2023/2/2
In November of last year (2021), the United Nations University held the “GIAHS Youth Summit” in conjunction with the International Conference on World Agricultural Heritage in Noto. This year, on Thursday, February 2, 2023, an online exchange meeting was organized by Ishikawa Prefecture featuring high school students from agricultural heritage-designated areas. Ms.Tomita and Researcher Koyama (UNU-IAS OUIK) contributed to the planning and facilitation of the event.
The online meeting brought together 22 high school students from three Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems sites (GIAHS), one Japanese Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (J-NIAHS), and five high schools, all under the cheerful moderation of Mr. Minami (Ishikawa Prefectural Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Satoyama Promotion Office)
In the first half of the session, presentations were made by each school about their initiatives. The presentations included innovative product development ideas that adults might not think of, ways high school students are using social media to promote local attractions, and their involvement in planning and managing a regional specialty cooking contest as part of the organizing committee. One of the comments shared during the presentations was that “it’s meaningful for high school students to take on challenges that may be costly in real society,” highlighting how seriously these students engage with
local issues. The messages from the high school students impressed the attending adults, showing their earnest dedication to the community’s challenges.
In the second half, participants broke into four groups for discussion. In addition to UNU-IAS OUIK staff, Chie Takazawa (Noto Satoyama Satoumi Meister Network) and intern Koji Tamura (Ippon-sugi Street Promotion Association) also helped facilitate the sessions. The group discussions revolved around the attractions and challenges of their respective regions, as well as potential solutions and ideas. At the end, each group shared the topics they had discussed, demonstrating that despite being from different regions, they faced many common challenges. Some students even shared ideas that others had already implemented in their own areas. This collaboration allowed the students to gain insights and learn from one another’s initiatives.
We look forward to seeing the future contributions of all the high school students who participated!
