PROPOSAL: Voices for the Future
* BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Mankind is poised at the entrance of a new millennium.
The changes that are happening around the world present both great
challenges and opportunities as we take cautious yet hopeful steps into an
unknown future. With genetic engineering, newly-born nuclear states, a
continuing economic downswing, widespread use of the Internet, the growing
influence of multi-national corporations, the reality of global warming,
growing social inequalities, great advances in science, the widening
onslaught of AIDS and the burdens of growing and aging populations, today's
youth face an increasingly complex world.
All too often, the young of today find themselves alone in a swiftly
changing world that has become increasingly more difficult for them to
understand.
The proposed symposium, "Voices for the Future," will allow young people
from around the world to focus on the Asia Pacific University campus in
Beppu, Japan to discuss issues important to themselves and their future
descendants, and to share their thoughts, hopes, ideals and fears with
prominent mentors in a wide variety of fields. Concurrent meetings are
being planned for students at Moscow State University and the University of
California at Santa Barbara. These inter-generational dialogues will foster
discussion between elders and students, giving the next generation an
opportunity to contemplate the meaning of their own future while searching
for answers to the important questions that lie just ahead.
The future calls for involvement and commitment by those who will be its
heirs.
The effect of the symposium will reach far beyond those meeting in Beppu,
Moscow and Santa Barbara. An Internet website will link the conference to
worldwide. In this way, young people in other countries will be able to
offer comments and opinions, pose questions and focus on the issues along
with their colleagues in Japan, Russia and the U.S. making "Voices for the
Future" a significant international event.
SPECIFICS Title: Voices for the Future: Sharing the Ideals and Concerns of a New
Millennium
Organizers: Group 21 and Asia Pacific University of Ritsumeikan University
Coordinators: Organizing Committee: Main Goals: To bring together a selection of guests from such fields as
cultural anthropology, peace studies, environmental issues, social
psychology, education, economics and the arts in order to address important
issues concerning the world's future.
To allow the youth of the world an opportunity to voice their hopes, ideas
and concerns regarding their future.
To foster inter-generational dialogue by creating a meaningful dialectic
between youth and its mentors.
To have a wide-ranging beneficial effect on the minds and spirits of
socially concerned young people around the world.
To stimulate thought and action towards a saner and healthier physical,
Location: Asia Pacific University of Ritsumeikan University, Beppu, Japan
with linkage to students at Moscow State University, Mosow, Russia and The
University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
Language of the Symposium: English. (Selected workshops and discussions
will be conducted in Japanese or in both English and Japanese.)
Guest Speakers: Eight Guest Speakers will be invited to participate in the
three day symposium. Most will be bilingual in English and Japanese.
Student Delegates: At Asia Pacific University, 30 Student Delegates will
be chosen from the student body (10 Japanese and 20 from 20 foreign
countries) on a volunteer/selection basis. There will be an attempt to
select Delegates from each of the major areas of the world. At both Moscow
State University and the University of California, on site coordinators
will gather groups of between 10 and 30 additional Delegates who will join
the conference through website postings, information, discussions and
photographs.
Student Participants:
Besides the Delegates, all members of the studentbody of Asia Pacific
University will be welcome to join in the talks, workshops and discussions.
This will also be true for individuals from Moscow, Santa Barbara and
elsewhere who would like to join the symposium by submitting thoughts and
opinions through the Internet website.
Local Citizen Participation:
The symposium will be open to members of the public.
On Saturday, December 8th, Free Discussion Talks will be held throughout
the day at various sites in Beppu City.
Worldwide Participation:
Through Internet links with universities and youth organizations in as many
countries as possible. Overseas students, professors and interested groups
and individuals will be welcome to take an active role in the conference by
participating with their questions, comments and ideas through the Internet
site.
Sponsorship:
Currently the project is enlisting sources of funding. Both the Japan
Foundation and the Mitsubishi Bank Foundation, which supported previous G21
efforts, have expressed an interest offering support for "Voices for the
Future".
AGENDAS
PRE-SYMOSIUM AGENDA:
From late September, the G21 website will begin to post information
concerning the symposium while soliciting linkage with institutes, groups
and individuals who are interested in taking an active part in the
conference. The information posted will include profiles of the Guest
Speakers, information concerning their talks, linkages with websites that
the Guest Speakers are associated with or recommend, and issues and
questions that the speakers would like to address at the symposium.
In October and November, Student Delegate discussion meetings will be held
in Beppu, Moscow and Santa Barbara (one each month). These meetings will
be coordinated with information listed on the website. The three Student
Delegate groups will be asked to prepare for the coming symposium through
group discussions and by doing individual research in their selected areas
of interest. Each of the groups may also offer suggestions for enhancing
the talks at APU in December.
In early November, each Delegate will be asked to send a photo, a personal
profile and a statement concerning the coming symposium to the G21 website.
On December 6th, a pre-symposium meeting will be held at Asia Pacific
University with the Student Delegates, coordinators and members of G21 in
attendance. The meeting would be used to address any issues or problems
concerning the symposium plan and as a session where the participants and
organizers can get to know each other.
It is stressed that the pre-symposium meetings are an integral part of the
symposium during which the Delegates get to know each other and start
working as a group while researching what will be discussed at the meetings
in December.
THE SYMPOSIUM AGENDA:
The first day, December 7th, would include:
Saturday, December 8th, would be devoted to workshops on the APU campus and
discussion groups at selected sites in Beppu City. The entire student
body and faculty of APU and the citizens of Beppu City would be invited to
attend these sessions.
The afternoon of the third day, December 9th, would convene an Open Forum
with the Guest Speakers, student Delegates and both university and local
participants in attendance. A selected panel of both Guest Speakers and
Student Delegates would be asked to make short statements. The forum would
then be open to statements and/or questions from the audience. At the end
of the symposium, there would be Closing Addresses by a member of the APU
administration and by the G21 Coordinator. A Final Statement by a
representative of the Student Delegates would close the formal proceedings.
A Coffee Hour for the Guest Panelists, student Delegates and invited
guests, would follow the closing ceremonies.
A daily posting of reports on talks and photographs would be placed on the
Internet website so that groups and individuals in Moscow, Santa Barbara
and elsewhere would stay informed of the symposium proceedings.
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES An important goal of the symposium is to plant seeds for further discussion
and debate among youth groups and their mentors. Therefore, the organizers
will endeavor to encourage the continuation of the talks initiated at the
conference by student groups in Japan and worldwide.
Internet Coverage:
The Internet website will be maintained following the symposium to transmit
final coverage of the meetings and to continue the dialogue between links
established before and during the conference.
Discussion Groups:
The symposium organizers will encourage the establishment of smaller
discussion groups that can continue the work started at the conference.
These groups may be centered around the individual Student Delegates that
attend the conference, may be based on particular issues that were
discussed, or may be formed by interested individuals and groups in Beppu,
Moscow, Santa Barbara and elsewhere. Efforts will also be made to
establish such groups in other countries through web site connections.
Coming Symposia: Group 21 is currently planning the following symposia
Students, Guest Speakers, faculty members, and interested groups and
individuals who participated in past symposia are welcome to attend any of
these coming events on site or to join the proceedings through the G21
Internet website.
BUDGET A revised budget is currently being prepared.
DELEGATES
Countries and Areas from which Student Delegates may be selected:
Japan
GUEST PANELISTS Candidates for Guest Speakers
Due to the short time remaining before the proposed symposium and budgetary
factors, speakers who are Japan-based are currently being considered.
Most of the following candidates are bilingual in English and Japanese.
Group 21 is open to any other suggestions or alternatives.
AILEEN SMITH, director of Green Action, an anti-nuclear NGO based in Kyoto,
and co-author with W. Eugene Smith of Minamata, a book about the ecological
tragedy of mercury pollution in Kyushu, Japan. Ms. Smith was a Guest
Speaker and workshop leader at "Youth at the Millennium".
ALEX KERR, essayist, calligrapher and social critic. Author of "Dogs and
Demons" and "Lost Japan," Mr. Kerr is a classically trained scholar of
Japanese art and culture. At the symposium he would speak on the value of
traditional culture, not only in Japan but also internationally, while
pointing out some of the important values that can be found in our modern
cultures.
HILLEL WEINTRAUB, director of the Communications Department of Mirai
University in Hakkodate, Japan. Mr. Weintraub is well known for his
progessive and at times provocative educational methods. An advocate of
the teaching methods of Edward de Bono, he would speak on the variety of
ways knowledge is imprinted upon the individual while referring to methods
which can be used to avoid the abuses of such imprinting.
KATELL GELEBART, director of Art D'eco, Netherlands. Ms. Gelebart is a
designer of fashions and accessories for young people which are made from
recycled materials such as postal bags, floppy discs, and x-rays. Although
she is based in Amsterdam, she will be staying in Japan at the time of the
symposium. One idea is to put on an eco-fashion show during the symposium
using the students of APU as models.
KEIBO OIWA, cultural anthropologist who teaches International Studies at
Mejigakuin University in Tokyo. Mr. Oiwa is also the co-founder of the
Namakemono (Sloth) Club, which is an organization devoted to ecological
studies and the slow food movement. He is the co-author (with David
Suzuki) of The Japan We Never Knew and, as a member of the Action for
Mangrove Reforestation, he is also involved in environmental activities in
Ecuador. Mr. Oiwa conducted a popular workshop at "Youth at the
Millennium".
KEN NOGUCHI is a mountain climber and environmentalist. Mr. Noguchi, at 27
years of age, has climbed all of the highest peaks on all seven continents.
Recently, he has led expeditions of climbers to the slopes of Mt. Everest
where they have made an effort to clean up the tons of trash that have been
left behind by other climbing parties.
KINHIDE MUSHAKOUJI, professor of Ferris University, Tokyo. Professor
Mushakouji attended the 1999 Kyoto symposium and spoke eloquently about the
current geopolitical situation. He presented clear insights into the
problems which face mankind while commenting on the positions and
stratagems of those who currently hold the reins of power.
MADOKA CHASE, youthful NGO activitist, worked as a member of ASEAN, a human
rights NGO, with Burmese refugees along the Thai border and was foreign
affairs assistant to Japanese congresswoman Akiko Domoto. Currently, Ms.
Chase is working with Mekong Watch, an environmental NGO based in Tokyo.
RACHEL ARMSTRONG is an executive director of the Peace Boat Japan
organization. The Peace Boat conducts educational cruises around the world
that deal with human rights, the environment and world peace. Ms.
Armstrong would speak about Peace Boat activities, on board and at ports of
call, and would also talk about citizen action groups in Japan and overseas.
GROUP21:
Group 21 is a non-governmental, non-profit project whose main aim is to educate and
empower young people for the coming century. The men and women of the
group are volunteers of varying ages and nationalities, most of whom are
associated with Japanese universities and educational institutions.
In 1997, Group 21 organized a project at the COP3 conference on global
warming in Kyoto that brought together young people from twenty-one
countries to express their concerns regarding the future of our planet. At
that time, through an Internet and postcard campaign, the project was able
to attract the attention of major news organizations in Japan and
internationally. More than 12,000 postcards were sent to the group from
young people of 55 countries. A selection of these cards were delivered
to a public gathering of conference delegates to the COP3 conference in
Kyoto and to Vice President Al Gore of the United States as part of the
appeal. In addition, college-age members of the group attended the
conference and were able to express their views directly to representatives
from many nations.
In 1999, Group 21 organized the symposium "Youth at the Millennium" in
cooperation with the Kyoto Museum for World Peace of Ritsumeikan
University. At this meeting, held in Kyoto, world known speakers,
including Johan Galtung, Nandini Iyer, Arun Gandhi, Satish Kumar and
others, held discussions and workshops with Student Delegates from thirty
countries and an audience of over 300 students and educators concerning
humankind's future. The symposium was joined by many others through the
G21 Internet website.
Group 21 has also organized a number of training workshops, community
meetings and public forums on issues of critical concern to the world's
future.
Group 21 has no political, religious or corporate affiliations.
If you should have any inquiries concerning
/ Group 21 and its current and future programs, please send an email to:
Mr. Robert Kowalczyk, Director, at g21@jca.apc.org
or mail to:
Robert Kowalczyk
Professor, Kinki University, Department of Literature
Address:
tel/fax: 81-75-771-1949
* SPECIFICS
* AGENDAS
* FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
* BUDGET
* DELEGATES
* GUEST SPEAKERS
* GROUP 21
* CONTACT US
Robert Kowalczyk, Group 21 (Coordinator)
Ikuro Anzai, Kyoto Museum for World Peace (Honorary Advisor)
* Others to be decided at Asia Pacific University
Philip Grant, Group 21 (Special Programs Coordinator)
Lou Spaventa, Group 21 (California Liason)
Elena Verishinina, Group 21 (Moscow Liason)
John Einarsen, Group 21
Sally McLaren, Group 21
Stewart Wachs, Group 21
Albie Sharpe, Group 21
* Others to be decided at Asia Pacific University
* an Opening Address by Dr. Kazuichi Sakamoto
* a Key-note Address by a specially invited speaker
* short addresses by each of the Guest Speakers
* short reports entitled, "The View from my Country" by a selection of (7
to 10) student Delegates
* entertainment by students or professionals
* Santa Barbara (April 2002)
* Osaka (November 2002)
* Moscow (September 2003)
Russia (Moscow)
The United States (Santa Barbara)
***
And one or more from each of the following areas:
Western Europe
Scandinavia
Eastern Europe
Northern Africa
Southern Africa
The Middle East
East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Australia / New Zealand
North America
Central America
South America
The Island Nations
and others to be decided
Director, Journey East
Coordinator, Group 21
International Coordinator, Japan-Korea Life Mask 2002
1-Minamigosho-cho, Okazaki
Sakyo Ku, Kyoto, Japan 606-8334
alternative email: rkeast@hotmail.com