Community Core Leaders Development Program (Core)
To build ‘cohesive society’ where each diverse individual joins society and supports each other as well as puts one’s own abilities to good use, social activities by various entities such as local community, non-profit organization and administrative body need to be enhanced.
Based on the recognition of its importance along with the achievement of the Community Core Leaders Development Program of the previous years, mutual exchanges shall be organized that involve Japanese and foreign youths engaged in problem-solving in the fields of older people, persons with disabilities and youth; Japanese youths to be sent to countries which have innovative models in those fields and youths of those countries to be invited to Japan in order to seek measures to solve problems in each field, develop their practical skills such as organizational management, cooperation with other organizations and networking through interaction with young leaders.
Outline
This Program consists of Sending Program of Japanese youths and Invitation Program of foreign youths.
Themes
- Field of Older People: Necessary cooperation for supporting older people in local community
- Field of Persons with Disabilities: Further enhancement of social participation of persons with disabilities in local community
- Field of Youth: Development of human resource to support growth of children and young people
Criteria for Participants
- Age between 23 and 40 years old (as of April 1, 2017), with more than 3-year experience in one of the following social activities: older people-related, persons with disabilities-related and/or youth-related.
- To be involved or have an interest in being involved in the management of non-profit organizations;
- For the Japanese participant to be able to take an active role in hosting the Invitation Program, get involved in social activities and have promising potential in the future civil society participation after the Program.
Sending Program
Delegation from Japan were sent to Federal Republic of Germany (Activities for the field of Older People), New Zealand (Activities for the field of Persons with Disabilities) and Republic of Austria (Activities for the field of Youth) from October 8 to 17, 2017. During the Program they visited institutions related to the respective courses and had discussions.
Invitation Program
Participants who are active in the fields of older people, persons with disabilities and youth from Federal Republic of Germany, New Zealand, and Republic of Austria were invited to Japan from February 13 to 27, 2018.
They participated in the NPO Management Forum and Regional Program with respect to each courses and had various discussions and presentations.
NPO Management Forum
Participation in a wide range of social activities which actively contribute to the international society and community is requisite to realizing a “cohesive society”, where individuals with various attributes participate in society in an independent manner to support themselves and each other while making full use of their respective abilities.
The NPO Management Forum is an international forum where young leaders from Japan and aboard ? who are involved in non-profit sector related to older people, persons with disabilities and youth forgather to exchange valuable information on the latest trend of non-profit sector and exemplary activities from respective countries.
The NPO Management Forum 2017 was implemented with the aim to actively involve Japanese and foreign youths in non-profit sector in three fields (older people, persons with disabilities and youth) forgathered to share beneficial information such as situations of NPOs and their activities in respective countries and exchange opinions in a pragmatic manner, thereby enhancing their capacities for NPO management, supporting social activities in their respective fields, and eventually, becoming youth leaders so as to play central roles in various activities.
Institutional Visits by Topic
During the NPO Management Forum, foreign and Japanese youths had discussions on three different topics.
Prior to the discussions, institutional visits were scheduled on February 15, according to the topics chosen by foreign youths with their aim to learn the current situation in Japan, accompanied by the Japanese NPO Management Forum Organizing Committee members.
The youths visited non-profit organizations in the fields of older people, persons with disabilities and youth, exchanged information and ideas with staffs on the general theme and deepened understanding of the situation surrounding non-profit organizations in Japan.
Regional Program
Three courses of mixed nationals based on respective fields then visited three prefectures respectively.
The purpose of the visit was to understand local level efforts and actions in those fields and to exchange views and experiences of the participating countries with Japanese professionals who work in the same fields in those prefectures.
From February 20 to 25, 2018 the foreign youths visited Oita (Activities for Older People Course), Kagoshima (Activities for Persons with Disabilities Course) and Wakayama (Activities for Youth Course) and visited related institutions for observation and discussion with staffs and participated in the Local Seminar.