To Improve the Future, First Know the World: “JICA International Cooperation Junior High and High School Student Essay Contest 2022” Award Ceremony Held
The JICA International Cooperation Junior and Senior High School Essay Contest is an opportunity for junior and senior high school students, who will lead the next generation, to deepen their understanding of the current situation in developing countries and the need for international cooperation, and to consider what each of them can do and how they should act. This year’s essay contest, held under the theme of “Connecting with the World: Small Steps for the Future,” received 43,880 entries (19,832 in the junior high school category and 24,048 in the high school category), including many that considered “peace” in light of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and many that discussed their own efforts regarding the SDGs. On February 18, for the first time in four years, the award ceremony was held in person, with the top winners (Grand Prize, Excellence Award, Jury’s Special Award, and Special Award for International Cooperation) from all over Japan in attendance.
New Connections” with the World and People JICA President Akihiko Tanaka, in his address to the award winners, expressed his hope and happiness that the winning entries are connected to JICA’s philosophy of “Connecting the World through Trust. He also gave a message to the award winners, saying that in a world that has been torn apart by wars and pandemics of new coronavirus infections, it is necessary not only to repair broken connections but also to discover and strengthen new ones.
Naoki Ogi, education critic and professor emeritus at Hosei University, who has served as the chief judge for the junior high school division of this contest since 2016, said, “Even with a mask on, I can see it in their eyes. I sense a strong power.” He also expressed his passion for the award winners, which he feels only because he is face-to-face with them. Referring to the war between Ukraine and Russia and the Basic Act for Children, which will be enforced on April 1 of this year, he said, “I respect the young people who are living through this time when they are witnessing the reality of war. After reading the entries this time, I am convinced that young people are not wrong,” he said, conveying his expectations for the winners and young people.
Actress and essayist Tomoko Hoshino, the head of the final jury for the high school student section, commented, “How do you connect with people, how do you put your thoughts and search into writing, and how do you move people’s hearts? These things that are necessary for a human being were expressed in the award-winning works,” she said in her critique. She continued, “Each of the award winners already possesses the necessary human skills. So, I hope you will continue to move forward with confidence. I hope you will continue to live your lives.” He gave a hearty encouragement to the award winners.
On behalf of the winners, Sakiko Doi (junior, Higashiyamato City Second Junior High School) and Mayoka Nba (sophomore, Doshisha International High School), winners of the JICA President’s Award in the junior high school and high school categories, respectively, gave their acceptance speeches.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ms. Doi wrote an essay about her wish for peace and actions she took at the substation in order to make peace her own issue and to express her opinion on the matter. As one of his actions to protect peace, he introduced the projection mapping to be held at the substation in March this year, and expressed his determination, “It is a very small activity in the eyes of the world, but still, I would like to continue my small activities as much as I can do as one who thinks about peace.
After spending 10 years of her childhood in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Africa, Ms. Ngamba experienced firsthand the lack of mutual understanding between Japan and Africa, and realized that in order to solve the world’s problems, it is necessary to engage with each other as one person and strive for true mutual understanding. In the essay, I wrote about a workshop that was held through the SDGs as an activity for mutual understanding. In her essay, she wrote about her workshop through the SDGs as an activity for mutual understanding. She left a powerful message: “Feeling close to each other and understanding each other is the first step toward a borderless world without war.
Roundtable Discussions and Workshops! After the awards ceremony, we held a roundtable discussion in which award winners asked questions to the judges and guests who are active in the front lines of the world, and workshops for international understanding.
During the roundtable discussion, questions that arose from the award winners’ activities to date, as well as questions from junior high and high school students, a generation that is struggling with their career paths, were posed to them. In response to a question from a high school student awardee, “What should we do to promote agricultural education to junior high school students?” Mr. Ogi replied, “First of all, I would like you to tell them why you became interested in agriculture and your own experiences. If you do that, I think there will be children who will be attracted by your shining thoughts.” Mr. Ogi, who has been teaching for 44 years as a teacher, was able to respond in this way.
In the workshop, the participants, a mix of middle and high school students, were divided into six groups, each imagining that they were a family (grandparents, parents, and children) of the indigenous Indigena people of Ecuador, to think and share the challenges they see in the current situation of their lives and to seek solutions. One group said, “The challenges can be divided into the categories of education and labor. Within that category, the challenges are connected like a gradation. For example, people cannot get stable jobs because they cannot get an education. This would result in poverty due to lack of income. If they fall into poverty, they will not be able to secure their children’s freedom. In order to break this chain, if we ensure educational opportunities for the second generation, fathers and mothers, future generations can escape from poverty,” said one of the participants.
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