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🔴Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai x The University of Osaka🔵 "Let’s Envision a Society Where Everyone Can Get Free Menstrual Products in the Toilets!” Held
On April 28, 2025, the UOsaka UNESCO Chair MeW Project hosted the event “Let’s Envision a Society Where Everyone Can Get Free Menstrual Products in the Toilets!” at the Women's Pavilion “WA Space” at the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai.
The event consisted of two parts. The first part was a symposium where four speakers gave presentations on the actual situation and efforts in relevant places related to menstruation, followed by a panel discussion between the moderator and the speakers.
Presentations:
- “About the UOsaka UNESCO Chair MeW Project”,Professor Elli W Sugita, Graduate School of Human Sciences, The University of Osaka
- "About the UOsaka Menstrual Product Dispenser Project”, Narumi Jenkens, Diversity Promotion Division, Department of Planning, The University of Osaka
- "MeW Project: Support for the Earthquake Affected Areas in the Noto Peninsula", Anh Van Bui, Master's Student, Graduate School of Human Sciences, The University of Osaka
- “Current Trends in Menstrual Products in Japan and Abroad”, Kaori Miyachi, Specially Appointed Lecturer, Gender Equality Promotion Office, Kochi University
Moderator: Satomi Hara, Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Osaka
Prof. Sugita talks about the gist of the event and the MeW dispenser project development
Jenkens talks about the challenges and prospects of the UOsaka menstrual product provision project
Anh shares her own experiences of support activities in the earthquake affected areas
Prof. Miyachi talks about example cases of initiatives in Japan and abroad
Panel discussion – sharing thoughts and concerns in promoting the menstrual product provision project
In the second part, a participatory interactive workshop was conducted, where participants composed menstrual senryu poems and participated in small group discussions. During the discussion, participants actively exchanged opinions on the theme of "How to challenge the obstacles of providing menstrual products free of charge in public places." A menstruation senryu poem-making session marked the end of the event, during which each participant contributed their ideas about menstruation through their poetry, enhancing their understanding and empathy for one another.
Group discussion
Making senryu poems on menstruation
Speakers and MeW project members who planned and organized the event
The Woman's Pavilion, the event venue
In addition to this event, the MeW Project has taken the initiative to set up a total of 67 menstrual product dispensers at the Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai. With the initiative embodying the theme of Expo 2025, "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," the project explores, in front of the eyes of many people, the possibility of realizing “a society where everyone can get menstrual products in the toilet."
The University of Osaka will continue this menstrual product provision project so that the OU members can come to the campus without worrying about menstruation, aiming to make menstrual products as commonplace as toilet paper in the toilets.