SIMONA ZOLLET

Last Updated :2025/08/07

Affiliations, Positions
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Assistant Professor
Web Site
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simona-Zollet-2
E-mail
szollethiroshima-u.ac.jp
Self-introduction
Simona Zollet received her Masters' degree in Environmental Science and Sustainable Development from Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy, and her PhD from Hiroshima University, under the TAOYAKA Leading Graduate School Program. Her doctoral disseration focused on the agroecological transition associated to new entrant farmers as a driver of rural revitalization. She is now Assistant Professor at Hiroshima University and a 2021 USASBE (US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship) Rural Research Fellow. Her published research encompasses several overlapping areas of inquiry. The first pertains to organic farming (eco)systems and clusters in Italy and Japan and their connection to the social, ecological and economic sustainability of marginal rural areas. A connected research topic is that of urban-to-rural lifestyle migrants seeking more sustainable and fulfilling lifestyles through small scale entrepreneurship, with a focus on food- and farming-related businesses. Broadly, she is interested in sustainability transitions in agri-food systems and in rural revitalization through innovative approaches to farming and rural living, informed by notions of degrowth, sufficiency, and the well-being economy.

Basic Information

Major Professional Backgrounds

  • 2021/04/01, 2024/03/31, Hiroshima University, Office of Research and Academia-Government-Community Collaboration, Assistant Professor

Educational Backgrounds

  • Hiroshima University, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation , Japan, 2018/04, 2021/03
  • Hiroshima University, Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation , Japan, 2016/04, 2018/03
  • Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Italy, 2012/09, 2015/10
  • University of Udine, Department of Agriculture, Italy, 2005/10, 2011/02

Academic Degrees

  • Joint Masters' Degree in sustainable Development, Venice University
  • Masters' Degree in International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Hiroshima University

Research Fields

  • Agricultural sciences;Agricultural science in society and economy;Agricultural science in rural society and development

Research Keywords

  • Rural revitalization; Urban to Rural migration; Lifestyle entrepreneurship; Sustainable lifestyles; Newcomer farmers; Alternative Food Networks; Organic farming; Agroecology

Affiliated Academic Societies

  • ESRS (European Society for Rural Sociology)
  • APSAFE (Asia Pacific Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics)
  • The Association for Regional Agricultural and Forestry Economics (ARAFE), 2017/10
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  • USASBE (US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship), 2021/04
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Educational Activity

Course in Charge

  1. 2025, Liberal Arts Education Program1, Intensive, Rural Entrepreneurship in Practice
  2. 2025, Graduate Education (Doctoral Program) , 3Term, Innovation Practice
  3. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 2Term, Tourism Studies
  4. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 3Term, Rural Revitalization
  5. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 3Term, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
  6. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 2Term, Invitation to Integrated Global Studies I
  7. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 3Term, Invitation to Integrated Global Studies II
  8. 2025, Undergraduate Education, Year, Graduation Thesis
  9. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 1Term, Seminar on Field Research for Area Studies IA
  10. 2025, Undergraduate Education, 2Term, Seminar on Field Research for Area Studies IB
  11. 2025, Graduate Education (Master's Program) , 2Term, Sustainable Tourism Development

Research Activities

Academic Papers

  1. Fifty years of Teikei: the evolution of the movement's ten principles and its impact on alternative food initiatives in Japan, FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS, 8, 20240607
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  2. Revitalising rural areas through counterurbanisation: Community-oriented policies for the settlement of urban newcomers, HABITAT INTERNATIONAL, 145, 202403
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  3. Neo-endogenous revitalisation: Enhancing community resilience through art tourism and rural entrepreneurship, JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES, 97, 105-114, 202301
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  4. Hybrid food networks and sustainability transitions: Shared and contested values and practices in food relocalisation and resocialisation, SOCIOLOGIA RURALIS, 63(1), 117-139, 202301
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  5. From locked-down to locked-in? COVID-induced social practice change across four consumption domains, SUSTAINABILITY-SCIENCE PRACTICE AND POLICY, 18(1), 796-821, 20221209
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  6. Resisting the vineyard invasion: Anti-pesticide movements as a vehicle for territorial food democracy and just sustainability transitions, JOURNAL OF RURAL STUDIES, 86, 318-329, 202108
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  7. Editorial: Alternative food networks for sustainable, just, resilient and productive food systems, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8, 490031, 20240919
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  8. Territorial Scaling of Agroecology: at the Intersection of Agri-food Sustainability Transitions and Rural Revitalization, Journal of Rural Problems, 58(1), 36-43, 2022
  9. ★, Values-based Territorial Food Networks: Benefits, Challenges and Controversies, Sociologia Ruralis, 63(1), 3-19, 202301
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  10. Regenerative Creative Tourism and Community Revitalization, Journal of Responsible Tourism Management, 4(1), 22-38, 20240102
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  11. Organic Farming Systems and Rural Revitalization in Italy—Current Situation and Way Forward, Journal of Rural Problems, 60(1), 20240216
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  12. Rural Entrepreneurship Education, Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 7(3), 20230308
  13. ★, Creative newcomers and local food culture: revitalization, sustainability, and place-making between rural and urban, Food, Culture & Society, 1-19, 20241225
  14. ISLAND ART SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION: A case study of Osakikamijima, Japan, SHIMA-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH INTO ISLAND CULTURES, 18(1), 68-88, 2024
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  15. RURAL ART FESTIVALS AND CREATIVE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EVENT MANAGEMENT, 27(8), 1219-1235, 2023
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  16. Towards Territorially Embedded, Equitable and Resilient Food Systems? Insights from Grassroots Responses to COVID-19 in Italy and the City Region of Rome, SUSTAINABILITY, 13(5), 202103
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  17. ★, Overcoming the barriers to entry of newcomer sustainable farmers: Insights from the emergence of organic clusters in Japan, SUSTAINABILITY, 13(2), 866, 202101
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  18. Amplifying Agroecological Farmer Lighthouses in Contested Territories: Navigating Historical Conditions and Forming New Clusters in Japan, FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS, 5, 20210818
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  19. The impact of COVID-19 on alternative and local food systems and the potential for the sustainability transition: Insights from 13 countries, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION, 28, 591-599, 202110
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  20. The making of art islands: A comparative analysis of translocal assemblages of contemporary art and tourism, Island Studies Journal, 16(2), 235-264, 202109
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  21. Marché as a Place for Interaction between Organic Produc-ers and Local Consumers: A Study of Hiroshima Prefecture, Journal of Rural Problems, 56(4), 143-150, 202012
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  22. Organic Farming and Agricultural Landscape Preservation for the Sustainable Development of Uttarakhand Mountain Villages, Journal of Urban and Regional Studies on Contemporary India, 4(2), 41-53, 201803
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI
  23. The Role of Domestic In-migrants for the Revitalization of Marginal Island Communities in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, MIRRA (Migration in Remote and Rural Areas) Research and Policy Briefs Series., 201910
  24. Alla ricerca di un modello territoriale agroecologico e integrato per l'agricoltura di montagna: il caso Valbelluna, Scienze del Territorio, 9, 120-127, 202101
    Link to Paper Search Results by DOI

Invited Lecture, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation

  1. Sustainable agriculture and agroecology practice and policy in Japan: Current situation, challenges and way forward, Comparative Agroecology: A paradigm to upscale climate-smart food and water system transformations?, Alnarp, Sweden on 5-7 February 2025, Sponsored by the OECD Co-operative Research Programme: Sustainable Agricultural and Food Systems (CRP), 2025/02/05, With Invitation, English
  2. Rural art festivals and creative social entrepreneurship, Qu Meng, Zollet Simona, 2024 Folk, Knowledge, Place Conference, College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University, 9-12 December 2024, With Invitation, English
  3. Creative newcomers and local food culture: revitalization, sustainability, and placemaking between rural and urban, Zollet Simona, Qu Meng, 2024 Folk, Knowledge, Place Conference, College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University, 9-12 December 2024, 2024/12/09, Without Invitation, English
  4. Regenerative Creative Tourism in Hiroshima City, Qu Meng, Zollet Simona, Asia Pacific Conference 2024 - Bridging Divides for Global Recovery, Ritsumeikan University, 2024/11/30, Without Invitation, English
  5. Revitalising rural communities through counterurbanisation: insights from the chiiki okoshi kyouryoukutai initiative in Japan, Zollet Simona, Qu Meng, Asia Pacific Conference 2024 - Bridging Divides for Global Recovery, Ritsumeikan University, 2024/11/30, Without Invitation, English
  6. Holistic strategies for rural revitalization and sustainable rural futures: the organic district approach, Regional Revitalization through Art: From Mainland to Island 2024, Institute of Rural Arts and Construction, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, 2024/11/03, With Invitation, English
  7. TOURISM FOR RECOVERY, RESILIENCE AND REGENERATION IN RURAL AND PERIPHERAL AREAS, Shirahama, TOURISM FOR RECOVERY, RESILIENCE AND REGENERATION IN RURAL AND PERIPHERAL AREAS, Shirahama, 2024/11/19, With Invitation, English
  8. 50 Years of Teikei: The Evolution of the Movement's Ten Principles and Its Impact on Alternative Food Initiatives in Japan, Kondo Chika; Zollet Simona; Kobayashi Mai; Yamamoto Nami, 7th Asian Rural Sociology Association International Conference, Kyoto, Japan, Without Invitation, English
  9. The Power of Small: Creative In-Migrant Micro Entrepreneurs in Peripheral Japanese Islands, Qu Meng, Zollet Simona, 7th Asian Rural Sociology Association International Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 2024/09/07, Without Invitation, English
  10. Women as rural newcomers: searching for a balance between self-fulfillment and community roles, 7th Asian Rural Sociology Association International Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 2024/09/07, Without Invitation, English
  11. What have we learned from COVID-19 about resilient local food systems? Insights from Italy, Germany, Taiwan and Japan, Simona Zollet, Felix Zoll, Norie Tamura, Steven R. McGreevy, Yu-Chan Chiu, Yu-Hua Chen, Maximilian Spiegelberg, Mai Kobayashi, Regional Studies Association Annual Conference, Florence (Italy), 2024/06/12, Without Invitation, English
  12. Female newcomers to remote Japanese islands: migration as the search for self-actualisation?, Shaping Shores: The Influence of Women in Island Societies online workshop organized by Scotland's Rural College, 2024/02/28, With Invitation, English
  13. Organic farming development in Italy. Current situation and way forward, 72th ARAFE Symposium, 2023/10/28, With Invitation, English
  14. Military Tourism in a Depopulation Context: is there no other Island Revitalization Option?, Qu Meng, Simona Zollet, Gendered Geographies of Disasters: Environmental Militarism in Asia Pacific Island Countries University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, 2023/10/23, Without Invitation, English
  15. The role of participatory approaches to organic farming in local development: Compared visions from Italy to Japan, Challenges for sustainable agriculture: an Italo-japanese perspective. Italian Research Day in Japan 2023, University of Kyoto, 2023/09/11, With Invitation, English
  16. Neo-endogenous revitalization Enhancing community resilience through art tourism and rural entrepreneurship, Qu Meng, Zollet Simona, 17th International Conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS 2023), Ghent, Belgium., 2023/08/17, Without Invitation, English
  17. What if the crisis never ends? Perspectives for a new approach to the resilience of food systems, Chiffoleau Y., Deroche-Leydier Y., Benedek Z., Nemes G., Zollet Simona, XXIX European Society for Rural Sociology Congress, Rennes, France, 2023/07/03, Without Invitation, Japanese
  18. Towards organic districts? Complex and contested dynamics of creating democratic and sustainable agri-food futures at territorial level, XXIX European Society for Rural Sociology Congress, Rennes, France, 2023/07/03, Without Invitation, English
  19. Just Transitions in Regenerative Food Systems Under Urbanization and Climate Crisis (Panelist), APSAFE (Asia-Pacific Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics) Conference, Nagoya, 2023/03/10, With Invitation, English
  20. USASBE Conference 2023, Tallahassee, FL, USASBE Conference 2023, Tallahassee, FL, 2023/01/19, Without Invitation, English
  21. Reflections on the Rural Entrepreneurship Education Certificate Experience, USASBE Conference 2023, Tallahassee, FL, 2023/01/19, With Invitation, English
  22. Sustainable rural revitalization as an embedded process: insights from Italy and Japan, 1st Study Group on Sustainable Local Communities, Yamaguchi University, With Invitation, English
  23. From organic clusters to organic districts? Characteristics of organic districts in Italy and implications for rural Japan, 71th ARAFE Symposium, 2022/10/22, Without Invitation, English
  24. Organic regions as a model of endogenous territorial development? Contrasting and contested development pathways in the Belluno province, Italy, 14th European Farming System Conference, Evora, Portugal, 2022/04/10, Without Invitation, English
  25. Rural entrepreneurship education: the Hiroshima University experience, Women in Entrepreneurship Education Symposium (WEES) and Effectuation Conference, 2022/03/08, With Invitation, English
  26. Translating Research for Impact 2B | Entrepreneurship Education in and for Peripheral, Rural, and Remote Communities, USASBE Conference 2022, Raleigh, US, 2022/01/07, With Invitation, English
  27. Translating Research for Impact 1B | Researching Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Peripheral, Rural, and Remote Communities, USASBE Conference 2022, Raleigh, US, 2022/01/07, With Invitation, English
  28. Rural Entrepreneurship Summit Panel, USASBE Conference 2022, Raleigh, US, 2022/01/06, With Invitation, English
  29. Lifestyle migrants in Japan's Seto Inland Sea islands: beyond Western-based conceptualizations of lifestyle migration, Simona Zollet, Meng Qu, SICRI 'Islands and Migration' Research Symposium - 6 November 2021, 2021/11/06, Without Invitation, English
  30. Small-scale agroecological farming and the 'return to rural': at the intersection between rural revitalization and agri-food sustainability transitions., Zollet Simona, 71th ARAFE Symposium, 30-31 October 2021, 2021/10/30, With Invitation, English
  31. COVID-19: OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT FOR LOCAL AND ALTERNATIVE FARMERS?, Simona Zollet, Norie Tamura, Steven R. McGreevy, Yu-Chan Chiu, Yu-Hua Chen, Felix Zoll, Maximilian Spiegelberg, Mai Kobayashi, 19th European Week of Regions and Cities, 11-14 October 2021, 2021/10/11, With Invitation, English
  32. Urban-to-rural migration and lifestyle entrepreneurship: opening spaces of possibilities for resilient rural communities and local agri-food systems, Simona Zollet, Emi Makino, Is Rural Japan Sustainable? A Symposium on the Past, Present and Future of Community-based Endeavors, October 1-3 2021, 2021/10/02, Without Invitation, English
  33. Small Scale sustainable farmers and COVID-19: Limits and resilience of Italian Alternative Food Networks at the beginning of the pandemic., Zollet Simona, 31st International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE 31), 17-31 August 2021, 2021/08/17, Without Invitation, English
  34. Small-scale farming and local and alternative food system resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from Italy, Germany, Taiwan and Japan, Norie Tamura, Simona Zollet, Steven R. McGreevy, Yu-Chan Chiu, Yu-Hua Chen, Felix Zoll, Maximilian Spiegelberg, Mai Kobayashi, 60th ERSA Congress, 24-27 August 2021, 2021/08/24, Without Invitation, English
  35. Special Session: Impacts of COVID-19 on alternative and local food systems (ALFS) and potential for sustainability transitions: case studies and theoretical considerations, Chiffoleau Yuna, Nemes Gusztáv; Zollet Simona, 60th ERSA Congress, 24-27 August 2021, 2021/08/24, Without Invitation, English
  36. Exploring lifestyle entrepreneurship among Japanese urban-to-rural migrants through the 'diverse economies' framework: Towards a research agenda on rural community resilience and well-being, Zollet Simona, MIRAI Research and Innovation Week 2021, June 7-11, 2021/06/07, With Invitation, English
  37. Beyond teikei? Japanese organic farmers and the construction of producer-consumer relationships, Asia Pacific Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics (APSAFE), 3-16 December 2020, 2020/12/03, Without Invitation, English
  38. Lifestyle migrants for the Revitalization of Marginal Island Communities in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, Zollet Simona, Qu Meng, 2nd International Conference in Critical Tourism Studies Asia-Pacific (CTS-AP), Wakayama University., 2020/02/17, Without Invitation, English
  39. The 'Preparing Future Faculty' Course at Hiroshima University: Experiences and insights., Zollet Simona, Shimazu Reiko, CITL (Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning) Symposium 2018: Creating Learning Experiences with Graduate Students: Beyond TAs. Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, 2019/01/30, Without Invitation, English
  40. Farmers' markets in Japan: creating new spaces of action for alternative food initiatives?, Zollet Simona, XXVIII European Society for Rural Sociology Congress"Rural Futures in a Complex World"Trondheim, Norway., 2019/06/25, Without Invitation, Japanese
  41. Newcomer organic farmers and the new rurality: multifunctional rural development pathways in the Italian Alps, Zollet Simona, 2019 AAG Annual Meeting, Washington DC, United States, 2019/04/03, Without Invitation, English
  42. Towards sustainability transitions in Japanese agri-food systems: the role of new entrant organic farmers in rural areas of Hiroshima prefecture, Japan., Zollet Simona, 13th European IFSA Symposium - Farming systems: facing uncertainties and enhancing opportunities, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania., 2018/07/01, Without Invitation, English
  43. The urban-to-rural migration and newcomer farmers: Sustainability, place and identity-making through the lenses of local food., Culture, Sustainability, and Place: Innovative Approaches for Tourism Development, Ponta Delgada., 2017/10/11, Without Invitation, English

External Funds

Acceptance Results of Competitive Funds

  1. KAKENHI(Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up), 2021, 2022