The Yawata Children’s Conference is a project where children—who will lead the future of Yawata City—think and talk about the future of their town and schools from their own point of view.

Children share their ideas and opinions with each other, with the UGs, and with local residents, and they make proposals together. This conference is held every year as a way to value children’s voices and give them a chance to help improve their city.

Over the past 21 years, many wonderful suggestions have come from the children. Some of these ideas were actually used in real city policies and became reality.

Right now, 15 elementary school students, 8 junior high school students, and 6 high school students from Yawata City are taking part. Each group is working toward making a proposal to present in January. The meetings are held once a month starting in June. Through surveys and field research, the children discover issues in the community. Then, they think about what they can do and create ideas to help make Yawata City better.

Starting in 2025, the conference will move one step forward. Until now, children gave their proposals to the mayor. From now on, they will also present them to the city council. The goal is for children's voices to reach more people and have a deeper impact on the city’s government.

Mitsu Inaba (Adviser, Ritsumeikan University)  

I remember very well that during the first Yawata Children’s Conference, the children often asked, “What should we talk about?” or “What kind of proposals should we make?” But now, I can see that they clearly express their own ideas and try different ways to share them. Every year, many surprising and creative ideas are born, and I am always impressed.

In this conference, there are no “right answers” from the beginning. You have to think and talk with others to make your own proposals. This experience helps you build your “thinking skills” and “communication skills,” and it also teaches you the very important ability of “learning how to learn.”

Also, this conference is a place where everyone can grow. Through discussion and presentation, you learn how to work with others and how to improve ideas by listening to different opinions.

Yawata City is truly a wonderful place for continuing a children’s conference like this for over 20 years. I hope you can feel proud of this experience and try even the things that seem a little difficult. Please continue to value your ideas and keep trying to make your city better.

Yearly Schedule

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