Ichigaya】Ichigaya】Ichigaya Online Exchange Meeting among Kansai, Meiji and Hosei Universities was held (8/26, 9/2 and 9/9).

The three universities (Kansai, Meiji, and Hosei), which have a cooperative agreement, were scheduled to hold a volunteer activity at Lake Biwa hosted by Kansai University, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19,
Instead, the three universities jointly held a total of three exchange meetings online to discuss environmental issues.

Kansai-Meiji-Hosei-Three University Online Exchange Program: The Future of Environmental Volunteering by University Students

Session 1: Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 13:00-15:00 "What University Students Can Do from the Perspective of Environmental Issues: Leaders Pave the Way for Volunteers".

Second session: September 2, 2020 (Wednesday) 13:00-14:40 "Environmental Problems of Japan's Highest Mountain "Mt.

Third session on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, 13:00-14:40, "The Future of Environmental Volunteering by University Students - Surely there is more than one answer.

In the first session, Mr. Kiyotaka Akazawa, representative of NPO Youth Vision, will give a lecture on "Group management techniques for student leaders working on environmental issues" and lead a group discussion,
Students discussed what is important as volunteer leaders and in managing an organization. The students discussed what is important for them as volunteer leaders and in managing an organization.
The second session was held in Biwa, Japan, by Kansai University.
In the second session, Kansai University presented the activities of the Lake Biwa Tourism Volunteers and our university presented the activities of the Mt. Fuji volunteer activities,
Fuji volunteer activities at our university.
In the third session, each university gave a presentation on their ecological activities. After the presentations, the participants were divided into groups to discuss the themes they were interested in. Themes included invasive alien species, 3Rs, deforestation, and the environment.
3R, deforestation, sea water pollution, plastic waste, etc. They exchanged opinions on possible approaches to solve the problems.
The online format of the Corona Disaster provided an opportunity for universities in the Kansai and Kanto regions to interact with each other, which was very meaningful for the students involved in volunteer activities.
It was a meaningful time for students involved in volunteer activities together.

Impressions of participating students

I thought it was very difficult to organize an organization or group. I learned that it takes a lot of ingenuity to bring together people with different ways of thinking and different things they want to do.
(Kansai University, sophomore)

It was a good opportunity for me to reorganize the things that I have noticed in the course of activities, such as what should be decided in advance and what leaders should pay attention to. (Hosei University, sophomore)

I have been to Lake Biwa several times on trips, so I am very familiar with the lake. I felt once again that we should work on the environmental issues of Lake Biwa for the future. I also felt that the symbol of Japan, Mt.
Fuji, which is a symbol of Japan, has problems with garbage and invasive alien species. It was good to hear the explanation of the Hosei University students and learn more about it. It was good to hear the opinions of various people in the group work.
It was good to know the opinions of various people in the group work. I was able to spend a very intense time. (Kansai University, 1st year)

I would like to cooperate with other campuses because there were volunteer activities that I did not know about even at Hosei University. I have heard about the Mt,
Fuji, but I had never heard about the Lake Biwa issue, so I realized that I still have a lot to learn. I would have liked to hear more about your usual volunteer activities. (Hosei University, sophomore)

Through the three sessions, some of the members became acquainted with each other and it was easy to talk with them. Through the exchange with other universities, I learned that there are various types of volunteer activities, such as environmental, disaster relief, and study support.
I was able to broaden my own thinking. Thank you very much for this wonderful encounter. (Hosei University, sophomore)

I was able to learn things that I did not know at all, and my knowledge increased. I also had a lot of fun interacting with people from other universities and hearing about things I didn't know.
(Meiji University, junior)