Find Your Future Role Models

　　　　　　　　　Makoto Kageto

makoto@kageto.jp

　　　　　　　　　　　　　Nihon Fukushi University

This year is the 15^th anniversary of the World Youth Meeting (W.Y.M.). The biggest change for this event in the past fifteen years is that it has come to be a crucial learning environment for both students and teachers. This event inspires us to think and act globally while using ICT and English as an international lingua franca. In the past fifteen years we have seen the rise in the age of both English and ICT communication. At this time, I would also like to show my appreciation to all those people who have helped and supported this event from the bottom of my heart.

From April this year students in the faculty of International Welfare Development in my university have been devoting themselves to organizing this program and communicating with participants inside and outside of Japan. They are tackling the many issues that arise in bringing to realization this international collaborative project. Students have strived to create a sophisticated environment for the participants to interact with each other. In such an environment we hope they will come to better understand each other while completing their tasks.

We hope all the participants will get a high degree of satisfaction regardless of the fact that it is difficult to master all aspects of global communication.

Let’s describe the students’ blueprint for their lives ten years from now. Their experiences through the W.Y.M. will surely assist them, I believe.

Self-affirmation ---- the sense of accomplishment that they could feel after the presentation will surely nourish their self-affirmation.

Authentic communication in English ----- how English works to widen their circle of communication will become a cue for them to gain a sense of their own volition to pursue their goals thoroughly.

Thinking and collaborating internationally ---- they work as a team comprised of members from several countries.

The W.Y.M. is not merely an international event, nor is it just to polish students’ presentation competencies. It’s a place for students to gain and maintain a strong sense of personal volition, self-regulated learning styles with a sense of wonder about how to nourish spirits through the activities of the W.Y.M.