Discoveries Made through the Japanese National Conference on Geoparks : Cultivating an Understanding of Youth Activities and the Appeal of Local Regions

The Japanese National Conference on Geoparks is held annually with the objective of propagating the philosophy and initiatives of UNESCO’s Geopark Programme, as well as promoting the exchange of information and opinions between actors from regions with Geoparks. A youth session for high school and university students was held for the first time at this conference hosted by Hakusan Tedorigawa Geopark in 2022. As members of the Youth Committee of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, our role encompassed providing support for the session and interacting with youth involved in Geopark activities.

The key purpose of the youth session was to encourage the discovery of the uniqueness of the region via an organised walk through Tsurugi and Shirokawa Cities, which are characterised by their historical townscapes. In doing so, participants would hopefully identify differences with their own areas of residence and learn about the sustainable utilisation of regional resources through interactions with one another. The walk, which involved approximately 30 participants from Kyoto, Shimane prefecture, Yamaguchi prefecture, etc., was led by local students based in  Tsurugi. Participants were divided into theme-based groups and assigned relevant tasks/questions. They were then asked to walk freely within the town and make new discoveries related to their assigned themes and tasks or questions while identifying similarities and differences between Tsurugi and their hometowns. After the walk, participants were given time to discuss their answers with, and present their findings to one another. Mr. Ono, the organiser, concluded the session by providing explanations about Tsurugi, enabling participants to gain a deeper understanding of their respective discoveries.

Comments from youth participants

• “During the walk, we actively looked out for attractions unique to the Tsurugi area and compared them with our local geoparks. It was so much fun! My hometown has been struggling with issues related to an ageing population. I have come to recognise the importance of promoting our town through publicity and the appropriate dissemination of information. I hope to make our town more attractive to youth through the utilisation of social media, and in doing so, revitalise it.”
• “The youth session served as a platform for us to exchange information and ideas with youth from a variety of regions. Through such exchanges, as well as the visitation of unique spots, the session created opportunities for us to consider what we would do if we had similar places back home.”
• “I enjoyed completing a series of assigned tasks with the other participants while walking around the town together.”
• “I am glad I got to share the attractiveness of my hometown with other participants. I’m also thankful for the opportunity to make new friends through the session. Going forward, I hope to implement litter-picking activities to protect our geoparks, as well as to continually promote the attractiveness of our town through publicity initiatives.”

Interview with Mr. Marekazu Ono

Q: Could you please tell us more about the current involvement of youth in Geoparks in Japan?

Each geopark undertakes ongoing projects catered to youth, and I believe that the participation of youth in Geopark activities has generally been increasing. However, the extent to which such youth participation contributes to the revitalisation of UNESCO-related activities is still unclear. Additionally, I believe that inter-regional and intra-regional interaction between youth is still lacking, which is an issue.

Q:With the aforementioned challenges in mind, could you please elaborate on the main objectives of this youth session?

The main objective of the youth session is to provide a platform for the creation of youth networks on a national level. It appears that many high school and university students are currently engaged in Geopark activities throughout Japan. Nevertheless, these activities are often limited to investigative learning. Students rarely get opportunities to conduct deeper analyses on the value of local resources in their areas. Furthermore, such Geopark activities remain relatively unknown within the country. Raising awareness is thus an ongoing challenge for us. Given the above and in order to remind youth of the charm and appeal of their own regions, we wanted this youth session to provide opportunities for comparative analyses and the sharing of their experiences with peers in other regions.

Q: Going forward, how do you intend to further promote youth activities?

For starters, we hope to strengthen existing youth networks and collaborations. For example, by inviting youth from a variety of regions to participate in Geopark-related research conferences and presentations held at schools, we hope to not only raise awareness in these different regions, but also create educational opportunities that will enable youth to rediscover the appeal of their respective regions, as well as aid in the development of their personalities and values.

Members of the Youth Committee of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO: Thoughts and Reflections

 Maoko Kobayashi

I was incredibly impressed by the immense love the high school students from Tsurugi had for their region, as well as the way in which they had conveyed their region’s appeal in their own words during the walk and subsequent discussion sessions. Through sharing and comparing their thoughts with like-minded peers, participants were able to reaffirm the appeal of their own regions, and also discuss ideas to improve their own regions. By partaking in these discussions, I had the opportunity to reflect on the appeal and charm of my own region and community. I hope that initiatives similar to this youth session will target not just students who are already involved in Geopark activities, but more importantly, youth who have not heard of, or lack interest in, Geoparks. This way, Geoparks can be enjoyed and appreciated by all. Further, more youth will be encouraged to embrace the beauty of the nature and culture within their regions. Based on this experience and our interviews with participants, we plan to give serious consideration as to how the Youth Committee of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO can contribute going forward.

Arisa Kikkawa

It was truly an honour to be guided around town by the high school students from Tsurugi during the youth session. I was thoroughly impressed by how passionately and eagerly the high school students of Tsurugi spoke about the appeal and charm of their local region. Through the poster session, I got to know more about various efforts by other Geoparks in publicising the attractiveness of their regions and/or conserving local resources. I also came to know more about Geoparks that support youth participation. At the closing ceremony, I briefly spoke about my experience at the youth session, ongoing efforts to promote youth involvement in Geoparks, and effective information dissemination. Going forward, the Youth Committee of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO would like to be actively involved on a greater level.

Yuki Hosoya

I observed many junior high and high school students from a variety of regions proactively participating in the youth session. I also thoroughly enjoyed the process of completing the assigned tasks while walking around Tsurugi with participants affiliated to other geoparks. During the discussions after the walk, participants shared thoughts and opinions about the attractiveness of their respective regions, differences between their communities, and actions they could take to protect the heritage of their towns and communities. I was deeply encouraged by the positive attitudes of the participating youth, which instilled in me much hope for the future. As a member of the Youth Committee of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, I hope to create opportunities that will allow youth to explore and recognise the attractiveness of Geoparks and their communities. I also hope to publicise these opportunities and facilitate the involvement of larger numbers of stakeholders and participants.

 Hiroki Okita

Unlike the other participants, I participated in another session for city/municipal mayors that coincided with the youth session. During this session, I got the opportunity to share ideas and exchange information with mayors and Geopark staff members from different parts of Japan regarding the promotion of youth involvement in Geoparks. While there is a large number of youths currently involved in Geopark activities, it was agreed upon that collaboration with government bodies was lacking. In the poster session that followed, we received many inquiries and comments in response to our presentation on the promotion of youth involvement in Geoparks. This reaffirmed to us the high levels of interest pertaining to youth involvement and the challenges involved in promoting youth involvement in Geoparks. As the Youth Committee of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, we are committed to supporting both youth and Geopark staff in resolving these issues.

＊This is an English translation of an article that was originally written and published in Japanese on 14 September 2023. (https://unesco-sdgs.mext.go.jp/column/youthnote-20230914-2)