Challenge!! Open Governance 2016 Application Form for Citizens/Students

Title of theNo.

Agenda(Note)
Title of theIdea（disclosed）

39

Name ofTitle

Municipality

About the PR strategies of Omihachiman

Omihachiman

CityCityOmihachiman “Learning at the center of the world: The summer
break terakoya class for children” project(Note) For the Title of the Agenda, please fill in the title of the agenda of the municipality that is applying for COG
listed in the COG2016 website.

1. Applicant Information
Name of Team(disclosed)

Ritsumeikan University + Omihachiman Chamber of Commerce

Team Style（disclosed）

Information ofName (disclosed)

thee-mail (closed）

representativeTel#(closed）(only the namewill bedisclosed)

Akiko Nezu

Relationship in between the rep.
and the municipality(closed)* About the conditions for the disclosure of information
What you are going to fill in in “2. Description of the idea” in the following pages will bereviewed and disclosed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CCBY). However, if the applicant requests, it will be disclosed under the Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC). Please notify us when you apply if you prefer
this. In either case, the credit will be given to the name of the team that applied.
(For details of the conditions of the license, see
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.ja andhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.ja. See also the information
provided by Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.jp/licenses/)(Notes)<Name of the file used for the application and where to send them>
１． Upon application, please name the file as COG2016_応募用紙_specific team name_relevant municipality
name and send it to the following email address. The email address can be accessed from the “Application
Acceptance Section” of the COG2016 website of the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Public Policy.
admin_padit_cog2016@pp.u-tokyo.ac.jp

<About Disclosure and non-disclosure>
２． The name of the idea, the name of the team, the team style, the name of the representative, and the“description of the idea” will be disclosed.
３． The above information will be disclosed after review. (For example, anything that is offensive to public orderand morals or plagiarism will not be disclosed.)
４． “Self-evaluation of the screening items” will not be disclosed through the information provided in thisapplication form. What has been determined to be excellent in content and can possibly be used for futurereference may be disclosed after consulting with the applicant during the advice phase after the public
screening.
５． Any parts of the sentences, photos, figures, and graphics used in the “Description of the idea” section whose
intellectual property belongs to anyone other than the team should be noted in quotes in accordance withlaw or with an explanation that permission has been obtained from those who own the intellectual property
rights. The same applies to the “Self-evaluation of the screening items” section.
<List of team members>
６． Please provide the list of the team members in a separate excel file and submit it with the application form.
(The information of the members other than the name of the team representative, as described in 2. will not
be disclosed by the office of COG. Please see the attached document for details.)

２．Description of the idea (disclosed)
Please tell us the story of the idea (public service) that will help concretize the agenda andsolve related problems using data and information materials.
(1) Content of the idea (disclosed)
For the idea, it is recommended to think of who does what, where, when, and how,construct the content with each of these elements, and organize the story. Please provide thecontent within the following section. (You may use figures and tables as needed.)<Introduction>
The theme of COG is “solving local issues” but we first came up with a project plan based on theassumption that “locales such as Tokyo, or even New York will cease to exist, or they are already ceasing toexist” or, in other words, given extinction of the center and its peripherals, the world where it is, iseverywhere flat. To stretch a point, where you are standing right now will be the center of the world. Thisis the underlying idea of the project we are proposing here.
＊Omihachiman City and Vories
Vories is an architect who worked out of Omihachiman. Next to his signature, there is a circle with a dot in
the center of it. Vories always put this circle next to his signature. The circle means that Omihachiman, wherehe lived, was the center of the world. Vories was born in the United States and came to Omihachiman as an
English teacher when he was 25 in 1905. He crossed the Pacific Ocean over a hundred years ago and left over
1,000 architectural structures across Japan. He was a global person, but for him, the center of the world wasOmihachiman, the small town in which he lived.
(Permission to use the photo has been obtained).

Vories’ circle has now become reality
The advancement of information and communication technology and thedevelopment of distribution has caused the concept of center and its peripherals to disappear. It has becomecommonplace for information and goods to be exchanged beyond time and space. As Vories said a hundredyears ago, the modern world can now truly be described as the place where you are standing rightnow; it is the center of the world.

Omihachiman “Learning at the center of the world:
The summer break terakoya class for children” project○ Outline
For a week or so during the summer break, elementary school students who have gathered from all over Japan
will learn about Vories, a figure associated with Omihachiman, the Omi merchants, and Nobunaga’s way of lifeand his spirit of independence. We also offer opportunities to experience marine sports in Biwako Lake, to learn
about the natural environment at the lakeside, to learn about history and culture while strolling around thetraditional part of the town, and to mingle with the local people so that students can spend a fulfilling time insummer both through classroom-based and field-based learning.

○ Who plays the main roleChildren gathered from across Japan are the ones who learn at terakoya (private school); we expect about
20 children in the higher grades of elementary school for the first round, and plan to increase the number eachtime. University and high school students and the people of Omihachiman will support them.

○ What they learn“Where you are standing right now is the center of the world.” The spirit and the lifestyle of autonomy
and independenceChildren will learn, through classroom-based and field-based learning, the spirit and lifestyle of autonomy andindependence unique to Omihachiman, while acquiring a deeper understanding of the culture of Omihachiman
and its historical heritage, as well as the appeal of nature.

○ Ideas for the study menu
<Classroom-based learning>・Bidirectional class given by local people about how Vories, Omi merchants, and Nobunaga (hiscastle Azuchi Castle was located in Omihachiman City) lived and thought.

・A lecture on the “spirit and lifestyle of autonomy and independence” by an external lecturer.
Candidates for a visiting lecturer: People who have had connections with Omihachiman City, such asTerunobu Fujimori (architect), Peter D. Pedersen (environment and CSR consultant), Emiko Inagaki(former reporter of Asahi Shimbun)<Field-based learning>
On-the-boat class in Biwako Lake, environmental learning at the lakeside on the west side of the lake,learning through exploring culture at the ruins of Azuchi Castle, learning about the history and theculture in the area of the Omi Merchant Residences, experiencing confectionery making at aconfectionery store “Taneya,” etc.

2) Basis of the idea (disclosed)
Please explain the basis of the idea (why this idea), including numerical data that supports
the idea (what can be shown by numerical values, such as past results, statistics, orquestionnaires) and evidence (information materials, plans, or existing measures, etc.)(hereinafter collectively referred to as “data materials”). Please indicate the sources of thenumerical data or evidences. Make sure you completely explain the basis within the following
two-page section.
<About the basis of the idea>
According to Omihachiman City, the agenda of the project is,“It is necessary to examine how we can get more people interested in moving into Omihachiman City and how
we can make them actually move there.”

Under such circumstances, Omihachiman City lists the following six items as the local resources that should be
utilized for the city’s “basic concept of developing a peaceful and quiet community.”
1.

Rich waterfront natural environment and scenery, historical, and cultural resources

2.

Autonomy of the residents and a spirit of social contribution

3.

Location resilient to disasters

4.

Efforts to vitalize the local industries and economies

5.

Welfare and healthcare

6.

Education and childcare
Source: “Omihachiman City: Basic concepts for developing a peaceful and quiet community”

ＢＵＴ

According to the survey data (“Omihachiman City: Basic concepts for developing a peaceful and quietcommunity”, a web survey conducted with people who are from the Kansai area and now live in the Tokyo
area or the Kansai area), over half of the respondents (55.2%) have “never lived in or even visited”
Omihachiman City.

According to the data of the same survey, what respondents knew about the local resources of
Omihachiman City were that (1) the city has many historical and cultural resources, such as “the ruins ofAzuchi Castle” and “Hacihman-bori” (51.9%), (2) the city prospered as an international commercial town
and as the home of “Hachiman merchants (Omi merchants)” (51.1%), and (3) “the city has various
foodstuffs such as Omi rice, Kitanosho-na, Toira-negi, Omi beef, lake fish of Biwako Lake and Okishima,Decchiyokan, Chojifu, Aka-konnyaku,” as well as a rich food culture” (41.5%).
However, only 2.8% knew about the city’s agenda pertaining to educational resources, which isincluded as one of the local resources to promote immigration, “To cultivate children who have loveand pride for the area, the city offers opportunities to learn about the hometown and its traditional
culture, providing distinctive education rooted in the area.”Therefore, we thought it important to have students gain hands-on experience of some of the above six
elements and learn about the town.
However, unless there are unusual connections to the city or extreme chances, people have no opportunities
to get to know about a town, except for those visiting big cities and famous sightseeing spots.

Therefore, we should provide opportunities for people
to spend time and live here even for a few days.

“Learning at the center of the world:
A summer break terakoya class for children” projectBasis of idea 1)
We will enhance sympathy toward Omihachiman City by providing opportunities for the children who
are participating in the project as well as for the parents and families who are accompanying them toactually experience the local resources of Omihachiman City (it might not be possible to experience all theelements, but we believe it is possible for them to experience at least 1, 2, 3, and 6 of the list of local resourcescompiled by Omihachiman City).
We believe that the appeal of Omihachiman City will be conveyed all over the country if the children as well as
their parents and families distribute information through SNS, etc. during the project, or after
experiencing the project (we can also expect the high school and university students and local people whowill be supporting the project to distribute information). We will also build a website specifically to recruit thechildren for the project “A summer break terakoya class for children” and distribute the information aboutthe local resources of Omihachiman City and its appeal as well.

Basis of idea 2)
To let people outside the area know about the appeal of our town and encourage them to move to it, it isimportant for us, the people of the area, to have pride in our town and have the motivation andintention to develop the town ourselves. By teaching children why Vories thought Omihachiman City,
where he lived, was the center of the world, and why Omi merchants and Nobunaga Oda had the spirit ofautonomy and independence or the enterprising spirit that they did, we can also educate the local people whosupport the projectawareness.

and eventually change their近江八幡市 発展

Omihachiman City: Development

住民 意識向上Residents: Enhanced consciousness

子どもたち 人材育成

Children: Cultivation of human resources

三方よし

Beneficial to the three parties

2) Basis of the idea (disclosed)
Please explain the basis of the idea (why this idea), including numerical data that supports
the idea (what can be shown by numerical values, such as past results, statistics, orquestionnaires) and evidence (information materials, plans, or existing measures, etc.)(hereinafter collectively referred to as “data materials”). Please indicate the sources of thenumerical data or evidences. Make sure you completely explain the basis within the following
two-page section.
<Body in charge of realization>
Ritsumaikan University + Omihachiman Chamber of Commerce＊Ritsumeikan University are planning to carry out the planning and the implementation of the events as well as
the preparatory activities as volunteers.

<Process leading to the realization of the idea and milestones>
STEP1

Building an overall plan: Discussing and deciding: when and wherethe project will be carried out, how many participants will be
recruited, staff, teachers, and external lecturers, content of thefield-based learning, and conditions.

STEP2


Building a publicity plan: Creating a website for recruiting children for
the “Summer break terakoya class for children” for nationwide
promotion and publicity

STEP3


Detailed discussion on the contents of the events: Discussing thespecific detailed contents of classroom-based and field-based learning.
Beginning recruitment of the participants (elementary school children)

STEP4



Preparations for implementation: The number of participants and staff
members will be finalized for the implementation of the project. Holding
coordination meetings for preparation, etc.

Implementation●Holding the first session of“Learning at the center of the world: The
summer break terakoya class for children”
Implementation and operation of the events, information distribution byparticipants, etc.

4) Others (disclosed)
Briefly explain the selling points of the idea, restrictions upon realization of the idea if any,near-term solutions, and potential for the future (for example, “if the limitation of XX can beeliminated in the future, we can also do YY”) within the following section.
<Selling points of the idea>○

Providing opportunities for event participants and relevant parties to get a hands-on experience of the local
resources of Omihachiman City

Participating children and their parents, families and relevant parties can have a hands-on experience of theappeal and the local resources of Omihachiman City through the event “Learning at the center of the world:
The summer break terakoya class for children.”○Distributing information about the local resources of Omihachiman City and its appeal through SNS of theevent participants and relevant parties

The appeal of Omihachiman City will be conveyed all over Japan by participating children and their parents,
families, and relevant parties through SNS, etc. during and after the project.
○Distributing information about the local resources of Omihachiman City and its appeal through the website
created specifically for the announcement of events and recruitment of participants

Information about the local resources of Omihachiman City and its appealwill be distributed by creating a
website specifically for “Learning at the center of the world: The summer break terakoya class for children”
project to announce events and recruit children.
○

Enhancing the consciousness of the local people through the concept of the project “Our town is the center ofthe world”

Through the project concept, “Our town is the center of the world,” people of the community themselves
learn that they need to have the spirit of autonomy, independence, and determination in order to think
about the development of their town.
○Birth of a novel and strong brand image, “Omihachiman, center of the world”

A novel and strong image, “Omihachiman, center of the world” will be formed in Omihachiman City throughrepetition of the project.

Conveying the information about the local resources of Omihachiman City and its appeal + encouraging
immigration<Possible restrictions on realization of the idea>○ Whether we can get children to participate○ What we should do about the budget for implementing and operating the events, creating the website, andinviting lecturers○ Whether we can secure volunteer supporters (high school and university students) and local people for theimplementation of events○ Risk management during the events (weather, accidents, securing the health and safety of participants, etc.)○ Whether the contents of the events are satisfying for the participating children○ Whether we can continue the project every year
○ Whether the events will effectively lead to conveying the information about Omihachiman City’s local
resources and its appeal, and promoting immigration