Ridilab Fest, Japan's largest social issue event, returns offline after three years. A report from the vibrant scene.

On November 23, 2022, Japan's largest social issue event, "Ridifes" (formerly R-SIC), was held at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building Triangle Plaza. First held in 2013, Ridifes moved online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic (and was canceled in 2021). Last year marked its first offline event in three years. Dentsu Group Inc. sponsored this event for the first time, exhibiting the "Creative Rest Area," a space for participants to bounce ideas off each other. In this article, the Transformation SHOWCASE editorial team, who actually attended RIDIFES, shares the atmosphere of the event, which gathered many top runners tackling social issues, along with participants' voices.

Ridilover Festival: A Social Issue Event Energized by Passionate Leaders and Participants

Ridilover Festival is Japan's largest social issue event, hosted by Ridilover Inc. (hereafter Ridilover), a startup tackling social challenges. The event commenced at 11:00 AM with opening remarks by Ridilover CEO Toshiki Abe and journalist Jun Hori, who served as co-hosts. Over the next 7.5 hours until the closing, 10 sessions unfolded throughout the day. The venue buzzed with the energy of top runners tackling social issues and attendees eager to hear their voices directly.

The 2022 theme was "Rebuilding Solidarity." Aligned with this theme, diverse session programs were prepared, including "Public-Private Partnerships," "New Era Education Theory," "Loneliness and Isolation," "Municipal Management," "Diversity & Inclusion," and "Social Participation." Speakers represented an extremely wide range of backgrounds and organizations, including NPOs, incorporated associations, startups, large corporations, journalists, municipalities, and government agencies.

Finally, a quiz event titled "Social Quiz Battle: Unsung Heroes" was held, involving all attendees.

The term "unsung heroes" refers to those who perform extraordinary deeds without leaving a record or receiving recognition, essentially meaning "the unsung heroes behind the scenes." This program featured questions posed by top leaders currently tackling social issues head-on, allowing everyone to think about the answers together and gain insight into the realities of these challenges. As a quiz event, it was hosted by Takuji Izawa, famous as a quiz champion and University of Tokyo graduate, and the venue was filled with great excitement.

Participants were deeply inspired. "These are insights I want to keep in mind, not just for work but for life itself."

When we asked attendees for their impressions, we heard comments like these:

"While the event's theme was 'facing social issues,' every session showed how speakers sincerely engaged with their own experiences and the struggles of those around them, thought deeply, and took action—which ultimately led to solving social issues. This made me realize that I don't need to overthink it; simply facing my own struggles and those around me is enough."

"Since it was an in-person event, just the fact that people gathered in one place—all sharing that same feeling of 'I want to do something!'—whether they were looking for a starting point or thinking about concrete solutions—made my heart swell. I thought it was wonderful that friends were inviting each other to come to such a place."

Participants in the session titled "Can Large Corporations Solve Social Issues?" shared these insights:

"It was fascinating to hear perspectives from both those driving new ventures within companies and those supporting them."

"When starting something, begin with people, not the organization. As more people gather around that core, the project gains momentum. I felt this insight is applicable not just to new ventures, but to various situations in work."

"From a business support perspective, the most memorable point was that people who ultimately execute new projects or solve problems are 'persistent individuals.' Or, 'people who can run toward the goal without fixating on a single idea, thinking "I want to solve this by any means necessary."' I felt this is something to keep in mind not just for work, but for life."

Many participants shared that they gained insights applicable not only to "solving social issues" but also to their own work and personal lives, conveying that this was a meaningful opportunity for people in diverse roles.

While the event has concluded, select session programs and speaker talks are available on the Ridilab YouTube channel. Interested parties are encouraged to visit this page.

Due to popular demand, additional seats were added. Various encounters born at the "Creative Rest Area"

Dentsu Group, resonating with the purpose of Ridifes, sponsored this event for the first time and exhibited the participatory program "Creative Rest Area" on the day. We spoke with Yuko Yoshiba of the Dentsu Group, who participated as one of the exhibiting members, about the aim of the initiative and her impressions of the day.

Q. What kind of initiative is the "Creative Rest Area"?

Yoshiha: Ridifes attracts a very diverse crowd—from corporate professionals, NPO staff, and local government officials already engaged in various activities addressing social issues, to young people and students who want to take action but need hints on how to start. We opened the "Creative Rest Area" hoping to support these individuals.

We thought many attendees, while confronting various social issues and advancing their initiatives, might hit walls and feel, "I want an outside perspective or opinion." So, we put out the message, "Why not think with us?" hoping to create a space where members of the Dentsu Group could serve as "idea bouncers."

Q. What kind of people actually gathered?

Yoshiwa: We set up two tables and invited participants for 20-minute sessions per group. We started with nervous anticipation, wondering, "Will anyone actually come to talk?" But once the event began, we received so many requests to speak with us that we quickly added a third table. We even extended the event time, ending up completely full. Originally, we planned to accommodate up to 20 groups, but ultimately, we had the pleasure of engaging in lively dialogue with 30 groups. We are truly grateful to everyone who participated.

The topics we discussed were diverse. For example:

・Planning an event to promote Japanese culture overseas and seeking feedback on the current plan
・We want to brainstorm together on how to raise awareness of our activities
・Advice on how to change the mindset within their company

Although each session was only 20 minutes, I believe we managed to have quite substantive conversations within that time. Additionally, we used graphic recording (a method where information is organized in real-time while listening to the conversation, then summarized and recorded using hand-drawn illustrations and diagrams) to capture what was discussed. This was given as a "souvenir" for participants to take home, and many were very pleased with it. Though the time was truly brief, I'd be delighted if it offered participants some discoveries or insights and proved even slightly useful.

Q. What were your impressions of participating in Ridifes in the form of a "Creative Rest Stop"?

Yoshiha: We met and spoke with many people. Hearing everyone's concerns and ideas was actually very educational for us. We were also greatly inspired by their sincere approach to tackling their respective challenges and their perspectives. It made us realize how narrow and limited our own viewpoint and knowledge were. At the same time, we got a glimpse of the real-world realities unique to actual sites – things you simply can't see from theoretical discussions alone. Although we were there to receive consultations, I feel this exhibition actually broadened our horizons considerably. I'm truly glad we participated. Moving forward, not just for this Ridifes event, but building on this experience, we want to actively engage with various frontline settings. We aim to meet and talk with as many people as possible, creating opportunities to elevate each other's perspectives and ideas.

Message from Ridilab

Finally, we received a message from Mr. Asao Inoue of Ridilab, a core member of the Ridifes planning and operations team.

Inoue: Solving social issues is the blue ocean of industry for the coming era. Take dementia, for example. Demographic projections indicate that the number of people living with dementia will exceed 10 million in the future.

How can individuals with dementia, their families, and communities coexist? Service design that anticipates even the psychological nuances faced by those affected is needed. However, user-centric UI and UX design is an area where government agencies often struggle.

Conversely, large corporations and startups are entities that have continuously refined services and businesses from a user-centric perspective. When considering the budgets allocated by national and local governments, service design and solving social issues through public-private partnerships hold enormous business potential. We hope you will utilize the Ridilab Journal and future Ridilab Fes events to deepen your understanding of social issues and envision new ventures. We look forward to working with you.

Ridilab regularly engages with various social challenges, supporting their resolution while also working to deepen awareness and understanding of the realities of these issues. We operate the web media " Ridilab Journal," sharing insights on diverse agendas. If you're interested, why not take a look?