. She was a member and president of the international development association at her university, which focused largely on south eastern Africa.  Her interests are rooted in international development and environmental awareness which drew her to this office. She wishes to apply her skills outside of the classroom and learn from expert professionals in project management and disaster preparedness.  She is excited to learn more about community collaboration from CITYNET’s ongoing projects and how they can be applied world-wide.  




    Karen PhotoKaren Fukui, Meiji Gakuin University Ms. Fukui is working as an intern at CYO and comes from Meiji Gakuin University where she is a first year student. Growing up in the U.S. she took strong interest in international development issues and currently helps translating and editing documents at the office and assisting in organising events.  




  2015   maria-sanMaria B. K. Dewi, (Indonesia) University of Tokyo Ms. Dewi is a doctoral student in Department of Urban Engineering, the University of Tokyo. Her current research field is in community participation and community-based disaster preparedness and recovery. Her task in CITYNET internship is researching about the prospective cities’ disaster risk and involved NGOs and designing project proposal for community-based Disaster Risk Reduction program.  




  kawamura-sanHiromi Kawamura, Meiji Gakuin University I major in Sociology and especially study the poverty and the multicultural coexistence.I enrolled the internship of CYO, because I am interested in the projects for the developing countries and how CYO implement them in these countries. I recognized the way of sustainable supports to suit developing countries’ needs and culture through the project of “Community Based Adaptation and Resilience Against Disasters (CBARAD)” in the Philippines.  




  duongsanDuong Thi Thuy Nguyen, Hanoi Foreign Trade University I’m a new graduate student with a major in International Finance from Hanoi Foreign Trade University. An internship with CYO immediately caught my attention because it is an opportunity to learn about creating a project step-by-step, from issues research to implementation. This experience will also challenge and familiarize me with an international working environment. I also take interest in the fact that CYO’s activities focus primarily on critical urban issues in developing countries in Asia Pacific, such as Vietnam – my home country. The experiences I gain from CYO will no doubt support me effectively in my future plan to work in NGO sector because it will deepen my knowledge in project management.




  IMG_3756Kylie Pettifer, University of Victoria, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives I am studying Geography and Business at UVic. I was drawn to CYO because I am very interested in the role of cities as agents of change and wanted to learn more about the network model that CITYNET uses to connect people and ideas across Asia and the Pacific. As an international NGO working on a grassroots project basis, working with CYO is an incredible opportunity to see the integration of large and small scales of action on powerful issues like climate change and disaster risk reduction. I am excited to learn more about project management, social justice, and urban development while using my skills and background to help continue CYO’s great work building community resilience and collaboration.




  IMG_3755Rachel Covington, Temple University Japan I attend Temple University Japan in Tokyo and my major is political science. I want to intern at CITYNET Yokohama because the work it does seems very interesting and helpful to society. This will also allow for an experience of what it can be like being at an NGO, which can help with future career decisions.




  sakainosanYoshiaki Sakaino, Yokohama National University I am a student majoring in international economics at the Yokohama National University. When I received the offer for this internship, I was very surprised because I did not imagine that I could work for an international organization. Throughout this internship, I would like to try translation work and support the international conference.




IMG_4972 reviceNicola Craig Hora, University of Victoria, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives I am a fourth year Pacific and Asian Studies student at the University of Victoria. My focus is on Japanese Studies and I will be writing my Honours Thesis on how Japanese society is dealing with the issues that have arisen as a result of urbanization and the increasing dependence on urbanized spaces in Japan. I grew up in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, this sparked my interest in the social effects that urbanization has on global populations. CITYNET’s vision of “people-friendly cities” is what attracted me to their Yokohama office. I look forward to learning about how CITYNET works with different urban stakeholders to address sustainability issues on a local level.




  e-news photo reviceAlexander Rechberger,Temple University Japan My name is Alexander Rechberger and I’m from Austria. I am a political science major in my fifth semester and currently a study abroad student at Temple University Japan. I picked CITYNET because I want to gain experience in the field of political science outside the classroom and CITYNET offers me a perfect environment to learn about city development in the Asia-Pacific region.

2014

alanahAlanah Nasadyk, University of Victoria, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives




Thanks to CYO, I had the chance to turn interests in the Asia-Pacific and sustainable development into tangible contributions through proposal writing, report editing, and design. I saw how an international organization operates on a daily basis, and how they carry out projects to help address issues like the need for disaster preparedness in vulnerable cities. The insight working with CITYNET has given me into its many partner cities throughout Asia, and their initiatives for empowering citizens to make change on the local level has been a great inspiration. I plan to take this inspiration and the skills I’ve been building back to Canada to share through my future work. I hope that in time I can visit some of the other countries that CITYNET cooperates with to deepen my learning and perspective on challenges facing our interconnected global community.




marinaMarina Suzuki, Temple University, Japan Campus I am an International Affairs major at Temple University Japan with a minor in Political Science. My primary focus is on environmental issues and energy politics. Currently, I am interesed in how different stakeholders influence foreign policy and the changing political climate of Asian-Pacific regional security. I look forward to gaining a broader view and deepening my knowledge about East Asian multilateral cooperation through this internship at CITYNET Yokohama Project Office.




mizukiMizuki Tsukada, Yokohama City University I am studying international issues and techniques of international cooperation at Yokohama City University. I took on this internship at CITYNET Yokohama Project Office because I wanted to know how the international organization contributes to other countries. My tasts at the office include translating reports from English into Japanese and preparing for an international conference. I am also learning new things related to disaster prevention and risk reduction as well as the issues connected to the topic.




seanSean Grisdale,  University of Victoria, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives I was drawn to this internship with CYO by an interest in both global issues and bottom-up, community based development. I am interested in learning and experiencing the workings of the international NGO sector, especially organizational processes of project research, coordination of funding and implementation, and public outreach and media relations.I know that my experiences here will be a once-in-a-lifetime addition to my continuing education in critical urban development while also informing a potential career i the NGO sector or academia.




masonMason Beninger, Temple University, Japan Campus




I am interning at CYO because I want to learn how a project is created: from the specific need in an affected community around the world, to the written proposal and implementation. I am also interested about the interactions between NGOs and government in coordinating aid, information and expertise. The knowledge I gain here will assist me in my future education as a business student and my career goal of working as a market researcher.

2013

hanaHana Ashida, Yokohama National University




I am studying about International Development at the Department of Human Science, Yokohama National University. During my period as an intern, I studied deeply about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and it gave me valuable experience. After my internship, I would like to join some activities or projects to offer assistance to developing countries.




hirokiHiroki Takayama, Wako University I am studying Social Issues in Southeast Asia at the Department of Transcultural Studies, Wako University. I am interested in Development, Economic Disparity and Social Issues. One of the classes introduced us to the CITYNET Yokohama Project Office and I applied to be an intern in the office. I would like to study more during my period here.




makoMako Tsukamoto, Keio University I am studying Economic Policy and Business Cooperation between countries in Southeast Asia and Japan at Keio University. During my internship at CITYNET Yokohama Project Office, I mainly support public relations. However, I would like to try various things during my time with CYO.




kalieKalie Mackey, Temple University, Japan Campus My time working with CITYNET gave me the opportunity to learn, not only about Japan, but also about much of Asia from a perspective that I would not otherwise have had if I had not decided to work there. CITYNET gave me the chance to understand the types of issues that Japan and other Asian countries are faced with, and witness how many governments and organizations can come together to work with one another on them – a type of networking I was impressed by and surprised to see! Being an intern at CITYNET has given me the ability to look at cities and cultures in a new light, a tool that I have been happy to bring back to America and introduce to my studies.