Jamila Rodrigues is an anthropologist and COI-NEXT Fellow at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST),working on topics related to climate change and wellbeing in Okinawa's fishing communities. Her work combines ethnographic fieldwork with surveys of over 500 fishers. Together with a team of researchers, they delivered the project's Fisheries Report and policy recommendations to the Okinawa Prefectural Government in 2026.
She holds a PhD in Anthropology (Roehampton University) and was previously a JSPS Fellow at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)researching ikigai and wellbeing. A former contemporary dancer and choreographer she brings over 20 years of research, community arts and project management experience across Japan, the UK, and South Africa.
Publications:
Rodrigues J., Body K., Carel H., "The pandemic body: the lived body during the COVID-19 pandemic," Medical Humanities (2023) 24
Almeida I., Rodrigues J., "Ikigai and saudade, cultural meanings lived through the body," Culture & Psychology 31 (2024) 17
Rodrigues J., "'The Beach Is Closed, but Not to Us': Pandemic Experience and Social Boundaries in Rural Okinawa," Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics (2022) 20
