Creating a new space calendar Vol.2 Will a sense of unity be fostered at the online summer camp?

nomlog editorial department's original project "Creating a new space calendar" that started this year.
Members of nomlog editorial department, who think about "space and experience" every day, will explore new spatial experiences by practicing and considering the spatial experiences of seasonal events in a way that suits the times. (Here's how it started).
This time it's summer, so I planned an "online summer camp". First of all, I will introduce the process from planning to implementation.

■ What I saw in the first “online cherry blossom viewing”

The members of nomlog editorial department have always loved experiencing real spaces. When the project started, I was thinking about various forms of cherry blossom viewing, but due to the influence of the new coronavirus infection, I decided to explore the cherry blossom viewing with a new method that fits the times while tracing the origin of the cherry blossom viewing. Therefore, we held an online cherry blossom viewing (Click here for the “Online Hanami” implementation report)

With the spread of online meetings and online drinking parties due to the impact of the corona crisis, I think many people have tried online cherry blossom viewing. What was it like when you actually tried it? In nomlog editorial department's "Online Hanami", each member presents and introduces the "hanami environment" that each member thinks at home, writes tanka with the theme of "flowers", and talks about visiting cherry blossom spots. I tried to put it into practice by organizing a program such as sharing and reliving the trip.

When it was over, they shared the satisfaction that it was more than just an online drinking party, and the rewarding that they had never thought about "hanami" so much. However, everyone felt unsatisfactory when it came to ``something is missing...'', especially ``does a sense of unity exist?''. There remains the issue of pursuing what is (see the study report here).
As a result, the project of the new space calendar "summer" added a big challenge of "creating a sense of unity" that could not be felt in the "online cherry blossom viewing".

■ “How to create a sense of unity”

After the online cherry blossom viewing, the planning started immediately to see what kind of program would be a good experiment to do in the "summer event" as a new space calendar. There was a heated discussion about "summer-likeness" and "creating a sense of unity", as well as the significance of nomlog and NOMURA Co., Ltd. doing it. Among them, even after the state of emergency is lifted, the new coronavirus infection is unpredictable for the time being, and the main premise is to practice a new lifestyle that puts infection prevention first. We have also decided to practice completely online. The editorial department, which pursues "space and experience", decided to consider how to "foster a sense of unity" online by making use of its knowledge and sensibility, and to experiment with it. Here are the points to consider:

1. design the passage of time

When it's a real gathering, you can feel the excitement when approaching the store and the feeling of enjoying the afterglow on your way home. On the other hand, when it comes to online gatherings, don't you feel lonely after the sudden start and the end of the meeting? Therefore, I thought that the design of the flow of time before the start and after the end was important.

⇩A material for designing the flow of time, first proposed by Okamoto editorial staff

2. Full sharing of senses other than sight and hearing, such as taste, smell, and touch

I thought that one of the reasons why the “online cherry blossom viewing” lacked a sense of unity was that out of the five senses, almost only sight and hearing were used. When you get together in a real place, for example, the taste when you eat delicious food together, the unique scent when you visit a foreign land, the comfort when you sit on a soft and fluffy rug. I hypothesized that a sense of unity could be obtained by sharing the sense of touch. Therefore, it was decided to make full use of the five senses.

3. While using the advantages of online, prepare in advance to increase the "excitement"

You can sit in front of your computer when the time comes, without having to prepare in advance. However, the opinion of the editorial department is that if each participating member thinks deeply and participates after preparing in advance, the time will be more intense and exciting. Therefore, in the "Summer" project, we decided to put more effort into advance preparation while making the most of screen sharing and chat sharing unique to online.

⇩ Yokota's editorial staff proposed teleporting the background and BGM at the same time

Consider summer traditions and meaningful "summer events" that foster a sense of unity for working people

Next, since it's a new space calendar, I have to do a "summer-like" project this time. What do you mean by "summer"? Fireworks, Bon Odori, Tanabata, summer festivals, nagashi somen, swimming in the sea, fairs... there are many. While there is an opinion that anything is fine as long as it is an experiment, what will be gained after cultivating a sense of unity at summer events?
It took a long time for this discussion to ruminate on such a question. I would like to introduce some of the proposals that were considered during the discussion. First of all, I will organize while citing "summer traditions". From there, I came up with ideas for summer events that are typical of nomlog.

⇩Morita editorial staff material "Summer tradition"

⇩Suggestion by Kanda editorial staff "Share local stories and tastes by comparing somen noodles"

⇩Suggestion by Hideki editorial staff "Firefly hunting evening. Enjoy your own story about fireflies online"

⇩Suggestion by Okamoto editorial staff "Remember the summer scenery with online Zen meditation"

⇩ Matsumoto's editorial staff "Online summer festival stalls. Selling your own daily life and private life!?"

In addition, there were various ideas such as VR nagashi somen using VR goggles and online radio exercises shared on the web. Everything seems to be fun if you try it. As a result, the final focus was on the question: what is a summer scene that requires a sense of togetherness?

■Summer event "Online summer training camp" where you need to get a sense of unity

What is the summer scene where working people need to get a sense of unity at the company? What is the summer scene where students need to get a sense of unity with everyone in seminars and circles? Taking all that into consideration, I came up with the "summer training camp" as a summer scene that requires a sense of unity. Looking at various cases and considerations, it seems that the purpose of training camps is to create a cycle of success in team building. Come to think of it, cherry-blossom viewing is in the first phase of welcoming newcomers and building relationships in new departments. In the case of nomlog editorial department, it is just one year since the start of nomlog. Further improve the quality of human relationships, and reconcile intentions for the next year through initial expectations and reflections. We came to the conclusion that such a building would be meaningful in fostering a sense of unity.

Thus, the “online summer training camp” was settled on the challenge of how far we could foster the sense of unity that can be obtained at the event called “summer training camp” while incorporating plenty of “summer traditions”.

How are the preparations and results of the experiments? Please look forward to the "Online Summer Camp - I Tried It" at a later date.