1. Raise awareness of global and diverse societies.
2. Collaborate with partner schools from overseas to bring awareness about international students.
3. Develop practical English skills of participating students.
4. Create a comfortable space full of flowers and greenery on the campus.
概要
米沢キャンパスのグリーン化推進英語活動 English Activity to Promote Greenery on Yonezawa Campus
Currently, about 90 international students from 12 countries are enrolled at Yonezawa Campus. While they are not always visible, this equates to about 2.5% of the total number of students on this campus. Interestingly, this is nearly the same percentage as foreigners in Japan as a whole. Considering the unseen diversity, faculty and gender equality staff on campus have also expressed the necessity of raising awareness of LGBTQ+ on campus.
In this project, we will upcycle planters located in the square in front of the student cafeteria. Until now, this area has not been well maintained, but this project hopes to create an environment that increases interest and awareness about our multicultural society. The upcycling and maintenance will be conducted by the International Exchange Center as an English activity for both foreign and Japanese students and staff. Both participants of the activity and students and staff who notice the beautification will be greatly impacted. By partnering with the Okitama Agricultural High School, the flowers will be attractive and locally-raised, and we can deepen our exchanges and cooperation with our local community.
After cleaning the old planters and planting the new flowers, we installed panels designed with LGBTQ+ flags and the country flags of our overseas partner schools. The square is now renewed, and everyone who walks by will become more aware of the diversity on our campus. This project was completed by students and staff after first considering the local weather and COVID-19 safety restrictions on campus.
The project was completed on June 3rd, 2022. Thank you so much everybody! You can look at the pictures and more details in the following link: https://yu-eng-iec.sakura.ne.jp/en/english-activity-to-promote-greenery-on-yonezawa-campus/