On November 10, 2023, the Agricultural Heritage Symposium took place in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, bringing together experts and stakeholders focused on World Agricultural Heritage and Japan Agricultural Heritage sites to explore strategies for revitalizing these areas. In parallel with the symposium, the United Nations University OUIK Office co-hosted with Ishikawa Prefecture a Youth Session for exchange of ideas among high school students from recognized agricultural heritage regions.
Tsunao Watanabe, Director of UNU-OUIK, delivered a keynote address at the Agricultural Heritage Symposium titled “Revitalizing Local Communities through Local Resources: Lessons from the Reintroduction of the Japanese Crested Ibis to the Wild and the Significance of World Agricultural Heritage”. With great emotion, Director Watanabe shared his personal story of his involvement in the artificial propagation and reintroduction of crested ibis to the wild during his tenure at the Ministry of the Environment. He expressed strong hopes for the release of the birds in the Noto region, a newly recognized World Agricultural Heritage site.
The Youth Session was attended by 26 high school students from 11 different schools, 8 World Agricultural Heritage sites and 1 Japanese Agricultural Heritage site.
Initially, each student delivered a presentation about the agricultural heritage-related activities taking place at their respective schools. The presentations showcased a diverse range of initiatives, such as developing products utilizing local agricultural produce, partnerships with companies, educational visits for elementary school students, surveys on local agricultural product consumption, and environmental restoration efforts.
Following the presentations, the high school students were organized into groups to engage in discussions on four key themes: (1) leveraging local resources, (2) economic revitalization, (3) cultural heritage and development, and (4) increasing community participation (with the guidance of a facilitator from Misogigawa Co., Ltd.). The students initially looked hesitant as they settled in, but as they introduced themselves and shared their thoughts, they began to open up and become more engaged. At the conclusion of the morning session, each group presented their discussion outcomes to the entire group.
In the afternoon session, participants refined their presentations by incorporating the feedback they received during the morning’s presentations. At the end of the session, students summarized their appeals and practiced their presentations based on the opinions shared by each group.
At the end of the symposium, each group delivered a presentation, and the “Agricultural Heritage Youth Appeal in Noto 2023” was showcased in the hall. The event was attended by Governor Hase of Ishikawa Prefecture and numerous guests from certified regions. The Governor Hase praised the presentations for accurately capturing the region’s issues, remarking that it was astonishing that they had been compiled in just half a day.
After the presentations, the youth participants returned to their session and received feedback from their facilitators and teachers. The facilitators shared their thoughts on the presentations, saying things like: “The shortage of local leaders is a serious issue. I hope you’ll think about how you can make a difference in the future.”, “This was a great opportunity to learn from high school students from other regions.“, “We hope to see more exchanges between high schools in the future.”
As the session ended, the students took group photos and exchanged contact information.
