We recently participated in the “EXPO Sakaba” held at FIC Base.

EXPO Sakaba (https://www.exposakaba.jp/) is an initiative aimed at energizing local communities, inspired by the Osaka-Kansai Expo. Originally, the event mainly focused on building momentum for the Expo, but now that the Expo has begun, it continues as a community-driven event with the goal of revitalizing regions. It has been held 100 times across various areas.

This time, the event was held in Ibaraki City at FIC Base, located in Hankyu Hondori Shopping Street, which stretches from the west exit of Hankyu Ibaraki-shi Station to Ibaraki Shrine. This was the 101st event held across Japan.

The content of the event varies from time to time. On this occasion, we joined a panel discussion with three companies that participated last year, to talk about "Ibaraki, Kurukuru", which is scheduled to be held this December.

Topics we discussed included:
• The reason why we decided to start the Open Company
• Employee reactions when they first heard about the event.
• Ideas and challenges during planning and preparation
• Reactions from visitors on the day of the event
• Employee reactions after seeing the visitors' responses
• Changes and benefits experienced within the company through the Open Company event
• Connections formed between companies through participating in Open Company
We hope our talk helped convey the appeal of “Ibaraki, Kurukuru.”

After the discussion, people who love the local community gathered to enjoy local food and drinks, listened to guest speakers introduce their regional revitalization efforts, and enjoyed networking with others at the event.
Thank you to the approximately 60 attendees who came to the event!

[Ibaraki Kurukuru / Osaka Prefecture / Ibaraki City / FIC Base]