Candidate Yoshiki Aoki 青木世識
What languages do you speak? Japanese, English (The evaluation of English communication level is B1 High by latest CEFR; Common European Framework of Reference for Languages test on August 29th, 2021.)
VIEW YOSHIKI'S INTERVIEW VIDEO
Questionnaire Responses
Q1 - Please share a brief introduction about yourself, your life, and your background, as well as your personal strengths that you would like to bring to the Board.
No one can avoid loss-experiences by death. When I was 25 years old, I lost my mother by suicide on August 28th, 2001. After that, I became as a supporter of suicide-loss survivors. As a suicide-loss survivor who became a Japanese national psychiatric social worker, I can share our deep grieving and the bereavement with others based-on my own experiences. This point is one of the strength points of mine.
Furthermore, this loss-experience that brought me the unique life course of PTG (Post Traumatic Growth). For example, spreading my actual actions with new relationships, based on my unique suicide-loss experiences, I have been expanding and building new relationships and perspectives with other professionals who are working in the front beyond the borders. These actual behaviors are not only in MINT but also toward abroad and outside of MINT (Such as AAS; American Association of Suicidology). Specifically, in MINT activities, I have repeatedly presented about the bereavement care of suicide-loss and social inclusion at the MINT Forum (2017-2021, and MINT Around The Clock) with many of my colleagues. This ability to expand people-to-people networks overseas through actual action based on my specific experiences is one of another specific my strengths. I can bring above strength points based on the experiences to the Board.
If you have any questions to me, please send your Email to the following address. bereavement.care.researcher@gmail.com
Q2 - Please describe your experience with MI in any or all of the following roles: practitioner, trainer, supervisor, researcher, and/or administrator.
I am providing my experiences with MI on my homepage as CV (curriculum vitae) for all by open access as a practitioner, trainer, supervisor, researcher, and presenter mainly. The address is the following:
https://motivationalinterviewing.org/search/site/YoshikiAoki
Q3 – Please describe your participation in MINT in meaningful ways including, but not limited to, committee service that might support your candidacy and prepare you for serving on the MINT Board.
In the MINT organization, I can contribute for MINT Board as a representative founder of MIBC team (Motivational Interviewing for Bereavement Care) that I found in 2017. MIBC has included outside of members of MINT. The most important aim of this worldwide MIBC team is to publish a paper and proceed our realistic research plans in the future together. I am a representative member of MIBC as a founder and can also cooperate other any committees of MINT. For those reasons, I am sure that we experienced members can contribute and support together / each other for the activities of MINT Board.
Q4 - Please describe experience you have had in serving on other committees or boards, either in a professional or personal capacity.
A founder of MIBC team (Motivational Interviewing for Bereavement Care).
Director of Japan Motivational Interviewing Society with Tolerance and Collaboration
As a non-profit photographer, I served The Photo Service For PSF program @ MINT Forum at New Orleans in 2018 & at Tallinn in 2019.
I participated the discussion of MIAC meeting on September 23, 2021 (JST.)
Q5 – Please describe your vision for MINT moving forward and include your thoughts about the ways the Board can be representative and inclusive of the diversity of the membership.
First, activities are necessary that are based on our realistic and specific daily livings. Without pausing to listen well about the realistic and specific adversities, roadblocks of each that we should overcome together, we can NOT achieve social inclusion. MINT history already indicated that these small steps are necessary to expand our social inclusion beyond the national borders.
Second, sharing the recognition that no one does not have the realistic answers of diversity that all human beings of this world can be acceptable yet. Therefore, in line with MI-spirit, via discussions and interactions based-on listening well, we will expand and exchange our perspectives, feasibility as human beings based-on each experience of actual activities and realistic daily lives. I am sure that this is fundamental ways to overcome our differences to acceptable each existence.
Next, I will take other experiences and perspectives that based on our activities at the outside of MINT into the Board. Furthermore, if we can gather bringing outside activities that we can learn from together, we can make more meaningful directions. For example, as an outside activity that I can reach out is AAS (American Association of Suicidology) is a particular organization to contactable for me.
Next, the feasibility of human beings should not be defined by the income levels that give affection to educational levels. This means that the absolute worth of human being is NOT defined by birth of each. Furthermore, human growths themselves are based on their specific behavior changes based on our realistic daily lives. For that reason, MINT as an organization of the professionals who can guide their actual behaviors change should support to each realistic growth based on each background and aspects of realistic daily lives.
Next, in the first place, the knowledge gained by science and academia is not for a limited few. In other words, the fruits of science and learning do not belong only to scholars and those with social titles. I believe that we must always be aware of this fact as we develop our activities. I believe that it is important to build more open relationships that allows anyone to freely access human resources, information and learning opportunities when needed (such as Coursera, MICU; Motivational Interviewing for Citizens University or free Webinars), in order to develop MINT toward around the world. I am sure that these activities are so important for next generations of MINT. Finally, based on these expandable perspectives and my own experiences, I am sure that I can bring my thoughts toward MINT Board and can attend the discussions and interactions to expand the worldwide network of MINT much more than before.
Q6 - MINT's strategic plan is consistent with the following three clusters: 1) Membership Engagement; 2) Global inclusion, outward-facing; 3) Provide guidance, standards and resources to the world. Please provide your specific interests and ideas across any of these three clusters and how you might contribute to achieving them as a Board member.
I already opened and prepared my heart to listen well the voice from anywhere of this earth. In actual, I will try to contact the persons via the Internet virtual platforms (ex. ZOOM, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Facebook etc.), Email services, and in line with the guideline that I must obey for my workplace, whatever I can use too.
Broadening and building MI in East Asia is one of my major interests. Just as the uniqueness of my Japanese name (世識) presents my own life's purpose, I will continue to identify and explore what is the essence of humans in the world. Through this constant effort, I will strive to promote global inclusion and outward-facing.
As I mentioned on other questions of this document, based-on our realistic daily lives of each, I can cooperate with making guidance, standards, and resources to the world. Because, without based-on realistic daily lives of each, we can NOT make these materials that can get convincing reactions.
Q7 - The Board work currently consists of both operational tasks (keeping the organization functioning day to day and financial management) and strategic tasks (vision and planning). Describe your capacities in both these areas.
As a civil servant at a ward office in the heart of Tokyo, I have spent many years executing public projects based on budgets and accounts. To carry out these tasks, the abilities of both parties are tested daily. Therefore, I can assure you that my professional experience has cultivated these abilities. In line with the experiences, I can provide my abilities toward both tasks.
Q8 - The typical Board member spends up to 10-15 hours per week on MINT Board matters across varying days and time zones. Board meetings have typically been held twice per month, on Tuesdays from 19:00 – 21:00 UTC, with some variation by 1-2 hours earlier or later. The Board holds a 2-3 day retreat meeting twice per year, a midyear meeting and a meeting in parallel with the annual TNT/Forum. Board members are expected to participate in both of the retreat meetings and the regular Board meetings, and to be flexible in arranging to be present for these meetings despite their otherwise busy schedules and the time zones in which they live. They are also expected to respond to Board eForum discussions on a regular and ongoing basis. Please indicate how you will integrate this commitment with your ongoing professional and personal activities.
First, 19:00 – 21:00 UTC is 04:00 – 06:00 am on JST. Furthermore, in my work place, we civil servants are not allowed to use laptop and the Internet services for private use at all to protect huge private information of general citizens. Therefore, on the days, I will adjust my schedules in my workplace to use my paid holidays as much as I can for these meetings. For that, I will save the paid holidays for each year. Therefore, it is manageable.
Second, when I can't take the permission to take that from my colleagues and my bosses, I will inform the Board as soon as possible. If I have to select this option, and if the Board can provide the recording meeting videos or transcripts to all Board members (ex. Using ZOOM and Otter AI services), I will confirm, and send my ideas about those contents within 3days until the weekend. Furthermore, based on the priority of the materials, I will share my thoughts as soon as possible.
Next, if the Board can’t provide option2 above, I will read faster the summary as soon as possible after the meetings in order to provide my thoughts. The target is within about 3 days that my manageable period.
Next, about eForum too, I will response in line with option3.
Finally, I never think there is any magic or panacea to do operational tasks. If I can’t attend to the meetings directory, I will determine the orders of my all tasks to achieve in line with the priority that the Board indicates. As to the actual day-to-day work, I believe conforming to senior board members is the best way.
