Robin Takashi Lewis | ルイスロビン敬
- Co-founder – mymizu (Website, Facebook, Instagram)
- Co-founder & Director – Social Innovation Japan (Website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
- Consultant – World Bank, Climate Change Group, Tokyo DRM Hub
- Board of Directors, Shibuya QWS Innovation Council (Website)
- Founder – Explore Tohoku Project (Website, Facebook, Instagram)
- Mentor & Judge, Japan Hult Prize (Website)
Hello! Thanks for stopping by my website 🙂 I’m half British and half Japanese, based in Tokyo.
Co-founder of mymizu, an award-winning social enterprise reducing consumption of single-use plastic bottles by connecting people with 200,000 free water refill spots around the world.
Consultant at the World Bank (Climate Change Group) and run an organisation called Social Innovation Japan – a platform for action focusing on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
I’m a professional speaker (TEDx, 100+ universities & international conferences), facilitator (high-level UN meetings), trainer (certified Monitoring & Evaluation trainer), and media commentator (CNN, Guardian, selected as Top 100 Influencer for the SDGs).
I also serve as an advisor for purpose-driven programs (e.g. Judge for the world’s largest student social entrepreneurship competition, the Hult Prize), and have been selected as a Japan Foundation Fellow, an Asia-Europe Foundation Young Leader, a One Young World Ambassador, and an UNLEASH Innovation Lab SDG Talent.
I have a blend of both on-the-ground experience – leading humanitarian operations and training programs over 5+ years in countries such as Haiti, Nepal, Vanuatu and Mozambique – as well as policy-related experience including co-authoring government reports and organising programs at international conferences.
In my free time, I write and take photos… In 2017, I started a storytelling project which involved walking solo for 600+km along Japan’s tsunami-affected coastline to document the region’s recovery 7 years since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster (the “Explore Tohoku” project).
If you’re interested, you can read some of my stories and posts on my Medium page!
Speaking
As a trainer and facilitator, I’ve delivered workshops and seminars in countries including Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, and France. I also speak regularly at schools, universities, and conferences on themes including sustainability, SDGs, social innovation, and so on.
Examples of speaking engagements:
- Keynote speech, Louis Vuitton DARE Global Conference (Dec 2019)
- Keynote speech, Social Innovation Symposium (Jan 2020)
- Speaker, Ignite Sendai Conference (Dec 2019)
- Speaker, Innovative City Forum (Nov 2019)
- Speaker, Eco Pro 2019 (Dec 2019)
- Leadership Training Seminar, Ship For World Youth (Japan Government) (Jan 2020)
Feel free to get in touch with any requests
Media Samples
- The Japan Times – “New app MyMizu aims to reduce plastic waste in Japan, one drink at a time” (Link)
- The Guardian – “This is not a “What If” Story: Tokyo braces for the earthquake of a century” (Link)
- CNN – “Japan’s Tohoku Region, Seven Years After The Quake” (Link)
- Shareable – “How the MyMizu app is creating community and fostering sustainability in Japan” (Link)
- BuzzFeed – “喉が乾いたら、コンビニに駆け込む前にできることがある” (Link)
- Planet B Insights – “Social Innovation Perspectives in Japan: Robin Lewis” (Link)
- Raw Urban Mobile Podcast – “MyMizu: Japan’s First Free Water Refill App” (Link)
- BuzzFeed – “このアプリ作った人、天才じゃないですか… これがあれば無料で水が飲み放題！” (Link)
- Tokyo Weekender Magazine – “MyMizu App: Ditch Plastic Bottles and Opt For This Sustainable Alternative Nationwide” (Link)
- Outdoor Japan – “Reducing Plastic Waste with mymizu” (Link)
- FLAT Media – “日本初！無料給水アプリ「MyMizu」がローンチ” (Link)
- Tokyo Weekender Magazine – “Walking Tohoku: A 614km Journey on the Michinoku Shiokaze Trail” (Link)
- Thai PBS Documentary – “Safe Tourism” (Link)
- Zenbird Media – “MyMizu, Japan’s first water refill app wants to render bottled water extinct” (Link)
- Metropolis Magazine – “On The Trail To Rebuilding” (Link)
- GoGo Tohoku! – “Explore Tohoku: Michinoku Coastal Trail” (Link)
- CNN – “Life after the East Japan Earthquake” (Link)
- ThinkTech Hawaii TV – “Do Not Panic! Be Prepared” (Link)
- Japan for Sustainability (transcription) – “Tohoku and the World: 5 Years since the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami” (Link)
- National Geographic Article about project in Africa – “Nothing For Us, Without Us” (Link)
- UN Article about project in Africa – “African youth commit to reduce disaster risks” (Link)
Writing Samples
- Medium – “7 Surprising Facts About Plastic in Japan” (Link)
- Medium – “Sanpo Yoshi: the Japanese business principle of success through responsibility” (Link)
- UNDP – “Entrepreneurship Across Borders: SDGs-Focused African and Japanese Startups Pitch at TICAD7” (Link)
- Outdoor Japan – “My Tohoku Journey” (Link)
- UNDP – “Multi-Sectoral Partnerships for Localization and Innovation: Keys to Achieving the SDGs” (Link)
- The Next Challenge – “Walking 600km Along Japan’s Tsunami-Affected Coastline” (Link)
- One Young World – “World Leaders Adopt the Paris Agreement on Climate Change: What Next?” (Link)
- Student Times – “Hiking from Hadrian’s Wall to Holborn” (Link)
