The Tamagawa Gakuen SGH Project has a point based certification system called “Tamagawa Super Global Leaders 48 (SGL 48)”. Tamagawa students are given points according to the number of SGH activities they participated in.

The top eight scoring students were awarded the Tamagawa Gakuen Super Global Leader 48 Award.

The students came to the stage all achieved excellent results in their exams and club activities received a certificate with a bright smile as they bite the joy of the year’s effort and results.

“When I became the chairperson for the Model United Nations, I did not feel I was doing well and I felt anxiety and confusion. However, with the support of my teacher and seniors, I was able to feel more successful. I found out what I am good at and what I am not good at.”
“I became more confident in discussions in English. The Tamagawa SGH program was an environment that helped grow my own ‘seed’ in my heart.”
“I was interested in the world’s refugee problems, so I took a test at a university where I could learn about them. I’m going to keep learning about refugees in university as well.”


The voices of the students who spoke while looking back on the SGH project were bright and confident and filled with hope for the future.

“I have been working on the SGH program and really believe in the students,” said Ms. Hamano, who has worked planning and managing activities as a SGH director.

“High school is a time when you worry about a lot of things. The instructors we invited has been building their careers by believing in themselves and being active on the international stage, but they used to feel lost just like the students. There are Students who are thinking about how to express their opinions while participating in the Model United Nations and how to ask questions directly to the instructors in the Global Career Course. As such, many students developed a bigger character by participating in the SGH activities
I think that the experience of being able to believe in yourselves will give the power to overcome challenges even if you run into walls. I makes me glad if the students believe in themselves and have a chance to find their future career path.”

The ceremony was a bright moment for the students who have been supported by teachers and exploring for a ‘global career’. The efforts put forth in the Tamagawa Gakuen SGH project remain even after the project ended.

Tamagawa Gakuen has received a designation of “Super Global High School (SGH)” and “Super Science High School (SSH) * 1” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Approximately 200 students are working on SGH or SSH programs and they jointly reported their research results for the year.

The presentation was composed of two parts; the first half was for three teams who conducted a research presentation in each of four classrooms. In the second half, 147 students from the 10th grade to the 12th grade, presented their posters.

About 50 visitors from junior high schools, high schools, universities and independent administrative corporations visited from across the country.

“I would like everyone to acquire an attitude to learn beyond the field of liberal arts and science and to develop the ability to explore questions that currently have no answers.”

At the opening ceremony, Professor Hasebe, Tamagawa Gakuen High School Education Director, conveyed the purpose of the meeting and the presentation began.

The three teams who worked on SGH made a presentation on their research topics, “Round Square International Conference 2018”, “The Relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran from the View of Oil Prices” and “Current Status and Nature of Model United Nations in Japan”.

The students of the three teams presented their experiences during local visits, the outcomes and improvements of their own activities, considerations and suggestions on research content, and presented them.

“We implemented five measures to acknowledge the original purpose of holding the Model United Nations.”
“I realized that it’s important not only to transmit my own values unilaterally but also to accept other’s values.”

The words of the students who spoke about what they experienced themselves and the trial and error process they went through, was very persuasive. Many students were listening sympathetically.

“What do you think should be done in order to enhance the quality of the Model UN as it expands in the future?”
“While participating in round square, did you feel like your postures have changed?”

The students who were listening to the presentations asked questions concerning the research themes and contributed to the overall inquisitive atmosphere.

In the poster session in the second half, the students divided themselves into 11 classrooms and made presentations.
The presentation times were broken into three slots so that students could see each other’s presentations.

The 69 students working on the Tamagawa SGH program were divided into groups “African Studies”, “European Studies”, “Model United Nations” and “Round Square”.

They presented with themes like as “Is Japan’s ODA going to solve poverty in Africa?”, “What is fairness in conflict areas?”, “The Origin of Jewish persecution”, “Peace building after the war in Iraq” and so on. The students spoke about the things they studied, made suggestions for improvement, and gave their impressions on what they had done.

“I visited an settlement area in South Africa and talked to the local people, I learned that various elements of life such as education and labor are intricately intertwined and I felt the depth of the problem facing many people. In the future I would like to participate in the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers to solve these problems.”
“When I looked into human rights issues, I was surprised by the high level of awareness of problems overseas and the number of actions being taken .In contrast to that, I felt that awareness was low in Japan and I would like to raise awareness.”

Students developed firm thoughts about their research as well as making it appeal tothe visitors.
The attitudes and preparedness of each student were conveyed to the listeners.

“There are areas where improvement of human rights problems is difficult because of religious and cultural issues, but how do you think it should be overcome?”
“Poverty is a distant problem for us, but what do you think we can do?”

The visitors not only listened, but also offered substantial questions.

“I believe that we should eliminate negative ways people are treated regardless of culture or religion.”
“I think that it is important to have the recognition that ‘we have prejudice’. Moreover, I would like to think about what I can do for myself.”

The presenters immediately responded to the questions with frank opinions.

Exchanges like these were done everywhere and it was clear everyone in the venue was very enthusiastic.

“In society, we need the power to find and solve problems, both SGH and SSH are efforts to acquire independence through exploration. Take advantage of what you have noticed, and continue to develop the ability to think and resolve issues by yourselves. “

In the closing ceremony, Mr. Miyazaki of the Japan Science & Technology Agency which supports SSH gave encouraging words to the students.

At the report meeting for teachers, held after the Student Research Presentation Meeting, it was reported that the Tamagawa SGH project’s efforts for 5 years led to significant results.

“The follow-up survey of graduates revealed that the proportion of those who wish to pursue work in international relations increased, not only for current students but also for students who had gone on to university.”

The students got further input and feedback from many people who have a wide variety of viewpoints developed over the year. These were things that they had thought about and experienced themselves. Their expressions were filled with a sense of accomplishment that can motivate them to continue working toward the future.

In this lecture, which was the last of this year, Ms. Chie Murakami, Director of the Non-Profit Organization Diamonds for Peace, talked about international support activities related to diamonds and tips on how to choose a career path from her experience.

First of all, Ms. Murakami told the students about her career during her self-introduction.
On the screen, the names of advertising agents, consulting firms, cram schools, JICA, etc. were arranged one after another, and the students were surprized at the variety.

The beginning of Ms. Murakami’s career path was shown in one picture titled “The vulture and the little girl” that she saw when she was a sophomore in college.
This picture caught a moment where a vulture was focused on a starving girl. When Ms. Murakami saw it, she was shocked by the difference between that girl’s circumstances and her circumstances. And she really beganto contemplate “What is the meaning that I was born in Japan, what is it for?”.

And Ms. Murakami decided to proceed to focus on international cooperation with the feeling that “I want to share the benefits of the wealth that I received in Japan to developing countries”. She began studying English in earnest aiming to go on to a graduate school for that purpose.
She took an entrance exam with her friends who grew up overseas and her friends passed but only Ms. Murakami failed. After that, she made up her mind to pass next time and refined her English skills through reading English newspaper editorials and corresponding with people in English, and as a result of her effort, she went on to graduate school in America.

Ms. Murakami has repeatedly worked in various careers abroad and in Japan with a good English proficiency, acquired with steady effort. In 2015, she founded the organization “Diamonds for Peace” which conducts educational activities on diamond trading issues. It was the engagement ring awarded to her when she got married that made the turning point.

“I thought that there must be a happy story on diamonds surely, but I was surprised to know that it is not actually the case. In the area in Africa where diamond can be collected, people use them to buy weapons for civil wars. Diamonds are a source of funds.”
Ms. Murakami learned that there are many problems while examining diamonds with the engagement ring as a trigger.In order to help local workers stand up to resist exploitation, she began doing supporting activities such as teaching about efficient mine technology and ways to increase income through side jobs.

The students heard stories about the negative side of diamonds, such as use in civil wars with weapons being bought with money raised selling diamonds, child labor and problems of exploitation.
While being surprized at the harsh reality, which was far from their image of diamonds, the students gradually accepted that such facts existed.

At the end of the lecture, based on Ms. Murakami’s wide range of experiences, she told the students some important things to think about when choosing a career path.

“Even if you think you have found your calling, it may not be. But there is no rule that says you have to do the same thing in life. You can choose again. ”
“By experiencing various things, you can see what you like, so I think it’s important to try things first.”

Ms. Murakami jumped into what she thought suited her. These messages reflecting her way of thinking had a great impact on the students.

“I thought that Ms.Mrakami was amazing as she had experienced a variety of things, and the experience was linked to her work. Because I was convinced that my current experience is also connected to the future, I could get a lot of courage.”

Each student felt as though they had gotten a clue to lead them into the future and their faces reflected that.

Mr. Tetsushi Sonobe, who is the vice president of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and has achieved a lot of things in the field of development economics, talked about the “necessary power” he obtained through his own experiences.

“‘Career development’ is a process of enhancing our skills so that we can earn enough income to live well mentally and materially. ”

As Mr. Sonobe was soft-spoken and gentle, the students attentively listened to his explanations about topic.

“When you form a career in a global society, it is essential to engage with people from other countries. So it is important to think about what they are like. What are the differences between Japanese people and people from other countries, emotions, abilities, sense of humor? ”

“Actually, there is not much difference between us all.” He said.

“In Japan and other countries, ‘individuals’usually aren’t different, but the ‘society’ in which individuals live can be quite different. Some countries have a peaceful and affluent society, others have war and society as a whole is poor. So unless you understand the differences in the societies behind the individuals, true understanding and friendship can’t happen.

Understanding the “society” in which individuals have grown up, serves as the basis for communication with people from all over the globe. That idea was conveyed to the students and backed up by his experiences involving the many people he had met in his life.

Next, Mr. Sonobe talked about the support and research activities he had done in developing countries.

Development economics, which is the academic field that Mr. Sonobe specializes in, involves thinking about “Why are there poor societies and how can we enrich them.”.
To answer this question, he has been exploring effective ways to improve business activities in developing countries for many years.

Mr. Sonobe explained the realities of companies working in developing countries. He showed photographs to illustrate his points.

“In Africa, the skill level, even the skills of longtime employees, is lower than in Asia. Also, many mangers in Africa do not know how to motivate young employees and how to decrease their physical or mental burdens.”

The students listened eagerly, surprised by the fact that it is often impossible for companies in developing countries to do what is common in Japan.

“Despite the lower skill levels and the lower levels of efficiency, many of the managers in developing countries think that ‘I am doing well.’ So they do not try to improve the work environment even by working on fundamental things such as workplace organization.

“Also, research in developing countries costs a lot. In order to cover the cost, I have lobbied for funds to carry out reseach.”

Mr. Sonobe has been working hard to increase the rate of development other countries. From his point of view, willpower is necessary to accomplish the goals we set.

“We need to raise research funds. To do so, we must show our passion for the research no matter what. There is no different between Japanese people and people from other countries on that point.”
“There are a lot of excellent people in this world. Sentivity to their situations is important to get them on your side though.”

Finally, he said “I would like to share what I learned from my research experience”, Mr. Sonobe told students about the necessary attitudes we have to have in international situations and illustrated the reality of that using various actual situations he was involved in.

“In the end, life is like a game of how happy we can make ourselves and others around us. I think that you can change ideas if you look at things in that way.”

In the question and answer session after the lecture, the students got a lot of nuanced answers from Mr. Sonobe and gained valuable information about the “Reality of the World”.

The students learned what skills they need to live together with people who have different backgrounds.

The students made comments like “I am also doing research in my class and had the feeling that I was getting left behind every time something new was introduced. I learned it is important to get ahead of things while building passion and considering people around me to avoid being insensitive. ”

The students, who were divided into 49 countries, aimed at balancing the interests of their countries and the interests of the world, and debated the topic of this year’s agenda “Peacebuilding in Iraq” over two days.

The conference proceeded like an actual United Nations conference.
They gave speeches in which students officially express their opinions on the stage, held “moderated caucus” in which students propose discussions to participating countries, and “unmoderated caucus” where students negotiate while walking around freely.

On the first day, the students handed in a “Working Paper”, in which the policies of each group were summarized.
On the second day, the students submitted an “agreement proposal” for which sponsors from more than 24 countries were obtained.
With these goals in mind, the students held lively discussions and in the end Professor Daisaku Higashi of Sophia University commented from the viewpoint of an expert on peacebuilding and international relations.

Students had researched the pre-allocated country they were responsible for and worked out a policy plan for the agenda. On the first day of the meeting, each student checked in and gathered at the venue.

While waiting for the start they confirmed the conference notes and the policy proposals of each country. The students who were preparing for negotiations among the nations were carefully following their respective ambassadors.

“It is important to negotiate creatively and value not only the results but also the process to build consensus. Keep in mind that you have humanity and appreciate each other. I hope you will work hard.”

These were the words of Mr. Hasebe, principal of Tamagawa Gakuen High School, as the conference started.

The students appealed to make a speech and ask questions by raising the name card of their country.

As soon as the unmoderated caucus began after the policy recommendations of each country, the students’ voices could be heard calling out things like “People in African countries, let’s gather!” “Countries that agree with American policies gather!”

“It is important for Iraq to make resolutions through negotiation at UN meetings, not by military force,”
“Regarding multinational forces, I thought that it is better not to concentrate on getting assistance from one country, but from the UN, it would make the process more legitimate. ”
“I thought that it would be better to strengthen law enforcement before disarmament and security maintenance is implemented.”

The students were divided into several groups, and they discussed their policies. In each of the five unmoderated caucuses, the debate grew more and more heated.

While negotiating and working to persuade one another, countries with similar arguments and countries with geographical and economic links gathered together. Several blocks gradually formed.

The 6:00 pm deadline arrived. The students had finished organizing their policies and submitted their working papers and the first day ended.
Even after the end, more than half of the students stayed to talk about the following day.

On the second day, the students gathered in the venue early in the morning. As the students confirmed the details of the working papers of each group shared on the official website, they began to work out strategies.

At 9 am, the conference resumed with the declaration of the chairperson.
In the first moderated caucus, the students asked a lot of questions related to each working paper.

Students who deepened their understanding during the Q & A and found common points and differences in the policies of each country. They stared to make adjustments during the unmoderated caucus in order to bridge the differences.

“I will persuade the Saudi Arabian delegation!” “We have differences about policy relating to the Iraqi army, but what should we do?”
There were students who constantly visited other groups and negotiated with each other and the atmosphere in the venue heated up. More in-depth discussions took place here and there, the focus of the students increased as the day went on.

Over the course of negotiations, the students finally talked as a group.
Although the students worked hard to obtain a final agreement, the deadline passed without the issue being settled. Discussion was extended by 70 minutes, and the students continued the discussion on their lunch break.

However, they were not able to complete the agreement meeting the conditions. Only the incomplete working paper which was supported by most of the countries was submitted and the conference ended.
Some students showed relief as the tense atmosphere passed. Others left with regret that they could not submit an agreement proposal. Everyone felt a lot of different things.

To conclude the conference, Sophia University professor Daisaku Higashi gave some comments, and the students went over their experiences at the conference at this time.

Mr. Higashi explained the historical background on this item on the agenda “Peacebuilding in Iraq”. He informed the students about the quality of their efforts and the working paper submitted.

“You discussed the role of the Baath Party, which is amazing. This is the most important issue in Iraq, and your discussion was to the point.”
“When I looked at the actual site, I thought it was very difficult for many countries to gather together and make an agreement in one document. I guess everyone realized that difficulty.”

Through the broad insight he offered, based on experience and analysis from the multifaceted point of view of an international political scientist, the students were able to grasp the contents of the discussion a concrete way and raised their awareness of the issue.

“In order to keep peace, what is the most important factor? Law, economy, politics…”
“What kind of guidelines should we use to build discussions that we can use to balance national interests and international interests?”

In the Q & A session, the students asked questions based on issues they could not resolve during the conference.

Finally, an awards ceremony was held to honor students who excelled. Awards were given for the “Best ambassador”, 2 Excellence Awards and 1 Speech Award. All the participants applauded the winning students.

While feeling the sense of accomplishment and relief, the students praised each other’s hard work and improved understanding.

“I think that it is important not only to push myself but also to make constructive discussions by compromising with others”.
“There were people with expert knowledge, people who made great rebuttals and people who spoke English really well. I felt a sense of surprise and respect, and so I want to study more after this experience.”

In order to achieve one goal with all the members involved, every student continued to try without giving up, and aimed for consensus until the last second.

They were not able to complete this in time, but their experiences left a mark on them for the future. They were increasingly motivated to continue working on global issues as they got older.

This year, students visited international organizations and historical sites in Poland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland from 4th-13th of January, 2019.

18 students from 9th grade to 11th grade participated this time.
After an 11hour flight from Haneda Airport, the students arrived in the first stop, Krakow, which is the oldest city in Poland. The students were greeted by a local guide and learned simple Polish greetings.

The next day, the tour started.
First of all, the students visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory and learned about the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany.

At the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the students went around two concentration camps with the guidance of Mr. Tsuyoshi Nakatani, the first and only foreign official guide at the museum

The students listened to the stories of Auschwitz. In doing so, they learned how history is presented in Europe and also, how to face Japanese history. Students learned about the tragic history and it caused them to think deeply about the circumstances of what happened.

At the Schindler enamel factory, which was the setting of the movie “Schindler’s List”, the students saw the factory where German businessman Oskar Schindler hid Jews from the massacre by hiring them as employees.
The students could really understand the events that took place under the Nazi occupation.

On the next day, the students moved from Poland to the Netherlands and visited the International Residual Mechanism for the Criminal Court (IRMCT).
The students listened to commentaries in English from the staff, and they visited facilities such as the criminal court which prosecuted crimes from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. They also learned about human rights problems in conflict areas.

In the Netherlands, the students also visited the Mauritshuys Museum and the Amsterdam National Art Gallery.
While listening to a wide range of lectures, on topics such as the basics of viewing art in regard to composition, knowledge of arrangement of works inside the hall, and knowledge of the historical background of the work. The students enjoyed the masterpieces of the Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.

In addition, the students learned about the experiences of the Jewish people and their culture at the Jewish History Museum.
At the house of Anne Frank, a place symbolizing the persecution of the Jews, the students experienced “the importance of living fully even if deprived of freedom.”
In this way, what the students felt while experiencing real places could be taken in more powerfully than simply reading about the events in books.

The last spot on the tour was Switzerland. The students visited four international organizations in Geneva over two days.

On the first day in Switzerland, they visited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
They talked with the Japanese staff about the actual problems dealt with by each institution, the roles / missions undertaken to solve the problems, the qualities needed to work in a global environment, and so on.
Listening to stories from people who are personally working overseas to solve challenging problems was an exciting experience that reached beyond what they would usually get in Japan.

The staff members took questions from the students and provided a lot of additional context and detail the story by addressing those points. These lectures helped students to deepen their understanding of international organizations.
The students were a little unfamiliar with the style of back and forth but it was a good opportunity for them to address issues they had questions about.

On the second day, at the International Red Cross Headquarters, the staff of the International Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Crescent Society (ICFC) explained the history of the organization and the activities it takes part in.

While visiting the museums on the premises, the students learned even more about the story of the International Red Cross.

On the last day in Europe, the students went sightseeing in the old city and enjoyed seeing places such as St. Pierre Cathedral.
They took a commemorative photo at the airport and ended the ten-day European studies tour.

On this trip the students were able to deepen their knowledge by experiencing many things first hand. They left with a lot of new ideas and were more focused on the future and what careers may await them.

On this day, students from 21 schools, explained their research in presentations and poster sessions.
Three students from Tamagawa Gakuen participated in the “Presentation Division”. Their theme was “What we can do for the 2020 Olympic Games”.

The opening ceremony began at 10 in the morning.
In the venue, about 400 people gathered, including students, teachers, observers, staff, and teachers from Rikkyo University who acted as judges.
The hall was full of tension and exhilaration, and the students had high expectations for the day.

After the opening ceremony, the students moved to their assigned classrooms and proceeded with their presentations.

The venue held about 80 audience members, including the students from the 6 schools which were presenting.
Students checked their scripts and arrangements in the short time before the presentation, encouraging each other as they did.

The Tamagawa students made their presentation and they conveyed the outline of the activities they took part in and the results as well.

“Machida-shi where Tamagawa Gakuen is located was chosen as the host town of South Africa for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2020. However, there were not many people in Machida-shi that they knew about that.”
The students explained what led to them starting their activities.

In the spring of 2017, the students realized that Machida citizens didn’t know about being the host town in 2020, so they embraced two ideas; “informing people that Machida City was selected as the host town for South Africa” and “teaching Machida citizen about South Africa”

3 students participated in an overseas study program called “African Studies”, where students learned about poverty and human rights in developing countries and they visited the Republic of South Africa. Also, the students tried to gain an idea of the understanding people in Machida had about South Africa.

Taking advantage of the knowledge gained, the students decided to implement the plan to teach people in Machida City about South Africa.

While receiving cooperation from various people inside and outside the school, the students exhibited a booth at an event in the town, which Machida City Hall organized. They succeeded in introducing South African culture to the citizens of Machida city.

“For now on we will keep collaborating with the city and we want to do more planning. After, we will pass this activity to younger students.”
In the end, the students showed the prospects of this activity and its appeal. The audience was appreciative of their efforts.

After their presentation, a question and answer session with the judges from Rikkyo University teachers was held. Students answered thoughtfully.

“I never knew at all, but I was surprised that there were such projects in Machida.”
Coincidentally, the students received impressions from Machida citizens who were watching in the venue.

“Because everyone in the team worked hard and the audience was receptive, we were able to make a good presentation. We really felt the importance of human connections this time. ”

Through presentations, the students once again looked back on what they have done. They smiled in accomplishment and relief, and shared that pleasure while praising each other’s achievements.

After all the presentations in the classrooms were over, the students participated as listeners in the “poster session section”.
The students deepened their insight into social issues by watching the presentations of other students and interacting actively with presenters.

After all the research presentations were given, prizes were awarded for the best. Unfortunately, the Tamagawa students did not get any prizes but all of the participants were all given a round of applause and everyone felt a great sense of accomplishment.

The students gained invaluable experience through their activities and learned more about the area where their school is located and the people who live there.

They appreciated the important bonds that were built by their actions and left Rikkyo under the glow of the Christmas lights set up there.

“I want the students to be able to use English naturally after touching “Practical English” through reading aloud, and I hope the students who present in English will have a confidence and other students who listen to it will become interested in learning English more.”

Since the contest, which started with the feelings of such a teacher of English department, counted five times this year, it became a regular event at this time of the year.

On this day, students from volunteers actively participated as management staff and supported the contest early in the morning with reception and construction etc.

” When I was at school, I had the native teachers watch my speach at my lunch break and after school. And when I was at home, I had my mother watch it too.”
The students carefully confirmed to the end so that they can demonstrate the results that have been prepared for about two months.
They waited for the start of the contest with a tense look.

On time, the curtain of the “recitation contest” finally opened.

Tenth students who first appeared in the relay form, eight people recited one scene of “Alice in Wonderland”.
Background slides were created by all 10th grade students in cooperation. They did a better performance with illustrations with a story as a motif.

The students made a unique presentation. For example, a student gestured while playing with a characters and another stuedent acted humorously the multiplication of “false sea turtle” and “griffon” by using the whole body.

The students enjoyed expressing the stories including a plenty of “verbal play”.

In the following 11th grade “Speeches recitation department”, eleven pupils challenged the recitation of modern-day famous speech such as Nelson Mandela, Lincoln, Mother Teresa, Emma Watson.

Judge’s native teacher also watched at the performance of each student earnestly and carefully.

The students performed in a real way while expressing the actual speech movement and tempo and put their strenggh into their speaches in order to present a message that they wanted to tell many people.

“I could grasp what Mother Teresa wanted to tell, and then thought that I wanted to disseminate to the world with the same feeling as her.”
“I tried to understand properly the meaning of Malala Yousafzai’s speech and practiced to tell everyone”

The students looked back at what they learned and gained in the process so far and felt a sense of accomplishment.

The students in the IB course participated as Presentation Division rather than as a recital.

They gave a presentation that they summarized by thinking on themes like “smartphone addiction” and “what I want to tell now”. They fascinated the audiences by presentations that demonstrated their full English ability.

All the programs were finished and the awards were given by the students who performed excellent performances.

The facial expressions of the students who received the certificate of commendation and supplementary prize shine with a fresh smile. All students who presented are full of fulfillment from the whole body.

Students put their thoughts on the messages in their selected sentences and gave them powerfully to the audience.

Facing many times with a difficulty expressing the words of English and speech, they got the confidence that they acquired “Practical English” and outgoing power that can be used in various future scenes from now on.

This forum was held jointly by Tsukuba University and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
High school students presented solutions on global social issues and business issues in English. More than 500 students, teachers, international students and educational officials gathered at the Tokyo International Forum.

The forum began with the opening ceremony at 10 o’clock in the morning and proceeded with a poster session in the main hall and discussion sessions in 10 meeting rooms and was concluded with an awards ceremony.

Students confirmed the flow of the meeting. They moved to their places and started discussions and panel presentations.

The students from Tamagawa Gakuen first participated in a thematic workshop.

They selected “politics, diplomacy, international relations” from among 10 themes such as “human rights · gender” and “immigrants · refugees · multicultural symbiosis”.

When the students entered the conference rooms dedicated to the various themes, they made groups of 4 or 5 people.

The discussion that started after their self introduction was a bit awkward at first, but as the students of Tamagawa Gakuen listened to the instuctions from the moderator and grasped the concepts of the format, they were able to take leading roles in the discussions.

“Let’s talk about how Japan can improve relations with South Korea.”
Based on their knowledge of the international situations, the students actively facilitated the discussion by guiding the direction of the discussion or listening to the opinions of the other parties.

After the discussion, the students changed seats and discussed the next topic.
Ultimately, the students built ideas of “what we can do as high school students” and presented the groups’ conclusions.

“It is desirable for high school students themselves to be able to directly influence politicians, but that is not usuallypossible, so what we can do now is to learn.”

Sometimes they struggled for words in English or couldn’t express their thoughts clearly, but the students of each group helped each other to make the presentations succeed. In the end, the students enjoyed interacting with each other and taking pictures with the group.

The students from Tamagawa Gakuen who finished the discussion session attended the presentation of a poster session in the hall.

“What I noted was the situation in the Middle East, I studied the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran”

In front of a large number of listeners, a Tamagawa student made a presentation on his chosen topic. His confident delivery and persuasive aguments appealed to the audience.

At the presentations by other school presenters, the students of Tamagawa Gakuen deepened their insight on various international issues by asking questions and discussing the topics.

After the poster session of all the schools, the “whole tournament” was held where all participating students discussed various topics.
The students of Tamagawa Gakuen prompted active discussions with their remarks, and the students showed good command of the issues.

In the award ceremony which concluded the forum, the Education Minister’s Award was awarded to the students of the school who performed notably well. The student was awarded a certificate of commendation and the right to study in Singapore.

“Because there were many topics in which Japan was included in today’s discussion, I thought that we should be interested not only from the perspective of Japanese people but also from Japan.”

“I have to improve my English a little more, but the forum was fun.”

The students looked back on what they learned by considering what kinds of things high school students across the country are thinking about. They also questioned and evaluated their own level of English proficiency?

The students learned more about their current position and got an important experience to consider their future and how they can act on a global stage.