Osaka University Global Collaboration Center

JICA Seminar in 2007

This seminar will provide the delegates from a dozen of Asian countries with an arena of mutual learning. After taking academic lectures on risks and human security at Osaka University, the participants will get acquainted with various methods of capacity development through participatory workshops, organized in a friendly setting of Minamata City which still retains vestiges of a peaceful fishing village. The participants will then go back to their own home countries, and after a period of "Action Research", will be reunited in Thailand to discuss about new findings and produce the final outcome, with the professional support of the staff of Chulalongkorn University.

The eye-opening exposure to the grassroots actions for human security in Japan and other parts of Asia will give a valuable opportunity for the participants to review their own everyday development practices from a fresh angle. The participants can also expect to learn from the latest achievement of risk studies as well as various methods of participatory development. In fact, the most striking feature of this seminar is that the whole course contents are being prepared in close cooperation between vibrant grassroots initiatives and educational institutions proud of cutting-edge research in Asia.

The final outcome of this Asian seminar will be shared by all participants and their institutions as a part of an ever-expanding "knowledge base" for people-centered development, which will be enriched further by subsequent seminars for the African and Latin American regions.

The target individuals of this seminar are those who are working for local or central government institutions or NGOs, involved in the management of grassroots development projects, in twelve Asian countries. Those who are well motivated to learn practical skills of project management and have keen interest in the human security approach are welcome. As one cannot carry out "Action Research" without institutional support, the applicant should be a dedicated member of a development organization, governmental or non-governmental.

«JICA General Information»