Youth and Education Program News
July 2007
School children in Bangkok made their “debut” on screen in Japan during a Kids Initiative videoconference session held on July 17, 2007 acting out a skit explaining why many Thai people wear yellow. Counterparts in Japan responded with a presentation on school life in Tokyo. Kids Initiative is a World Bank TDLC program which utilizes videoconference and other communication technologies to promote multi-cultural exchanges between children to prepare them for an increasingly interconnected world.
February 2007
Schools in China are participating in a new GDLN regional program “Knowledge Community in Project-based Learning” led by the TDLC. In collaboration with the China Development Distance Learning Network (CDDLN), an inaugural videoconference was held on February 2, 2007, connecting 300 primary and junior middle school teachers in Western China with Beijing. Over the school year, teachers will receive training to conduct project-based learning sessions incorporating various information and communication
September 2006
The Pacific Resource Exchange Center (PREX) held an Alumni Seminar via videoconference for its trainees on September 28, 2006, connecting the TDLC with three sites in China;Beijing, Chongqing and Xinjiang.
The Nissan LPIE held its first global videoconference session on September 16, 2006, with World Bank Information Solutions Network Senior Telecommunications Engineer Svetoslav K. Tintchev speaking on “The Role of Engineers in International Organizations”. Kyoto University’s Information Media Center was connected to the TDLC and WB Headquarters in Washington via the GDLN.
August 2006
Students in Sri Lanka and Japan connected via videoconference on August 29, 2006 to conduct a joint “Home Room” session, participating in an activity to identify the most important things in life and share their perspectives.Facilitated with the cooperation of Takushoku University, over a dozen students from Hoya Junior High School assembled at the TDLC to interact with their peers in Sri Lanka.
June 2006
Hitotsubashi University’s Asian Public Policy Program (APPP) held a virtual “reunion” on June 16, 2006 via the GDLN. The first of two sessions planned for this year, over 30 current master degree students, PhD candidates and faculty gathered at the TDLC to connect with alumni in Beijing, Manila, Jakarta and Hanoi for discussions on recent policy issues in Asia. Waving to each other across the screen, the event provided an enjoyable new opportunity to strengthen ties and exchange information within the region’s alumni network.
May 2006
A new global report on child labour launched by the International Labour Organization (ILO) was the topic of a videoconference held on May 23, 2006 connecting ILO Headquarters in Geneva and the TDLC. Organized by the ILO Office in Japan, over 20 participants including members of NGOs gathered at the TDLC to listen to new findings and discuss common issues.
March 2006
The TDLC is pleased to announce that it has become the official collaborator for an innovative new venture: The Nissan Leadership Program for Innovative Engineers (LPIE). Supported by the Nissan Science Foundation, established in 1974 by NISSAN to provide grants for research in the field of natural science, the LPIE is an initiative by 2 of Japan’s most prestigious universities -Tokyo University and Kyoto University -to nurture leaders on a global scale, capable of creating next-generation business models through a profound understanding of science and technology and its relationship to diverse social needs.
The Asian Development Youth Forum, an organization of students based in Tokyo interested in development issues, held its third videoconference on March 24, 2006, facilitating exchanges between student counterparts in Japan and Vietnam.
An international symposium titled “E-Learning and Globalization--Current Issues and Future Possibilities” was held on March 18, 2006, co-sponsored by Hosei University Research Institute, the Japan e-Learning Association and the TDLC. About 70 participants from academia and the private sector with backgrounds in education and technology joined discussions at the TDLC, connecting to Hosei’s Research Institute in California.
A JICA-Net Workshop “How to Moderate and Present in Videoconference” sponsored by JICA Tokyo International Center was held on March 2, 2006, connecting JICA Tokyo, JICA Headquarters and JICA Okinawa by videoconference. TDLC Instructional Designer Jiping Zhang facilitated the workshop as part of a program sharing effort envisioned in a cooperation agreement between the TDLC and JICA-Net.
January 2006
A JICA-Net Seminar sponsored by JICA Tokyo was held on January 30,2006 connecting JICA Tokyo with JICA Headquarters and the TDLC. The seminar, titled “Introducing the Active Learning Method for Better Training Programs - What is the key to learning for personal development?” is part of a program sharing effort between the GDLN and JICA-Net envisioned in the cooperation agreement signed between the two networks in November 2004.
December 2005
A “Kids Initiative” Peace Program, sponsored by the World Bank, was held on December 20, 2005, allowing children from Hiroshima to share their city’s tragic experience with their counterparts in East Timor and the Philippines. The TDLC facilitated the connection between Hiroshima University, the venue in Japan, and GDLN Centers in East Timor and the Philippines.
October 2005
A special session of the Kids Initiative, sponsored by the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific region, was held at the TDLC on October 1, 2005 connecting children from Japan and Sri Lanka.
July 2005
The Asian Development Youth Forum (ADYF) held its second video conference on July 29, 2005, in collaboration with Vietnamese students in Hanoi, connecting the TDLC in Tokyo with the Vietnam Development Information Center in Hanoi.
May 2005
The Asian Development Youth Forum is an association of students from universities in Japan focusing on development issues in Vietnam.
December 2004
Recently the World Bank’s East Asia and Pacific Region inaugurated a series of videoconferences called the Kids Initiative involving kids aged 10 to 13 in East Asia.
The United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) used the TDLC to complete a three-day conference jointly organized with JICA-Net and PADECO on the strengthening of the volunteer probation aides program in the Philippines.
July 2004
Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) held a meeting of the Asia Distance Learning Project at the Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) with 13 representatives of local government across Asia.
