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Tokyo 2027 Forum Insiders: Update #1 (Sept. 2026)

Dear International Forum Insiders,

Thank you for signing up to receive timely updates on plans for the Bryn Mawr College 2027 International Forum in Tokyo, Japan. This is the first message in our series, as we approach the one-year mark from the event!

As a reminder, the Forum will convene at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo from the afternoon of Friday, October 15, 2027 through lunch on Sunday, October 17, 2027 during the College’s Fall Break period.

Registration and Accommodations

We anticipate that registration will open in Spring 2027, with a fee comparable to the 2025 London International Forum of $100 total for all three days, which included two cocktail receptions, breakfast, coffee/tea breaks, lunch, Bryn Mawr “swag bag” and all programming. We expect to offer discounted rates for early registration and for Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) alumnae/i. The team is working to secure room blocks for overnight accommodations in hotels at various price points in the area of the Mandarin Oriental, and will share details when available.

Optional Cultural Excursions

The team is curating several optional cultural excursions in addition to the Forum program itself in and around Tokyo. More information will be available closer to the date; however, we are confirming a visit to Tsuda University, founded by Umeko Tsuda – Bryn Mawr Class of 1893, who now appears on Japan’s 5,000 Yen note, and a student-led traditional tea ceremony.

Lead-In Tour of Japan

Registration is now open for “Japan: Land of the Rising Sun” via the Alumnae/i Travel Program that begins in Osaka and leads into the Tokyo International Forum. Learn more here. This tour has not yet been marketed broadly to the community, so sign-up soon if you and your friends may be interested. The team is also working on the possibility of a popular member of the Bryn Mawr faculty who may join the trip and contribute her unique expertise; more information soon!

Join us at Owls Fest for an International Forum preview!

If you or your friends plan to be on campus for Owls Fest on October 23-24, we invite you to attend an International Forum preview session to hear more about our proposed theme for 2027 (see below) and to hear from alums who attended the London 2025 Forum about their experience.

2027 Theme: Courage

Inspired by the courage for Umeko Tsuda 1893 to travel to Bryn Mawr from Japan and return to create the country’s first women’s college, we see many timely entry points to the topic for Bryn Mawr and for individual participants:

  • The courage simply to be a women’s college in the present moment
  • Multi-generational stories on breaking new ground or being a pioneer in a male-dominated field
  • Skill-building on how to become more courageous in one’s own life and career: in overcoming obstacles, making change in a community, trying something new, sharing your art with the world, speaking up on a difficult topic
  • Academic courage for faculty and students to take risks in the classroom and to embrace failure as part of the learning process
  • For us all to consider the question: What would you do if only you had the courage?

This theme also bridges well from the London 2025 International Forum discussions around change, with courage being needed to implement new ideas and ways of thinking about one’s own life or an institution, academic field, industry or social issue.

Why Attend?

Finally, we will leave you with two video clips from alumnae volunteers who have been key leaders in launching and sustaining the International Forum since 2020:

Tabi Haller-Jorden 1981, Forum emcee and member of the Alumnae/i Leadership Council

Severa von Wentzel 1995, Trustee and volunteer with the Bryn Mawr Club of Great Britain, who were hosts of the 2025 International Forum in London

Please reach out if we can help answer any questions, and we look forward to staying in touch!

The International Forum Team