NO.169ー3
◎ Planning and Management by Youth ◎
The retreat program is planned and managed by the Committee for Activities
by Youth. (The committee is served by Kiyoyuki Ito, student, as chairperson;
Taku Inoue as chief leader; Hiroko Yamamoto, Hiroshi Tohyama and Tomoyuki
Ogino as student leaders; and Onur Kaynak as foreign student leader.) The
planning and management of the program is not easy but quite enjoyable,
as chairperson Ito explained on the preceding page. They met altogether
9 times for preparation. In principle, they are operated on a self-paying
basis. (They have to find means to cover the cost so long as it is related
to the retreat site*.) This calls for the committee members’ ingenuity. They
want to keep the participant’s fees as low as possible especially for
foreign students. While they want many foreign students to participate,
participation of low-fee foreign students exceeding the committee’s estimate
could create a risk of financial loss. Nevertheless, it has been an honorable
tradition of our youth members not to ask for help from the Board of the
Association except for some special cases.
* The cost for purchasing national flags and furniture, meeting costs,
etc. are borne by the Association.
◎ Theme for the 21st Century ◎
The main theme of the discussion group this year was “Those that must
be retained and those that are to be eliminated for the next generation.” The
sub-themes
were “cultural difference, the death penalty, international marriage,
the meaning of happiness, Internet addiction, mass media, suicide, and
youth volunteering in society.” For each sub-theme, points of discussion
were suggested in detail both in Japanese and English. Preparations made
by the leaders this year were very precise. The program was focused on
what each “can do for peace” in the coming century. After 3 days of
discussion, each group summarized their discussion on poster board and
explained it to the other groups. On the last day, Mr. Hattori representing
all lecturers commented on them. His comments, in which he recommended
international marriage on the basis of his personal experience, were humorous
and appealed to the young audience.
◎ Support given by former-participants ◎
A major accomplishment of the retreat program is the remarkable growth
of young people who participated them. During 11 years of the retreat
program, students graduated from school and found little time to spare
for volunteer activities. But recently, some former participants have
joined the retreat program again in the capacity of former participants
or young advisors.
This year, Hashinaga-san (elder brother) and Maung Sai non Nutt-san rejoined
the retreat, bringing with them a breath of fresh air. Nutt-san is now
studying at Tokyo Foreign Language University as a candidate for a Doctor’s
degree. Let us wish him a successful study.
Those who cannot participate in the program can still contribute to it
in various ways: giving advice during the preparation period, or seeing
the group off at the departure site or meeting them at the arrival site. They
may seem small, but they are indeed big contributions.
Jonas Gomes da Silva (Student from Brazil) |
|
My impression about the Unesco's retreat.
Well, the Unesco's retreat is a good opportunity to make friends, enjoy
and learn about many different cultures. Like mister Hector, the last retreat
was my fourth one. Since 1997, the retreat has changed some things and
every year it's becoming more dynamic and interesting. Eventhough we can
not play soccer or volley more time, the time that we spend with each other
in different activities is very enjoyable. So what activities are more
interesting to me there?
Jonas is also a good dancer. (Center in picture)
![](169-3jonas1.jpg) |
Well, I like 4 activities, the first one is the discussion time of every
topic previously selected by the staff, it's really a good time to share
our problems and hopeness and understand better each other. The second
one, is the Hanabi's ceremony , where we gather together for dancing, singing
and etc...it's very interesting to see the talents of the participants.
The third one,is the explanation made by Unesco's guests about some topic,
and the last one is the free time that we have in the 2 nights. In this
free time, some participants gather each other to dance or play in one
of the lodges, and other people like to go down in the big green ground
in order to see the stars. I try to do both. The last retreat was full
of these good moments and joy. These are the best impression that I've.
I hope we can continue meeting each other several times and also next year.
![](169-3campfire11.jpg)
I'd like to express my gratitude for every one who made his/her best
in the retreat.
Finally, I'd like to take this advantage to express my wish of success
to all members of Unesco.
Thank you very much for this great event.
Sincerely,Jonas Mr. Jonas is studying for a doctorate at Gunma University.
Around the campfire, talks go on as long as there is some fire left.
Some people look up at the starry sky, othersenjoy dancing, and the night wears on.