Update:August 28, 2009

“Junior High School Students’ Global Environment School” was also held this year

Junior High School Students’ Global Environment School was also held this year for 8 days from August 3rd to August 10th.
Four junior high school and high schoolstudents from Yokkaichi’s sister city, Long Beach, California, USA, and four students from Yokkaichi city, studied environmental problems and developed deep friendships during their stay at ICETT (INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER). We thought there would be some language barrier, but we were completely overwhelmed by the power of both cities’ students, who felt there was no such barrier.
During the study period, the students had various experiences. They visited enterprises in nearby Yokkaichi city, learned by seeing and hearing about the kinds of measures being taken by enterprises, and learned about wise ideas, gentle to the environment, of Japanese culture.

 

The “Junior High School Students’ Environmental Summit” was held on August 7th. Until then, the students from the two cities made intensive preparations for their August 7th presentations, based on the knowledge they gained in the Global Environment School and accumulated through their experiences, and discussed the themes, “what we want to do and what we can do for protection of the global environment.” Many interested people attended the Summit, so the students were slightly nervous, but they gave splendid presentations.
Presentations, in Japanese and English, included the introduction of both cities, what the students learned in Yokkaichi city, comparison of environmental control measures in Japan and the USA, and proposals by the students of what can be done for the environment, such as, “We want to disseminate the concept of Mottainai (Don't be wasteful),” “Worldwide sharing of ecological technology such as the introduction of hybrid buses,” and, “Start from each private person and home to make changes.” The Summit concluded with the students of both nations announcing and signing the “Yokkaichi Global Environmental Message” which states, “At this Summit, we join hands together in a circle and take action to protect our globe.”

 

On their study tour, they visited Kyoto and saw Kiyomizu-dera temple and Kinkakuji temple, both world heritage sites. In the bus on the way to Kyoto, all students enjoyed card games and playing the shiritori (word-chain) game in English. They were very friendly with each other.
The eight day study period passed all too quickly, and before the students parted, the taking of souvenir photos went on and on. They seemed reluctant to part with each other.
Seeing how difficult it was for the students to bid each other farewell, we strongly felt that this Global Environmental School was very meaningful for them.

Thanks to the cooperation of the concerned persons and students who participated we were able to successfully complete this summer's Global Environment School session and we wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved.