Social contribution initiatives and
"Children's Castle Choir"
Regional collaboration with
Our university's contribution to society and our bond with the "Children's Castle Choir"
Aoyama Gakuin University has been working to contribute to society under the school motto "Salt of the Earth, Light of the World." In order to strengthen its organizational capabilities as a university, the university will open a Civic Engagement Center in 2022 and establish a new Social Cooperation Division to further its efforts. In this article, we will introduce the university's social contributions and its collaboration with the Children's Castle Choir, which continues to be active in the local community.
Aiming to become a university that is even more open to the local community through a variety of contribution activities
President
Hiroshi Sakamoto
Born in 1954 (Showa 29). Originally from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Master of Arts (Tohoku University). Graduated from the Department of History, Faculty of Letters, Aoyama Gakuin University. Completed the first two years of a doctoral program in Western History at the Graduate School of Letters, Tohoku University. After working as an assistant at the Faculty of Letters, Tohoku University, a full-time lecturer and assistant professor in the Department of History, Faculty of Letters, Aoyama Gakuin University, he became a professor in 1999. He subsequently served as Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Dean of the Graduate School of Letters in 2016, and Vice President in 2017. He was appointed President of Aoyama Gakuin University in December 2019.
Our school provides education based on Christian faith, and our school motto is "Salt of the earth, light of the world," a phrase from the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This proclaims that all people associated with Aoyama are like salt, seasoning things in subtle ways, bringing out the irreplaceable qualities of people, preventing corruption, and purifying impurities, and that they are people who can radiate encouragement, strength, and warmth to those around them as a ray of hope. Furthermore, in recent years, our school vision has been to "cultivate servant leaders who serve all people and society." Based on this, it has become a tradition of our school to actively promote service and contribution to the local community.
When the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 2011, many students volunteered to support the recovery efforts. In addition, on the day of the earthquake, Aoyama Memorial Hall (university gymnasium) on Aoyama Campus was opened to accommodate those who were unable to return home, which led to the university evolving into a "university open to the community." In the same year, the "Volunteer Station" was established to support student volunteer activities, and was later renamed the "Volunteer Center." In 2022, it was reorganized and expanded to become the "Civic Engagement Center" with the aim of making a wider contribution to society. In addition, the existing "Social Collaboration Organization" was reorganized into the "Social Collaboration Promotion Organization," and a new "Social Cooperation Division" was established as an administrative organization to support it. This reorganization and establishment has made it possible to consolidate and coordinate the university's social contribution activities, allowing us to promote our efforts even more powerfully.
Our university's community contribution activities are actively carried out in the areas where both Aoyama and Sagamihara campuses are located.
In the area where Aoyama Campus is located, local activities such as the Sibuya Ward Children's Table and the Green Up Project (cleaning activities) are carried out through our Civic Engagement Center. We have launched the Sibuya 4 Universities Cooperation Council as an initiative aimed at academic exchange between universities in the surrounding area. This is a collaboration between Kokugakuin University, Jissen Women's University, Jissen Women's University Junior College, University of the Sacred Heart, and our university, and will promote joint lectures and other events aimed at the local community. In addition, since 2016, Aoyama Memorial Hall has been used as the home arena for the Sunrockers Sibuya (a professional basketball team in the B.LEAGUE). This is part of an industry-government-academia initiative aimed at promoting sports culture and revitalizing the local community.
In the area where Sagamihara Campus is located, there are active local government collaborations such as the "Sagamihara-Machida University Regional Consortium" (commonly known as the "Sagamachi Consortium"). Students are active in projects such as "Otonari Volunteer (Sobudai Housing Complex Revitalization Project)" and "Fujino Project (Contribution to the Satoyama Community of Fujino, Midori Ward, Sagamihara City)" to promote the revitalization of the area.
As part of the promotion of sports and revitalization of the local community, Aoyama Memorial Hall will become the home arena for the "Sunrockers Sibuya" © SUNROCKERS SHIBUYA
Furthermore, in 2019, we established College of Community Studies, which has the theme of "Practical knowledge that utilizes and benefits the community." By learning practically about the community and the activities of the people who live there, students acquire the skills necessary for community revitalization. We believe that this type of learning that specializes in contributing to the community is unique across the country. This spring, the first class of students took off into society. We hope that our graduates will play an active role in their respective communities.
In addition, as lifestyles have become more diverse in modern times and the need for recurrent education has increased, our university actively provides learning opportunities for local working adults to support "lifelong learning." For example, we have prepared learning programs such as the "Aoyama Academia" course for working adults, the "Legal Interpreter Training Course (in collaboration with Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)" and the "Aoyama Information Systems Architect Development Program (ADPISA)" in various public lectures and lectures. In the future, we plan to establish a new specialized institution for lifelong learning and further promote our efforts.
With this idea of contributing to the local community as a backdrop, we have been working with the "Children's Castle Choir" since 2015. Originally, the Children's Castle Choir continued to practice at the National Comprehensive Children's Center "Children's Castle," which was located across from our university's Aoyama campus. However, following the closure of Children's Castle in 2015, our university has been offering vacant classrooms on Aoyama campus as a practice venue for the choir.
The Children's Castle Choir holds a Christmas concert every year at our university's Goucher Memorial Chapel. When I heard the children's wonderful singing voices, I was deeply moved by the overflowing energy. I would like to express my respect to the diverse members of the choir, who work diligently, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or disability, and I am also encouraged by their ambitious goal of being "salt of the earth, light of the world." We will continue to cooperate as a university open to the local community. I hope that concerts filled with the children's singing voices and filled with smiles from the audience will continue in the future.
Every year, the Children's Castle Choir holds a Christmas concert at our university's Goucher Memorial Chapel (pictured is from last year).
Eight years of sharing the spirit of "salt of the earth, light of the world" and the rich voices of children singing
Representative Trustee, Instructor and Conductor of the Children's Castle Choir, a non-profit organization
Atsuko Yoshimura
He has been involved in planning the music business department since before the opening of the Children's Castle, and has been directing the Children's Castle Children's Choir and Mixed Choir since their inception. He also conducts a wide range of unique musical expression activities for people of all ages, from young children to adults, such as parent-child eurhythmics for young children and parent-child eurhythmics for pre-school children. He is a former part-time lecturer at Tamagawa University and Tokyo Kasei University, a member of the Japan Opera Foundation, and a member of the Japanese Association for Music Therapy.
We, the Children's Castle Choir, are an inclusive choir made up of members of all ages, nationalities, and disabilities, with the theme of "Let's find what we love." This year marks our 35th anniversary, and some of our members span three generations.
It has been eight years since Aoyama Gakuin University first offered us a vacant classroom, saying, "Please use this as a place for children to practice." In 2015, the National Comprehensive Children's Center "Children's Castle," which was our base and practice space, was closed due to deterioration and other reasons. We were running around looking for a new practice space when Aoyama Gakuin University, upon hearing about our plight, proactively offered to help us.
The support is wide-ranging, including the lending of vacant classrooms, the installation of children's toilets, the provision of electronic pianos for musical accompaniment, and carnations for Mother's Day events. What always surprises me is how unobtrusive this support is. For example, on the first day of practice on campus, a child who used the restroom came running back in surprise and told me, "Teacher, there's a children's toilet!" They had prepared the facilities in advance, thinking of the children who would come to practice. I have heard that Aoyama 's school motto is "Salt of the Earth, Light of the World." I felt the spirit of "salt of the earth" in the tangible and intangible support that was not shown off.
Closing ceremony of National Children's Castle
At the same time, I was also struck by the richness of the "imagination" behind these considerations. Because "imagination" is what I most want for children. Chorus is the act of imagining people who are different from yourself and making your voices resonate with each other. In particular, in the Children's Castle Choir, which brings together members with various personalities, we aim for each individual to shine as an individual, and for that brilliance to resonate and generate great power. Each child's brilliance is different. There are some things that able-bodied children are good at, and there are also children who have disabilities that give them a strong desire to "do this," leading to breathtakingly wonderful expressions. I believe that the role of the choir leader is to find the moments when the children shine the most.
In order to enrich the "resonance," we need many encounters. Children feel many things through a wide range of encounters, including music and art. From there, they develop their imagination for their neighbors and rich creativity, and I believe that this harmony creates the music that is unique to the Children's Castle Choir.
Aoyama Gakuin University also provides many opportunities for these encounters. At the "Mother's Day" event in May, they give beautiful carnations, and the children make their own bouquets. In December, we also hold a Christmas performance at Goucher Memorial Chapel. This performance is held as a charity, and the proceeds from the concert and Christmas donations are donated, which also gives the children an opportunity to learn about social contribution. In 2021, the children had the opportunity to sing the national anthem at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. This is also thanks to Aoyama Gakuin University, who provided a practice space for the choir, allowing us to continue our activities when the choir was in danger of disappearing due to the closure of the Children's Castle.
On choir practice day, the children skip along to Aoyama Campus. The reason the children can practice happily and safely is none other than because everyone at Aoyama always cares about the choir. Through their connection with Aoyama Gakuin University, the children have learned many things, such as an attitude of social contribution based on "salt of the earth, light of the world" and careful consideration. We are truly grateful. In March 2025, the year after next, it will be the 10th anniversary of the connection. As we approach this milestone, we would like to further expand the scope of the children's activities and convey true inclusive activities to many people through music.
A scene from practice at our school
