11:20 AM - 11:35 AM
[O04-03] Co-Creating Learning Spaces: Exploring What's Beyond Through Collaboration
★Invited Papers
Keywords:human development, Gensai Mirai Juku, Collaboration, learning, network
Japan is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, making it essential for every citizen to have disaster awareness and take preventive actions. To address this, various efforts are being made across the country, such as promoting disaster education in schools, integrating disaster-related content into regular subjects, and training local disaster prevention leaders.
However, the concepts of disaster preparedness and everyday life are closely connected. In fact, thinking about disaster preparedness is essentially the same as thinking about daily life. Disasters can amplify existing social issues, making hidden problems more visible. For example, large-scale disasters have been observed to accelerate social trends such as population decline or growth1). In this way, many challenges that emerge during disasters are closely related to issues that communities are likely to face in the future.
The author has been engaged in training disaster prevention personnel through practical activities, community and school partnerships, and cooperation among different organizations. This paper introduces an example of such an initiative.
The "Gensai Mirai Juku", operated by the Gifu Disaster Mitigation Center: GDMC (https://gfbosai.jp/), offers a community-based training program that focuses on hands-on learning. This one-year program helps participants work on disaster-related projects, such as developing community disaster prevention plans or creating educational materials. The curriculum also includes communication, presentation, and facilitation training, along with practical fieldwork. Each participant is supported by two supervisors who provide continuous guidance throughout the program. The program is similar to a university seminar in structure and accepts about five participants per year.
Since its launch in 2016, the program has had 62 participants, of whom 56 have graduated as of the 2023 academic year. The participants come from diverse backgrounds, including community volunteers, local government staff, schoolteachers, corporate employees, and welfare professionals. Consequently, their projects cover a wide range of topics, such as community disaster awareness, local disaster planning, pet disaster preparedness, disaster education for households with infants, gender-sensitive disaster planning, school disaster preparedness, etc.
To promote networking among participants, the program uses an email list and a Facebook group, and alumni are welcome to join training camps and mid-term presentation sessions. As a result, collaboration between members has increased, with many supporting each other's activities. In recent years, some members have also started giving lectures and assisting with disaster prevention projects run by Gifu Prefecture Government. This growing visibility has helped establish stronger connections with schools, where participants have been involved in organizing disaster drills and educational programs.
The interactions fostered through these activities have enabled people from different professions, fields, and regions to work together. For instance, teachers in the program can seek advice from fellow participants to enhance school-based disaster education. Such partnerships not only increase learning opportunities but also allow members to tackle complex issues that would be difficult to address alone. Additionally, the activities create new opportunities to connect with people outside the program, further expanding members' perspectives and networks.
In summary, the Gensai Mirai Juku program plays a significant role in building a network of disaster prevention leaders with diverse skills and backgrounds. Through these connections, the network has gradually expanded to include local communities, schools, and government offices, fostering ongoing collaboration and mutual learning. For more information, please visit the "Gensai Mirai Juku Graduate Activities" section of the GDMC's website.
Reference
Kato, T., Bhattacharya, Y., Sugata, H., and Otagiri, R.: The Six Principles of Recovery: A Guideline for Preparing for Future Disaster Recoveries, Journal of Disaster Research, Vol. 8, Special Issue, pp. 737–745, 2013.
However, the concepts of disaster preparedness and everyday life are closely connected. In fact, thinking about disaster preparedness is essentially the same as thinking about daily life. Disasters can amplify existing social issues, making hidden problems more visible. For example, large-scale disasters have been observed to accelerate social trends such as population decline or growth1). In this way, many challenges that emerge during disasters are closely related to issues that communities are likely to face in the future.
The author has been engaged in training disaster prevention personnel through practical activities, community and school partnerships, and cooperation among different organizations. This paper introduces an example of such an initiative.
The "Gensai Mirai Juku", operated by the Gifu Disaster Mitigation Center: GDMC (https://gfbosai.jp/), offers a community-based training program that focuses on hands-on learning. This one-year program helps participants work on disaster-related projects, such as developing community disaster prevention plans or creating educational materials. The curriculum also includes communication, presentation, and facilitation training, along with practical fieldwork. Each participant is supported by two supervisors who provide continuous guidance throughout the program. The program is similar to a university seminar in structure and accepts about five participants per year.
Since its launch in 2016, the program has had 62 participants, of whom 56 have graduated as of the 2023 academic year. The participants come from diverse backgrounds, including community volunteers, local government staff, schoolteachers, corporate employees, and welfare professionals. Consequently, their projects cover a wide range of topics, such as community disaster awareness, local disaster planning, pet disaster preparedness, disaster education for households with infants, gender-sensitive disaster planning, school disaster preparedness, etc.
To promote networking among participants, the program uses an email list and a Facebook group, and alumni are welcome to join training camps and mid-term presentation sessions. As a result, collaboration between members has increased, with many supporting each other's activities. In recent years, some members have also started giving lectures and assisting with disaster prevention projects run by Gifu Prefecture Government. This growing visibility has helped establish stronger connections with schools, where participants have been involved in organizing disaster drills and educational programs.
The interactions fostered through these activities have enabled people from different professions, fields, and regions to work together. For instance, teachers in the program can seek advice from fellow participants to enhance school-based disaster education. Such partnerships not only increase learning opportunities but also allow members to tackle complex issues that would be difficult to address alone. Additionally, the activities create new opportunities to connect with people outside the program, further expanding members' perspectives and networks.
In summary, the Gensai Mirai Juku program plays a significant role in building a network of disaster prevention leaders with diverse skills and backgrounds. Through these connections, the network has gradually expanded to include local communities, schools, and government offices, fostering ongoing collaboration and mutual learning. For more information, please visit the "Gensai Mirai Juku Graduate Activities" section of the GDMC's website.
Reference
Kato, T., Bhattacharya, Y., Sugata, H., and Otagiri, R.: The Six Principles of Recovery: A Guideline for Preparing for Future Disaster Recoveries, Journal of Disaster Research, Vol. 8, Special Issue, pp. 737–745, 2013.