Discover Nikkei is a project of the Japanese American National Museum. It’s a multilingual website about Nikkei—Japanese migrants and their descendants in the world.
Our mission is to celebrate cultural diversity and explores both global and local identities through an international network. The project connects generations and communities by sharing stories and perspectives of the Nikkei, people of Japanese descent who have migrated and settled throughout the world.
Volunteering | Job Openings | Internships
The Community Engagement Specialist implements the engagement strategies for the Japanese American National Museum’s Discover Nikkei project in order to expand its global Nikkei network and promote the project’s content and initiatives. This position is responsible for social media postings, including assisting with the development of social media campaigns; ensuring that the content on DiscoverNikkei.org is current, relevant, and useful to the site’s target audiences; assisting with project programming; following up with inquiries; and assisting with site moderation. This position requires someone to be both fluent in English and either Spanish and/or Portuguese.
This is a temporary, full-time position from April 8, 2024 to March 31, 2025, with a possible extension. Set weekly hours are required, but with some flexibility in scheduling. There is a hybrid option for remote work up to 2 days per week, based upon current museum policy. Please note that JANM is located in Los Angeles, CA, US. Non-exempt salary range: $20–$25 per hour, DOE.
Click on the link below for more details about the position, qualifications, and to apply.
Discover Nikkei will once again be hosting an intern together this summer with the Japanese American Bar Association through the Nikkei Community Internship Program. It is a paid, 8- week, full-time internship experience designed to help you make your mark in the community. Undergraduate students The intern will need to be in the Southern California area during the summer.
Click on the link below for more details about the internship program and to apply. Deadline to apply: Friday, April 5, 2024.
Thank you for your interest in helping us grow Discover Nikkei! We have a very limited budget to run this project and so we depend on volunteers to help us with all aspects of the site as well as related virtual programs and promotion. Language support is needed in English, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Volunteer opportunities include:
Most Discover Nikkei volunteers work remotely and communication and coordination is primarily done through e-mail or through Slack. All volunteers must be able to communicate in writing and verbally in basic English, although Japanese and Spanish can be accommodated as secondary languages.
You do not need to be a professional in the area that you are volunteering. Many of our volunteers are students or others wanting to gain experience, while others just want the opportunity to learn about new topics, contribute to the documentation and exploration of global Nikkei history and culture, and connect with Nikkei around the world. However, volunteers must demonstrate proficiency in the area of work. Writers/editors/translators must submit samples that demonstrate fluency and skill in the language they will be writing/translating into.
View a summary of volunteer requirements.
We are near capacity in some areas. Please see below for the types of volunteers in most need:
We are not currently accepting volunteers under 18 years old, and prefer those who can make a commitment of at least one year. We are also currently not in need of transcribers in English, marketing, or graphic design (although that may change in the future).
If you are interested in joining our team, please fill out our online volunteer application form. If you have questions, contact us at editor@DiscoverNikkei.org.
Note: We will be adding more details about volunteer opportunities soon.