I’m Naho Arai. This report would introduce the summer seminar of Save the Children Japan in August 2018. This article bases on my personal opinion and thought.
In the first session, participants introduced themselves and then experienced an icebreaking game together. The name of this game was “the four corners of the room”. The ruleof this game is four answers show each subject, and each answer on each corner of the room. A participant moves to corner and then knows the answer and imagines subject.
Showing subject is “Where do you want to work?” “Do you think SDGs will progress ten years later?” etc. Iexchanged my opinion to another participant who interested in the international cooperation. He/She is the same age with me and inspired his/her idea for sustainable peace in the current society, so this is good experience for me.
After the icebreaking game, staff of Save the Children Japan delivered the lecture about the history of Save the Children.
Save the Children was started in 1919 after the end of the First World War. The policy is “There are no enemies of children.” It has supported not only to children but also to adult people who involve to children. Since 2003, Japan has also started to tackle the issue of children’s poverty, prevent child abuse and act for emergency aid. “Survive, Learn, Be protected and Participate.” These four rights areexplicitly showed on Convention on the Rights of the Child. This organization has been working to realize these rights.
Next, we deepened our understanding of topics based on actual cases. After reading the case report, we shared own opinion and discussed the problem of these cases throughSDGs, as below.
In the case study, a girl could not go to the school, because her mother had a fear of being exposed as her daughter has a mental handicap. The mother was also afraid of a divorce and knows well men in the area disrespect women. The mother didn’t give her daughter enough meal.
One day, a community support organization found the mother and her daughter. The organization persuaded her parent and neighborhood to admit that the daughter has a right and should be respected like others. Finally, she could go to school and started to play sports that she wasinterested in. The community support organization also assist her to play sports activities. Thanks to it, she won abig title. Of course, she study hard and entered further education.
From the case study, we discussed three points, namelygender issues (inequality), a lack of sanitary facilities and culture and values. I’d like to share the discussion about “gender issues”.
We talked about the situation of women, the mother.
We initially focused on the mother is afraid of be divorced by her husband. We thought that this shows the mother (=women) can’t independence from her husband (=man).Then, we consider the background. One of ideas is that women can’t be received enough education, so they have to depend their husbands. We discussed to solve this problem and I learned a lot from this discussion, because there are many kinds of education, for example, literacy education, dietary education, professional education etc... If we can support them, it is very important and difficult to choose what kind of education is suitable for them. Also, we discuss the value to change their idea including men and women, for gender equality for another solution. However, it is pointed out that the value and culture are different based on areas, so we should not force them. We need to think a balanced approach for building the good relation between traditional culture (value) and developedone.
Through fruitful discussion with other participants, I could deepen my understanding for a variety of education, human rights for vulnerable people and the reconsideration of value and culture if necessary. In the course of debate,
some participants shared their opinions, interests and knowledge which I did not have. I would like to connect this experience with my learning as to child rights and recommend this summer seminar of Save the ChildrenJapan for UIPJ’s members.
こんにちは。UIPJメンバーの新井です。
私は2018年8月にセーブ・ザ・チルドレン・ジャパン開催のサマーセミナーに参加してきました。
セミナーでは、セーブ・ザ・チルドレン・ジャパンの歴史をお聞きしたり、実際の事例を用いてディスカッションを行いました。特にSDGsに関連付けたディスカッションは新たな発見が多く、とても有意義なものになりました。
国際協力に興味を持つ同年代の参加者と交わした意見や発見を私自身の学びに活かし、UIPJメンバーにも共有することで今後につなげていきたいと思います。
参加にあたりお世話になりましたセーブ・ザ・チルドレン・ジャパンの皆様、参加を勧めてくださった藤井広重先生にこの場をお借りして御礼申し上げます。