The keynote speaker at this year’s Global Youth Conference is Kjeld Duits.
Kjeld is a journalist, photographer and documentary producer. Born in the Netherlands, Kjeld has called Japan home since 1982.
Kjeld’s journalism career began after experiencing the 1995 earthquake in Kobe. Since then he has covered most major quakes in Asia. Kjeld’s reporting covers politics, society, economics, and breaking news in Japan.
Kjeld also runs the Japanese Streets fashion blog. Founded in 2002, it was one of the first fashion blogs in existence, and the first fashion blog to bring Japanese fashion in English to the rest of the world. Kjeld’s photography has won several awards and has been exhibited at museums world-wide.
Despite his work spanning across many different areas and mediums, Kjeld’s main aim has always been to help create understanding and tolerance.
“You can see this in my reporting about Japanese politics and society and my coverage of Japanese street fashion and subcultures,” he says.
“The biggest challenge in my career has been to stay to true to my own values and beliefs. There have been many times where people or situations put pressure on you to compromise your most strongly held values.”
Kjeld says that some of his best personal memories are strangely enough during the worst of times. Like the time he accompanied a Japanese Red Cross doctor to an isolated village after the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. The doctor had hired a small wooden fishing boat because all bridges had been destroyed. Unfortunately, on the way the engine caught fire - luckily they were able to put it out quickly. But to get back to the coast and reach the village, the boat had to surf the huge waves that went against the strong flow coming from a river.
“Such experiences create a special bond between the people you experience them with. I am still close friends with the doctor to this day,” Kjeld says.
Kjeld, 57, says that if he could go back in time and speak to his 20-year-old self, he would simply say “you are on the right way”.
“I have no regrets and would not give myself advice or warnings. I’m glad I was ignorant and naive about the wold, otherwise I might not have had the courage to set off and do what I did.”
At the GYC, Kjeld is most looking forward to the questions participants will think of, in their minds or out loud.
“An important thing in life is to ask questions. To others, but especially to yourself. Just thinking about what questions you should ask others or yourself helps with understanding. It helps you understand what you don’t know. But it can also help you become aware of the 'walls' in your own mind. Our minds are filled with accepted beliefs that we are not aware of. They influence how we see the world. A good question can help bring down such a wall and help you see the world in a completely new way.”
The Global Youth Conference is held this year from 7-11 August, where Kjeld will address the 120 young participants as keynote speaker.
You can view his work here: