2006 Global Youth Exchange Program
1. General Theme:
Environment and Economic Development - Searching key ideas to create harmony in the 21st century -
2. Dates:
27 November to 8 December, 2006
3. Venues:
Tokyo, Kyoto and Aichi
4. Participants:
34 participants from 31 countries and UNEP
- Asia-Pacific: Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Japan, Korea, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines
- North/South America: Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States
- Europe: Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Iceland, Kyrgyz, Spain
- Middle East/Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, South Africa, Yemen
5. The Program:
The participants from various regions carried intensive discussion and exchange of views, overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers. The results of the discussion were put together into a "Proposal," and a public symposium was held based on it. The participants also deepened their understanding of Japan through visits to local communities and exchanges with Japanese people.
(1) Discussions in Nagoya
The participants undertook group discussions for three days in Nagoya under the general theme of "Environment and Economic Development - Searching key ideas to create harmony in the 21st century -." Following a lecture titled "Economic Aspects of Environmental Problems" by Prof. Tatsuaki Kuroda of the Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, the participants actively exchanged their views in group discussions/plenary sessions on the sub-themes of the program: (1) Natures Wisdom and Cultures of the World; (2) Striking Balance Between Economic Development and Preservation of Nature; and (3) Shift from a Mass Production, Consumption and Disposal Society to a Sound Material-cycle Society. As a result, the participants drew up a Proposal.
(2) Public Symposium
A Public Symposium was held at Keio Plaza Hotel, Tokyo. The keynote lecture was made by Mr. Jin Sato, Associate Professor of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo, and the Proposal was presented to the audiences. In the panel discussion, the participants actively exchange their views from the perspective the actual implementation of the Proposal, on the topics such as incentives for good behavior and disincentives for negative behavior, cooperation and communication between developed and developing countries.
(3) Farewell Reception
At the farewell reception held after the public symposium, Mrs. Midori Matsushima, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs thanked the participants for their hard work and dedication to the program.
(4) Lectures etc.
To better understand the general theme and Japan, the participants attended lectures with Q&A sessions given by the following lecturers:
(a) Aichi Prefecture Environmental Department: "Environmental efforts being made in the prefecture"
(b) Administrative Official of Chubu Bureau of Economic, Trade and Industry: "Environmental efforts being made at the Aichi EXPO 2005"
(5) Visiting local cities and home stay
To better understand Japanese culture, the participants visited Kyoto including temples which are UNESCO World Cultural Heritages, and experienced traditional culture like Zazen and Shodo (calligraphy). After arriving at Nagoya where AICHI EXPO 2005 was held, each participant stayed at the home of a host family over the weekend and enjoyed a warm welcome and a typical daily life of a Japanese family.
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