No.11 "Broadly, Richly, and Flexibly"

(Inagi City's Education "Yale" November 15, Issue No. 7)

Broadly, Richly, Flexibly

　"Let's think about jobs that don't exist yet" - If you were asked this question, what kind of "job" would you create?

　On August 6th and 7th, children who gathered at the "FUTURE SUMMIT World Children's Future Conference Supporting the United Nations," held within the venue of "EXPO 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo," tackled this issue. This event featured children who were the top groups in each district competition, including the representative students from Inagi City (four representatives from our city who were 6th graders last year and are now 1st-year junior high school students), from last year's "World Children's Future Conference" (hosted by the Peace Communication Foundation and various Neighborhood Associations). After the "National Competition" in March this year, the children reorganized into groups of four across regions, engaged in remote group work over about four months, created solutions to the issue, and participated in this event on the day of the Expo.
　"To develop space with AI and robots coexisting, we need robot programmers, people who build robots, team members who discuss with governments and companies, and personnel who utilize AI to make decisions." — This is an example of a proposed idea presented. This team conceived a "new job" to realize space development by following the process: "The world's population continues to increase" → "We must build farms and cities" → "We want to expand habitable areas for humans."
　On the day of the event, children gathered from around the world made various proposals for the future world. Each group focused on "what is currently lacking in society" and "what inconveniences exist now," and in creating solutions, they identified new fields where humans should play an active role, proposing "jobs that do not yet exist but will improve future society." Taking social issues into account, they grasped future trends and focused on what is positively needed in the world to solve these problems. They presented a series of visually impressive communications based on a solid concept that combined a global perspective with a comprehensive vision and concrete processes for realization.
　After finishing the visit, moved by the children's ideas and perspectives, I set off for Tokyo with a deepened belief that "the era of choosing future career paths only from existing occupations is over."
　Also, after this Expo event, on Thursday, August 21, our city held this fiscal year's "World Children's Future Conference in INAGI." The theme, as in last year, is "A Sustainable Future for Inagi City."
　A total of 24 sixth-grade students, two selected from each municipal elementary school, formed groups of four with students they met for the first time from different schools. Through exchanging opinions and reaching consensus, they created this collection of ideas. In this process, each member first shared the "values they want to cherish" within their group. With the support of "Communication Supporters" assigned to each group, they identified common points among their ideas and generated new plans, ultimately creating concrete measures as a group.
　At the two events related to the "World Children's Future Conference" held this summer, children focused on society and the world, contemplating ways to make life easier for everyone and proposing new challenges. Their creative thinking, which goes beyond the boundaries of reality and explores unknown fields, is an essential quality needed to thrive in the upcoming "VUCA era," known as the "unpredictable times." As summer comes to an end, we hope that the children of Inagi will broaden their perspectives and ideas, develop creativity, planning skills, and flexibility, and cultivate qualities that allow them to respond to things broadly, richly, and resiliently.
　At the end of August, the Inagi City Board of Education held the "Inagi City School & Infants and Young Children Facility Management & Leader Training Workshop" with the theme "From Developing Non-Cognitive Skills to Collaboration Among Early Childhood, Elementary, and Junior High Schools." Leaders from each kindergarten and school, all school faculty and staff sharing the common goal of fostering the growth of children in our city, gathered together to learn from each other. The lecturer was Mr. Hiroki Tokudome, principal of Miyake Kindergarten in Miyake Town, Nara Prefecture. With teaching experience at public junior high schools and overseas high schools, Mr. Tokudome currently nurtures preschool children and is nationally active in the field of "non-cognitive skills." He presented "communication skills," "self-control," "resilience," "ambition," "self-esteem," and "flexibility" as the truly necessary abilities that cannot be measured by objective numerical values when looking toward the future, and provided valuable guidance on strategies to develop these skills.
　The Board of Education will continue to focus on "the abilities to thrive in the coming era," enhancing children's activities while also deepening the learning among adults and connecting it to practical implementation.
　At the same time, we adults also want to broadly, richly, and flexibly walk our own lives while watching over and supporting the children.

Director of the Inagi City Board of Education, Makiko Sugimoto