but also with others in the community, to learn naturally how to get along with people and become familiar with social rules, and to improve their ability to assert their own ideas.

With adults of the community participating as volunteers, it can also be expected that children will actively interact with local adults not only in “classrooms for children in local communities” but on a day-to-day basis as well.

## 3 ) Assigning coordinators for creating spaces for children

Coordinators are assigned at the city/town/village level and the personnel needed for “classrooms for children in local communities” are secured/registered by calling on parents to participate and by collaborating with schools and other organizations. Programs in which children play an active part are being planned in cooperation with steering councils.

## (2) Safety Measures in “Classrooms for Children in Local Communities”

To encourage individual schools to take more concrete steps to ensure security, MEXT in January 2004 published “An Urgent Appeal on School Safety” (see Section 4 [3] of this chapter). Alongside this, MEXT organized a collaborators conference for the program to promote “classrooms for children in local communities” and prepared a “Safety Management Manual for the program to promote “classrooms for children in local communities” (May 2004). This manual provides a summary of points of concern regarding health management, measures to prevent entry by suspicious persons, disaster countermeasures, and crisis management policies for facilities and their immediate vicinities so that safe and secure activity spots can be created for children. The manual primarily focuses on the basics for implementing projects, given that “classrooms for children in local communities” will be established in differing locations and formats nationwide, and communities are encouraged to refer to this manual while devising approaches and developing their own manuals.

## (3) Pursuing Campaigns to Create Spaces for Children

MEXT has launched a “Creating Spaces for Children” campaign, setting up a “Office to Promote the Creation of Spaces for Children” in the Lifelong Learning Policy Bureau in September 2003. This Office drafts campaign plans, contacts and coordinates with local governments and other organizations, and oversees the activities of a promotion committee and a liaison conference.

Forming a support group made up of prominent figures from all circles of society and providing press releases to all types of media are among the publicity activities carried out for this campaign. MEXT has also been calling on people to join in this campaign and encouraging use of the campaign’s symbol mark (website: “Creating Spaces for Children” http://www.ibasyo.com).

▲ Symbol mark for the Creating Children’s Spaces Campaign

## 3 Promoting Volunteer/Experiential Activities

## (1) Education to Nurture Spiritually Rich Japanese Citizens — Importance of Volunteer and Experiential Activities

Close community ties in Japan have undergone change in recent years in the wake of family nuclearization, a declining birthrate, and urbanization, and the weakening connections between individuals and communities have made it difficult to come up with suitable solutions to a variety of issues confronting local communities. To foster socialization, well-rounded character and consideration for others in adolescents in the face of such circumstances, one meaningful approach is to enhance their opportunities to participate in volunteer and experiential activities suited to their stage of development.

The importance of volunteer activities from this perspective was stressed in the December 2000 Report of the National Conference on Educational Reform. The Central Council of Education’s July 2002 recom-