"Ideas Festival to Change Society" Held to Tackle Social Issues Together with Citizens

The "Ideas Festival to Change Society," co-hosted by the Dentsu Group and the Japan Marrow Donor Program Foundation, was held over three days on September 10, 23, and 24.

The "Ideas Festival to Change Society" is a workshop program where participants learn about social issues alongside everyday citizens and generate ideas for solutions through their own efforts. It was launched with the aim of creating a platform that continuously generates innovative ideas for social issues, spanning the Dentsu Group in Japan (Dentsu Inc., PR Consulting Dentsu Inc., Dentsu Creative X). This marked its inaugural event.

The first installment, co-hosted with the Japan Marrow Donor Program, focused on the theme "Imagination Saves Lives: How to Increase Young Bone Marrow Donors," addressing the shortage of bone marrow donors. Aiming to gather perspectives from young people, 35 students from high schools, universities, and vocational schools participated, forming 11 teams to engage in the workshop.

Upon closer inspection, you realize the message lacks the word "secret."

■September 10 (Sat) Input Session
Prior to the main event, an input session for students featured presentations by bone marrow transplant recipients and donors, covering current realities and challenges surrounding bone marrow transplants and donation. This was followed by a program led by creators and marketers from the Dentsu Group Japan, teaching information gathering techniques and idea generation methods.

Opening talk by Mr. Hiroaki Tanaka of Dentsu Inc.

■September 23 (Fri) Idea Workshop
During the Idea Workshop, teams split up and used the ideation techniques learned in the input session to shape ideas for solving the shortage of bone marrow donors. Members from Dentsu Group Japan served as mentors, supporting each team.

Scene from the Idea Workshop.

■September 24 (Sat) Idea Fest Main Event
The ideas from the 11 teams were presented during the second part of the "National Bone Marrow Bank Promotion Conference" held in Hiroshima on Saturday, September 24. The festival featured diverse ideas, such as combining sports with registration efforts and utilizing social media to boost sign-ups. The judging panel consisted of five members, including former Hiroshima Carp outfielder and baseball commentator Soichiro Amaya, and Yuko Kitakaze, CDO (Chief Diversity Officer) from Dentsu Inc. Japan Network. Following the judging, the Grand Prize was awarded to Hiroshima International University's "Serious Registration" initiative.

Presentation scene

Judging session

Students who participated in the festival and the performers who served as judges

 Moving forward, the winning ideas—Grand Prize, Runner-up Prize, and Judges' Special Award—will be refined and developed into concrete plans by creators within the Dentsu Group in Japan.

Yoshihisa Kodera, Chairman of the Japan Marrow Donor Program, stated about the festival: "We are deeply grateful that so many young people participated and shared their ideas for bone marrow donor registration. Many of these ideas were highly valuable references for us. Learning what interests the younger generation was also a valuable lesson."

Yuko Kitakaze, CDO (Chief Diversity Officer) of Dentsu Japan Network, remarked, "I felt that passing on and invigorating the skills to think about such social issues to the next generation is also one of the Dentsu Group's social missions."

The Dentsu Group in Japan will continue this initiative, aiming to develop it into a platform accessible to all, where NPOs, local businesses, media, students, and various stakeholders can raise awareness of social issues and participate.