◆Citizen Collaboration Project

◆ Learning and Practice in Regular Courses | Aoyama Gakuin University

Upon its establishment, CEC launched "Volunteerism and Citizen Collaboration" as a The Aoyama Standard course in 2022. Every year, numerous students enroll, learning about citizen collaboration from the perspective of servant leadership. Furthermore, starting in 2024, the center has been developing and continuing a course previously offered by School of Social Informatics, titled "Understanding Sagamihara Through Local Administration," which is also being studied by many students.

<Collaborative initiatives spreading throughout Aoyama >

CEC is a center that supports not only university students but also "students, children, kindergarteners, and faculty and staff of Aoyama." As a center open to the entire Aoyama, from Kindergarten Building to university, new initiatives are emerging. For example, in Miyako City, Iwate Prefecture, with which CEC has a comprehensive partnership agreement, Kindergarten Building, elementary school, junior high school, high school, university, and alumni have continued exchange activities since the Great East Japan Earthquake, but until now there had been no opportunity to share and discuss these rich activities and achievements with each other. Therefore, on November 29, 2025, the center organized the "Aoyama x Miyako City Exchange Activity Presentation -Aoyama x Miyako Day." Based on the cooperation and collaboration within the school, citizen collaboration throughout Aoyama has also begun.

Aoyama Gakuin University has set "building an open community integrated with the local area to solve social issues" as one of its medium- to long-term goals. As a base for this, CEC will move even further forward.
Sustainability Report 2025: Conceptual Diagram of the Medium- to Long-Term Plan | Aoyama Gakuin University

Akimoto: After encountering real-world social issues, have your views or perspectives on those issues changed?

At my internship site at Shibata Service Learning, I was involved with children whose one or both parents were from another country. I initially thought the main challenge would be providing learning support due to their insufficient understanding of Japanese. However, after actually working with the children, I realized that language barriers were not the only issue. Through this experience, I felt that there are challenges that are not easily visible to outsiders, and that it is necessary to understand the complex situations of children from diverse backgrounds.

During a visit to the Philippines as a primary school student, I witnessed firsthand the thorough support provided by local aid organizations to the children. They were all cheerful, and their enthusiasm as they spoke of their future dreams was palpable; in fact, they seemed more positive than Japanese children. It was then that I first realized that poverty is not just a matter of money, but also relates to one's state of mind, and I became interested in providing emotional support to children. Throughout middle and high school, I continued my support activities in the Philippines, which led me to consider, "What kind of support is truly needed?" At university, I wanted to learn about the current situation of children in Japan, so I interned at a child self-reliance support facility through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and studied delinquent children in my Faculty of Law. Through these hands-on experiences, I have come to realize that the problems and challenges children face are complexly intertwined with various factors such as family environment, the characteristics of disabilities, and poverty.

Akimoto and others offer service-learning courses such as the "Sibuya Ward Children's Table" program, which is run by Sibuya Ward Social Welfare Council and supports local children, as well as programs in Cambodia and the Philippines, which Nakajima will be participating in.

Nakajima: The program I'm participating in involves visiting Globe Jungle, a certified NPO that operates orphanages and free schools in Cambodia. Right now, as part of my preparation, I'm learning about the situation in Cambodia by receiving lectures from NPO staff and listening to stories from seniors who have experience visiting the country.

Regarding Akimoto 's activities abroad, while he emphasizes the importance of learning locally, he also believes it's crucial to become aware of Japan's challenges and one's own position by experiencing life outside the country. While it's difficult to fully grasp this in Japan, going abroad allows one to become more aware of the environment in which they receive their education as a university student and the challenges facing Japan. He hopes that such experiences will broaden their global perspectives.

Shibata: I feel that my on-the-ground experience through service learning has expanded my learning in undergraduate studies. In the "Introduction to Development Economics I" class, I learned about the residence status (specified skills) for accepting foreign workers who possess certain expertise and skills and can immediately contribute to the workforce. In Japan, where the working-age population is declining, the acceptance of foreign workers will increase to alleviate labor shortages. If this happens, we will eventually need to consider the challenges and support for children with overseas roots who will be living in Japan. In this way, through practical training in the community, I was able to connect two issues: "children with foreign connections" and "labor shortages and foreign workers."

At Akimoto University, the relationship between students and faculty tends to be fixed as that of learner and teacher. However, when engaging with the local community and putting things into practice, they become partners in teaching and learning from each other. The appeal of these activities lies in the fact that they allow people to empathize with and inspire one another, transcending age, position, and gender, fostering mutually beneficial relationships. I sincerely hope that the two of them will continue to create their own original activities in the future.

The Mikami-Fujino Project is a project that emphasizes balancing "local needs" with "activities that students find appealing." What kind of activities did the two of you do in Fujino?

Sasaki: The experiences unique to the rural area, such as mowing grass and leveling the land, which I don't usually do, were refreshing. However, my first impression of Fujino was, "It's so far away!" (laughs). Initially, a local resident came to pick me up at the station, and we drove from there, but I remember being in the car for quite a long time. When we arrived at the site, the grass was overgrown, and I remember feeling a sense of determination, realizing that creating the venue from scratch here was not just a superficial activity.

At the Shinobara Gardening Fair held in April 2025, Ms. Sasaki was in charge of sales at her booth. Sasaki participated in the Gardening Fair by setting up the venue and running a stall, collaborating to make the event a success. Although there is a difference in our positions—the NPO and local people are the ones who accept volunteers, and we students are the ones who are allowed to participate—we believe that collaboration comes from proactively working together with the same desire to make the event a success and to convey the charm of Fujino. At meetings for the gardening fair, the people of Fujino would frankly ask for our opinions, such as "What would the students like to do?", and I felt that the characteristic of collaboration lies in transcending positions.

At the Shinobara Gardening Fair held in April 2025, Ms. Sasaki was in charge of sales at the storefront. Many Aoyama Gakuin University Aogaku live around the university campus, such as in Sagamihara City's Chuo Ward, so they have few opportunities to experience life in mountainous areas like Fujino, but the Fujino Project has given them so many first-time experiences. It is experience that brings about unknown lifestyles, new ways of thinking, and new perspectives. I think we have been able to value the process of experiencing the area, getting to know it deeply, and then participating in revitalization activities.

Mikami: I think it's essential to understand the context of local culture and human relationships, and to take the initiative to reach out to them. On top of that, it's a crucial first step to get them interested in building connections with society through their activities, and to build relationships while deepening mutual understanding, and I imagine that's where the difficulties lie.

To summarize, I believe that building trust is the foundation for the sustainability of projects in collaboration with the local community. I also want the students to understand that their activities are not just for one generation, but will be passed on to the next generation Aogaku. What they do leaves a trail that remains among the local people, and future Aogaku and their successors will follow in that footsteps.

Fuyuki: During my job search, I considered jobs related to regional revitalization. Ultimately, I decided to work in an industry that is not directly related, but the Fujino Project was such a valuable experience that it will become a future option for me. Therefore, I would like to encourage future students and juniors to take initiative. When starting anything new, it's natural to feel a little scared, but once you take that first step, the anxieties you initially had disappear. You will all be able to have many new experiences and meet new friends.

Sasaki: I hope to eventually return to my hometown of Aomori Prefecture and contribute to regional revitalization and cultural preservation. My activities at CEC were meaningful in relation to that future dream, and it was also a great opportunity to learn about the charms of Sagamihara Aogaku University's campus is located. What I want to tell my juniors is that even if you start out alone, if you have the enthusiasm and action to support the social contribution activities you want to do, you will be able to make friends and create an environment where you can support each other. I think that long-term activities are something you can only do when you are a university student, when you have more free time, so I encourage you to take that first step.