Message from the President

COVID-19 has brought immense impacts all over the world. To begin with, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to all those affected by the coronavirus infection and all those involved, sincerely hoping the crisis will be settled soon.

Towards New Youth Education in the Age of Globalization

Under the slogan: “Encouraging Youth Independence through Experiential Learning Activities” of National Institutions for Youth Education (Hereinafter: N.I.Y.E), we inform children and young people of the importance of respecting nature, building sound relationships with others, and having real experiences to be responsible citizens in the society. In the age of globalization and digitalization – especially the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) -, the situations surrounding young people have changed drastically, which prompts the transformations not only in the way of communication or interaction with others but also in the values of society significantly. What’s worse, our future generation is now exposed to the anxieties and stresses stem from the COVID-19 crisis. To get over the situation, we are expected to play a significant role in the development of the child and young people more than ever. To achieve this, N.I.Y.E promotes cooperation with schools, educational institutions, and other related organizations to create new forms of youth education. According to our research on youth, experiential learning activities such as interaction with nature, people and societies have positive effects on developing youths’ independence, solidarity, morality, resilience and challenge mindset. We aim to promote the SDGs from a global and diversity perspective, so that as many young people as possible are committed to the future of Japan and are independently involved with society. In addition, our youth centers welcome young children, people who are said to be the socially vulnerable, and people with disabilities, and aim to make these diverse people able to interact.

For Children and Young People

With 28 national youth centers all over Japan, N.I.Y.E runs unique educational activities that take advantage of local characteristics. In total, the facilities cover more than 8 million square meters or about 175 times the size of the Tokyo Dome. These facilities provide opportunities and places for a wide variety of experiential learning activities, including nature activities, group accommodation activities.

We are making various efforts to promote youth education and realize the sound development of children and youth. For instance, we have led the national movement to promote various experiential learning activities as well as healthy habits. These movements are based on the evidence of our research on youth saying that the more experiences and healthy habits children and young people have, the higher their abilities and self-esteem when they become an adult. In addition, we are promoting experiential learning activities for all ages from early childhood, developing and offering programs related to school subjects, giving awards to high school students for their activities. We are also actively engaged in promoting reading activities, holding training courses for reading specialists, training leaders and volunteers, and providing support for young people in economic difficulties. In the years to come, we will do our best to develop our functions as a national center for youth education, and to reach out to as many children and young people as possible to provide them safe and sound educational environments, while further cooperating with various actors such as schools, institutions, organizations, companies, and local citizens.

We look forward to your understanding and cooperation in our efforts.