Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2006
Next PageMain Text > Part II ODA DISBURSEMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2005 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's ODA > Section 5. Formulation and Implementation of ODA Policy > 2. Increasing Public Participation > (3) Development Education
(3) Development Education
Development education stimulates children's interest in development issues, promotes their understanding of ODA and other forms of international cooperation, and fosters their motivation for international cooperation.
Education for international understanding, which is closely related to development education, is illustrated in one of the learning activities conducted at elementary, junior high, and high schools nationwide in the course known as "Period for Integrated Study." As such, opportunities have increased to take up the problems faced by developing countries in school classes. The Government is actively working to promote development education of this type through, for example, MOFA's ODA website for promoting development education for compulsory education entitled "Tanken Shiyou! Minna no Chikyuu" ("Let's Explore Our World") and also through providing various teaching materials, including an animation etc., for development education in the Plaza for International Cooperation ODA website. In addition to the above efforts, the Government has organized development education regional seminars, national assistance providers' conferences, human resource development seminars, and development education general seminars, and from FY2003, the Contest of Development Education/ International Understanding has been held every year.
Furthermore, in terms of providing development education at school, from FY2004, a teachers' slot was created at the ODA Citizen Monitoring Program (see Chapter 2, Section 5. 2 (4) for details) to utilize the gains from monitoring ODA project sites and the ODA Lecture Series (see Chapter 2, Section 5. 2 (4) for details), beginning from FY2005, are implemented at educational scenes.
Meanwhile, JICA and JBIC are also making efforts to disseminate development education. JICA holds lectures-on-demand on international cooperation given by ex-JOCV members dispatched to schools as instructors, and holds essay contests for junior high and high school students nationwide. It also established the JICA Global Plaza, a facility open to the public and students, in Hiroo, Tokyo in April 2006 as a base for development education support programs and similar activities. In addition to these efforts, JICA conducts seminars for development education instructors and overseas training for teachers, in support of those pursuing education as an occupation. JBIC accepts students on school trips for group learning and dispatches personnel to give lectures, in addition to which JBIC also holds the ODA Loan Partnership Seminar and the JBIC Thesis Contest for Students aimed at undergraduate and graduate students.
"Mother and Child", a pair of photographs taken in Ghana, that won the Foreign Minister's Award in the audio-visual category at the Second Contest of Development Education for International Understanding
Participants observing a sewage treatment facility in India as part of the ODA Loan Partnership Seminar (Photo: JBIC)