Eriko Sakaguchi, an aspiring student with a major in International Education is our next feature advocate. Eriko's dream is to become a teacher who can bring the world closer to children. She is currently a member of Table 4 discussing Economic Growth and Human Well-being.
"My dream is being a bridge between children and world. I went to Nepal when I was 16 and that experience had a huge impact in my life. I saw people living in the street and small children who worked there. When I was there, I experienced a life without enough water or electricity."
Q１. Please tell us what are the reasons/motivations that made you apply for ISC65?
Hello! I’m Eriko. I’m majoring in International Education at Tokyo Gakugei University.
My dream is being a bridge between children and world. I went to Nepal when I was 16 and that experience had a huge impact in my life. I saw people living in the street and small children who worked there. When I was there, I experienced a life without enough water or electricity.
After that, I tried to learn about global issues especially poverty through books and movies. They showed me that a lot of people are suffering around the world. Then, I was thinking about what I could do for them. And I decided that I would be a teacher who let children think about global issues through discussion and help them empower international mindedness to solve global issues.
I think that teachers can’t teach children about experiences that they don’t have. But I don’t have the experience of discussing global issues in a global environment. Therefore, I want to join the ISC which will enable me to discuss them with students around the world, broaden my horizons by sharing different opinions and overcome the language barrier. And this is absolutely something that I want my future students to experience. I’m sure that ISC will be my start line to realize my dream. Also, I want to take action in the ISC to show that young people can make a better world.
Q２.What do you think about your table’s topic?
I think that considering the people’s well-being is the first step to the world peace.
No matter how much material wealth we acquire, we can’t make a peaceful world as long as there are people who are suffering from inequality, intolerance and poverty. That is why I want to consider and discuss “what is happiness?” “What are the things that disturb people’s happiness?” from different perspectives such as historically, philosophically and economically.
I think that the economy can be the way to raise people’s well-being. However, I do think the economy should not be the nation’s main goal. I believe that while many countries have pursued growth of the GDP, that cannot measure people’s well-being, environmental sustainability or social inequality. As I said, the economy should be the path to the people’s well-being. So, I want to discuss how we can use the economy for the sake of society’s happiness.
There are countries, like Bhutan and the Netherlands, which are working to improve the people’s happiness. I also want to look at those country’s policies. I think that it is very important that the government deals with the people’s well-being through their policies.
Q3. Can you tell us a little bit about your hometown?
Though I moved to Tokyo, my home town is Takarazuka city in Hyogo, a prefecture located in the west side of Japan. You may know “Kobe city“ which is the capital city of Hyogo and more famous than Takarazuka. I’m sad that most people who come to Hyogo visit only Kobe and they don’t visit the city. So, I’d like to introduce about the city which coexist with nature, modern buildings and traditional culture.
The city is famous for opera group called Takarazuka Revue. The unique characteristic of the revue is that the casts are all female. It means that every character is embodied by a female actress- including the men. All cast are high-level of performance, singing and dancing. This is because becoming a member is notoriously difficult. Every cast must go to the Takarazuka Music high school. Its entrance examination is so difficult that only 40 girls in 1000 can pass it. That’s why the opera has been kept at the highest level for 100 years.
The Revue is not only the place for entertainment in the city. There are a famous race course, a comic museum and a concert hall with a pipe organ. The beautiful cityscape is portrayed in a movie called “Hankyu Densha.” You can enjoy more for sightseeing in the city if you watch this movie before coming.
Amazingly, this city is also famous for “hot spring” surrounded by the forest. You can relax there after going to the revue. When you come to Takarazuka, please contact me and I will make a special plan for you!