“The First Step Is the Willingness to Learn”: NICE on Work Camps After COVID and Our Role

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As social issues grow more complex around the world, what can each of us do? At Global Festa Japan 2026, held on October 17 and 18, we spoke with Mr. Saito of NICE (Never-ending International workCamps Exchange), a nonprofit that promotes international work camps, a form of group volunteering, in Japan and abroad. The NICE booth was lined with panels introducing work camp experiences, and student-age staff welcomed visitors with smiles. We asked about the challenges the organization faces as participation has fallen since COVID, what participants bring home, and what we can do from Japan.

Running international work camps, a form of group volunteering

NICE introduces and runs “international work camps,” group volunteer programs in which people from different backgrounds live together for a period and take on local issues. According to Mr. Saito, who is in charge of domestic programs, activities span many regions in Japan and abroad. The booth carried signs reading “International volunteering in 60 countries” and “Volunteer while you travel,” along with a poster showing the flow of a two-week work camp and panels about the organization. Panels introduced programs in Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and India, as well as satellite-forest conservation work in Japan. On the table were scarves made from local cloth, handmade crafts and original T-shirts.

Results and challenges

The organization has sent volunteers for many years, but now faces a major hurdle: since COVID-19 spread, fewer people have applied for or joined volunteer programs.

Still, Mr. Saito does not simply aim to “go back to how it was before COVID.” “It is not about returning to the way things were, but I hope more and more people become interested in volunteering and in international cooperation and exchange,” he says, stressing the need to reach new audiences.

Asked about the most rewarding moment, he named participants’ growth: “It’s when people who actually went, and came back, report to us what they learned.” The young people who widen their horizons through firsthand experience and find their own answers to social issues are what drive the organization.

What we can do in Japan: “a willingness to learn”

Many people are interested in international cooperation and volunteering but feel they “have no time” or that going abroad is too high a hurdle. What can we do in Japan? Mr. Saito’s answer was simple.

“Knowing. Going there and touching the issue yourself is the best, I think, but even if you can’t, the willingness to learn is what matters most.”

Going to the field and working up a sweat is, of course, important. But even if that is not possible, turning away from problems in the world, gathering information yourself and trying to understand is where all international cooperation starts, Mr. Saito stresses.

Sharing what was learned: the “Volunteer Awards”

NICE will continue sending and running volunteers. It is also expanding opportunities for returning participants to speak about their experiences, using channels such as YouTube to bring lessons from the field to more people.

Coming up is the “Volunteer Awards,” where people who joined volunteer programs over the past year gather to present their activities and what they learned. Sharing experiences gives rise to new insights and should encourage those considering taking part.

Beginning with the willingness to learn, practicing on site, and then returning the lessons to society: NICE’s work keeps producing this cycle of volunteering.

Interview information
Interview: NGO network Japan editorial team / Event: Global Festa Japan 2026 (booth no. 20) / Dates: October 17–18, 2026