KITAKYUSHU -- A general incorporated association in this southwestern Japan city is stepping up its efforts to promote inquiry-based education for high school students. In early August, 25 local students will take part in a four-night, five-day camp to explore solutions to issues including environmental problems and regional revitalization.

The program is being organized by "SDGs by people with disabilities," a general incorporated association based in Kitakyushu's Moji Ward. With the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)'s Kyushu Center in the city's Yahatahigashi Ward as the main venue, participants will spend five days examining real-world issues and designing proposals to address challenges facing modern society.

The students will be divided into five groups and set specific goals under themes such as "community welfare" and "coexistence." They will hold repeated discussions with support from local university students, business owners, JICA Kyushu staff and others. The program will also include fieldwork at a closed school used as a base by the association. On the final day, students will compile their proposed solutions, and they are scheduled to engage in practical activities at the closed school during winter and spring breaks.

In mid-June, core members gathered at JICA Kyushu for a preliminary meeting. Taizo Ichiyanagi, 51, representative director of the association, introduced initiatives including a land-based salmon farming business using the closed school and described the significance of the program, saying, "Those efforts will provide major hints and inspiration to the students."

Nozomi Akiyoshi, a teacher at the private Koryo High School in the city's Wakamatsu Ward who proposed the program, pointed out, "Regional issues related to 'coexistence' span a wide range, including the environment, people and animals."

"Even if they have knowledge, there are few students who can translate it into action. Through the program, I want to help develop people who are needed by the community," she said.

(Japanese original by Katsutoshi Hashimoto, Kyushu News Department)