2016年8月の記事一覧

 On August 18th and 19th, 29 second-year SG course students visited Suzu city to do field research.  

On the first day, the mayor of Suzu city, Mr. Izumitani, explained the situation and problems of Suzu city.  He told them about many projects that Suzu city is working on.  Among them were examples of counterplans to resolve the loss of population, health promotion projects, educational programs, and Oku-Noto Triennale.  On the second day, they went on tour and interviewed people based on their own themes.  They were able to learn many things on the fieldtrip, thanks to the City of Suzu, Kanazawa University, Iida High School, Young Men’s Association, Association of Bereaved Families, Suzu Transportation, and the citizens who helped with the interview.  

They will incorporate their field work done in Japan into their research, and prepare for fieldwork in the U.S. in October.

[the participants’ comments]

My image of Suzu changed completely today.  By listening to the mayor’s story, I learned that there are many projects that the city is working on to make Suzu a better place to live.

＊I was nervous at first when I started talking with the students from Iida high school, but they listened to us while nodding, and it soon became easy to talk. The stories told to us had more weight because it was their local experience.

＊I learned many good things by talking with the people from Suzu Transport.  They had many viewpoints that we didn’t realize.

＊I learned that it is important to deepen our thoughts about what we can learn from data.

＊I was deeply moved by the story people from the Association of Bereaved Families told us.  I felt that there is a big difference between reading things and listening to actual stories.

＊I learned about biomass and sewer systems.  The lecturers were kind enough to make their stories easy to understand for us.

 On August 10th and 11th, 11 second-year SG course students joined the fieldwork in Shiramine area, Hakusan city.

On the first day, they visited Awazu plant of KOMATSU, a construction machinery company, and learned the business doctrine of it.  Also, people who were members of Hakusan-Shiramine-Makinokai and the mayor of Shiramine ward told us about the present situation and problems in Shiramine area.  On the Second day, each group researched their theme by interviewing local people and visiting several facilities.  People from Promotion Conference of Mt. Hakusan and Tedori River Geo-Park, the Conference of Shiramine Town Planning, and other concerned agencies helped them.

The students learned the unique culture which has developed in areas in the mountains near Mt. Hakusan, and thought about problems caused by depopulation or annexation of municipalities.  Their view was broadened and they considered the social problems Shiramine areas faced.

[the participants’ comments]

＊I thought the Awazu plant of KOMATSU was fascinating because employees made decisions considering the future.  They checked their goods again and again to improve the quality of their goods, and they contributed to the environment and local society.

＊It was a good point in Shiramine that mainly young people tried to realize revitalization in spite of depopulation and aging population with the birthrate of the community declining.

＊Vacant houses rot.  However, if someone lived in these houses, we wouldn’t have to break down these houses, and we could stop the dilapidation of the houses.

＊I heard about Geo-Park and Eco-Park in Hakusan city.  At Geo-park in Hakusan, the officers protected the bio-diversity of the environment, and they made good use of the environment for sightseeing.