Over 3,500 people attended the “Educational Cooperation Week,” which was a great success. Educational Cooperation in Post-Corona Pioneered by Platform

Over 3,500 people attended the “Educational Cooperation Week,” which was a great success. Educational Cooperation in Post-Corona Pioneered by Platform

The new coronavirus has caused a loss of learning opportunities for many children and young people around the world. Against this backdrop, “Educational Cooperation Week” was held online for three days from September 7 to 9 to consider international cooperation in the field of better education. More than 3,500 people from Japan and abroad participated in this year’s event, which was held for the second time following last year. The event was a great success. What were your thoughts in planning this event and how did you respond to the response? We asked three members of JICA’s Human Development Department who were involved in the planning and operation of the event.

610 million people in the world have less than the minimum necessary academic ability. The “Learning Crisis” is becoming more serious The Educational Cooperation Week was held for the first time in September 2021 during the Corona Disaster under the call of JICA, bringing together development consulting firms, NGOs/NPOs, universities, private companies, JICA project experts and staff volunteers involved in international cooperation in the field of education, regardless of their organizations. The event was held for the first time in September 2021 in the aftermath of the Corona disaster. The background is that the problem known as the “learning crisis,” in which children and young people around the world lose learning opportunities and enter adulthood without basic academic skills, has worsened significantly under the impact of the new coronavirus infection.

It is estimated that there are 260 million out-of-school children and more than 610 million children and adolescents worldwide who attend school but have not mastered the minimum necessary reading and math skills. The enrollment rate for higher education in low-income countries is less than 10%. In addition, the Corona Disaster is depriving children of learning opportunities, and the learning gap is worsening due to the shift to online learning. It has been estimated that today’s children will lose a total of $21 trillion in lifetime income in the future (Note 1). 1″ says Ms. Miyako Kobayashi, Deputy Director of JICA’s Human Development Department in charge of basic education.

Regarding the background of the Educational Cooperation Week, he said, “There was a growing sense of urgency that unless we focused more than ever on cooperation in the field of education, it would be difficult to achieve Goal 4 of the SDGs, which is ‘quality education for all.

Note 1: The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update

Connecting and Creating Together for Better Educational Cooperation JICA has long had a system called the Knowledge Management Network (KMN) in place to permanently accumulate, share, and utilize knowledge and expertise related to project implementation in various fields and issues across divisions and departments. In addition, the education sector had been working with universities, NGOs, and the consulting industry on an individual basis for nearly 20 years in terms of collaboration outside the organization.

The various parties involved in educational cooperation each have a wealth of experience and knowledge. Through the experience of working with people inside and outside of JICA, Daisuke Ueda, Deputy Director for Higher Education, Human Development Department, said, “I felt it was important to transform such ‘treasure’ knowledge from ‘tacit knowledge’ that cannot be verbalized into ‘formal knowledge’ that can be shared, and to utilize it as a common asset across organizations. Mr. Kobayashi added, “Connections with people who have a wealth of knowledge are ‘human assets. By forming and building relationships of trust as people, transcending affiliations, and freely exchanging opinions, we can create new wisdom and ideas for better educational cooperation,” he says.

The “learning crisis” is becoming more serious due to the Corona disaster. In order to realize better educational cooperation in response to such a situation, everyone involved in educational cooperation, beyond their own organizations, will connect and create together. In order to create such a place, JICA is now promoting the formation of an “educational cooperation platform” that incorporates four functions: (1) sharing and co-creating knowledge, (2) disseminating public goods, (3) identifying and fostering human resources and creating opportunities for their active participation, and (4) specific collaboration. This year’s Educational Cooperation Week was held as part of the foundation building process.

More than double the number of last year’s event, attended by 3,500 people, an amazing response Last year, the Educational Cooperation Week was held mainly for practitioners and researchers in educational cooperation. This year, the event featured breakout sessions on gender, science and mathematics, inclusive (Note 3), multiculturalism, and ICT related to “basic education (Note 2),” and on international students, African University Network, industry-academia collaboration, and human security related to “higher education. In addition, three side events were held for the general public. The number of registered participants more than doubled from last year to more than 3,500, including students interested in international cooperation and educational cooperation. The event was full of enthusiasm.

I was frankly surprised and impressed by the large number of participants (3,500). International cooperation in education is a field of great interest in Japan, and I feel that we were able to attract a wider range of participants compared to the first event. It was also significant that participants from the previous event continued to participate and spread the word through word of mouth,” Ueda recalls.

Through sessions on basic education and higher education, as well as side events, the event was able to take a variety of approaches from different perspectives. Many responses have been received.

In the session on basic education in conflict-affected areas such as Afghanistan, some participants said that “listening to practitioners from different positions such as ODA and NGOs broadened my perspective” and “I remembered the starting point that education is linked to conflict prevention and peacebuilding. In the session on the “Japan-Africa Hub University Network Initiative” in higher education, some participants said that they found the information helpful because they believe that cooperation with Africa will become more important in the future.

At a side event focusing on basic education, the session on “ICT-based Learning in Japan and Developing Countries” in particular drew many questions and comments, reminding the audience that ICT is a hot issue. Enthusiastic speakers, including those on the ground in Bangladesh, shared their struggles in a candid manner. The participation of many students also made the session more realistic. Mr. Kengo Hayashi, a member of the Basic Education Team, who has been planning the event for the past six months with young members of development consulting firms, said, “We were able to realize a realistic session with the participation of many students. The fact that young people from JICA and development consulting firms played a central role in organizing this event was also an opportunity for the implementers to build a network among people involved in educational cooperation, to learn deeply outside their own areas of responsibility, and to broaden their perspectives,” said Kengo Hayashi, a member of the Basic Education Team.

(Note 2): Basic education is education that helps people develop their talents and abilities and acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for a healthy social life, and includes preschool education, primary and secondary education, and non-formal education such as adult literacy education and community education.

(Note 3): Recognizing that all learners have different educational needs, this concept aims to guarantee quality education to all learners regardless of disability, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. In order to realize this concept, we are continuously working to improve and reform the educational environment surrounding learners, including the educational system, educational content, teaching methods, and school environment (barrier-free, materials, services and facilities, etc.), to meet the needs of diverse learners. The concept is based on the idea of ensuring quality education for all learners regardless of disability, ethnicity, religion, gender, etc. In order to realize this concept, ongoing efforts are made to improve and reform the educational environment surrounding learners, including the educational system, educational content, teaching methods, and school environment (barrier-free, teaching materials, services and facilities, etc.) to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Platform for Educational Cooperation” for deeper and wider connections The third and subsequent Educational Cooperation Weeks will aim for deeper and more specialized discussions among practitioners and more open and expanded base in side events. Some ideas include involving teachers in the field, ministries in charge of developing countries, and in-country trainees and students, and collaborating with development partners such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The goal is not to make this a one-time event, but rather to continue to deepen and broaden the connections,” says Kobayashi.

While using the framework of the Education KMN, we will expand the scope and scale to create an “Education Cooperation Platform,” a network among practitioners that is more extensive in scope and scale. We will further develop cooperation to better support developing countries.

Professor Kuroda of Waseda University talks about educational cooperation in the post-Corona era At the opening session of “Educational Cooperation Week,” Professor Kazuo Kuroda of Waseda University was the keynote speaker, discussing the importance of “knowledge management” for managing knowledge on educational cooperation and the significance of educational cooperation platforms. Once again, we asked Professor Kuroda about JICA’s educational cooperation platform and educational cooperation in the post-Corona era.

The Educational Cooperation Week provides a forum for professionals in this field to share experiences, discuss ways to cooperate, and generate new knowledge. Furthermore, we hope that it will become a place where participants can nurture their expertise in educational cooperation,” Professor Kuroda hopes.

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