“Passing That Voice On to the Next Person”: Building a Future Where Learning Connects | Forum2050 Newsletter, September 2026

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Hello. This is Takuzo Komabashiri, PR officer at Forum2050.

The Silver Week holidays are behind us, and mornings and evenings are starting to feel a little like autumn. How is everyone doing?

Since September began, the Kanto region has had the shortest hours of sunshine on record. After the intense heat, the weather has turned gloomy and unsettled. With the seasons changing, please take good care of your health.

As we reported in the last issue, with a grant from the Children’s Dream Fund for FY2026 (Reiwa 8), we are developing “learning materials to help the next generation think about a peaceful future as their own issue.” Over the past month, we have been steadily preparing to complete the materials, editing the valuable video footage and other material we gathered abroad (in Bangladesh, the Philippines and Cambodia) and holding a trial class. This issue focuses on introducing a cute new character who will appear in the materials, and on reports from our recent event!

If you have any questions or comments about the newsletter, please let us know by email or other means. Requests like “I’d like to know more about this” are very welcome too!

• Topics in this newsletter –

• [Our Activities]

• [Report from TODA Takao, President, Forum2050]

Our Activities

1. [Our Activities]
Recent main activities and events (shared with subscribers only)

Aug 21 Courtesy visit to Nobuhisa Degawa, Chief Commentator, NHK

Aug 23 Took part in a peer-learning event for participants of JICA’s overseas teacher training program

Aug 25 Took part in an intercultural communication seminar (hosted by LEC)

Aug 29 Took part in the Suginami City Poster Festival (at Suginami Collaboration Plaza)

Sep 1 Meeting with the JICA Human Development Department / KKW (Education Cooperation Week) secretariat

Sep 2 Talk at the Rotary Club of Osaka-Kita (youth section)

Sep 3 Exchange of views with the Soil Foundation

Sep 4 Attended an information session for the Social Startup Award

Sep 5 Suginami “Listening Kick-Off Meeting” (a listening session hosted by the Mayor of Suginami City)

Sep 11 Event during JICA Education Cooperation Week (organized by Forum2050)

Sep 13 “Peace as My Own Issue” trial class (at JICA Tokyo)

Report from TODA Takao, President, Forum2050

Dear all,

Since September began, the hours of sunshine, at least in the Kanto region, look set to be the shortest on record. Until just recently I resented the sun for bringing such intense heat, but now I find myself looking up at the sky whenever even a little sunlight breaks through. It seems we humans have a way of longing for what is out of reach, or rare.

Even in this rapidly changing weather, I hope you are all well, and I would like to share my report.

■ A report on the learning materials (details coming next month!)

In the middle of last month we finished our interviews and filming in Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines and here in Japan, and over the past month we have put a great deal of time and energy into developing the materials using the footage we were able to film. Every member who could help has been working at full capacity. Outside our organization, too, we have had the cooperation of NPOs and experts working in these countries, a JICA volunteer in Georgia, students at APU, Ukrainian friends and many others, and together we have gathered the thoughts of people in many different situations in many different countries.

This month, our member Akinori Kajita also taught a trial class based on the concept for the materials. Kajita is a true professional in teaching, and with our young student members joining in, it became a valuable opportunity to examine the content of both the class and the materials. I think we were truly able to put into practice the Forum2050 way of working, in which several generations collaborate as equals to refine our activities. My thanks also go to our Vice President, Shoji, who proposed it. Nothing can be achieved by just one person or just one organization. I have felt this keenly once again, and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many people who have committed themselves so seriously to this work. And to give shape to that gratitude, I want to do my very best to create good teaching materials (or rather, “learning materials” that help children think about peace as their own issue). In my letter to you next month, I expect to report on what form the materials are likely to take, but this time, let me give you a little peek at our mascot character.

■ Introducing our mascot

As part of the materials development, we worked with graphic creator Moe Harunaka to create characters who will appear in the materials. Shota Sekino, one of our high school members, and I talked on and on about the messages we want to convey to children, and while listening, Harunaka gave shape to those thoughts in illustrations.

When people think of materials for peace education, they tend to imagine photos of the horrors of war front and center. Of course, the materials we are now developing cannot avoid that side of things either, but at the same time, we created several character candidates so that children can feel close to the materials. Among them, Heart-kun (🧡-kun) seems to fit especially well with our concept of “peace as my own issue,” so he will probably appear throughout the finished materials. In fact, another strong candidate has suddenly emerged as 🧡-kun’s partner, and I will introduce that character next time.

■ Our event during JICA Education Cooperation Week

This was our third event at JICA headquarters. This time, Hana Miyoshi, a leading figure among our young members, played a major role as the producer in charge, from planning and concept onward. Akari Itaya and Chihiro Uemura also added depth to the discussion as commentators. The main theme was the same as before, “Peace as My Own Issue,” but the subtitle, “From Everyday Questions and Diverse Voices,” carried great meaning and gave the event its character. Through diverse voices, including Thu from Vietnam, who studies and works in Japan; Samuel Costa from Italy; Akiko Komori, Deputy Director General, Human Development Department, JICA, a key figure in cooperation in basic education who also has experience as a returnee child; and ICT and education experts from Bangladesh who had come to Japan for training, we examined the small discomforts and realizations found close to us in everyday life. And we became aware that these are, in fact, an essential process when we think about peace as our own issue. The event lasted only 90 minutes, but I believe it offered many participants new perspectives and realizations. People in positions of responsibility in local governments also took part, which raised our hopes for expanding our network in the future.

Of course, there are also things to reflect on. As at our first event, this one was held in a hybrid format, but the division of roles and coordination on the logistics side were not always perfect, and we placed a burden on, and caused concern for, the people involved both inside and outside the organization. We have recognized once again that strengthening our organization, especially our setup for implementation when we work in the Kanto region, where our activities are relatively frequent, is a major challenge.

Hana Miyoshi (center), who served as MC

Commentators Akari Itaya and Chihiro Uemura

Akiko Komori, Deputy Director General, Human Development Department, JICA

Samuel Costa from Italy

Tarik Hassan from Bangladesh

Thu from Vietnam

■ “Putting peace into practice in society”

Goodwill alone cannot create peace. No matter how many events or one-off activities we repeat, they alone will not bring peace. What would happen to the world if we could build “systems” that help more people, especially young people, realize how precious peace is, protect and nurture it, and nip threats to peace in the bud?

I put this question to people active on the front lines of local communities and business as well.

On the 29th of last month I spoke at the Suginami Collaboration Plaza, on the 2nd of this month at the Rotary Club of Osaka-Kita, and on the 5th at a meeting hosted by Satoko Kishimoto, Mayor of Suginami City.

Surprisingly, many of the people who live in the harsh real world agreed with me or told me they had gained new insights, and I felt encouraged. At the same time, I felt that we still have a long way to go before we can receive sustainable support from them.

At the talk at the Rotary Club of Osaka-Kita

At the “Listening Kick-Off Meeting” hosted by Mayor Kishimoto of Suginami City

“Putting it into practice in society?” “Systems?”

“I understand the aspiration, but how exactly will you go about it?”

I believe Forum2050 has at last become able to start taking steps toward answering these questions concretely. At the very least, the preparations for that are coming together.

Until now, we have engaged with young people, from elementary school pupils to graduate students, not only in Japan but from many different countries.

Teaching young people something, and reaching as widely as possible (Stage 1)

Holding dialogue with young people, and learning what moves their hearts (Stage 2)

Young people taking action on their own initiative, and in a sustainable way (Stage 3)

I think we are now in Stage 2. I see the current development of learning materials as work in the later part of Stage 2. And I think we are approaching Stage 3, that is, the stage of thinking about what kind of system would allow young people to act on their own initiative, in a sustainable way, toward co-creating a peaceful future.

How exactly will we move to Stage 3?

One way is to create a chain of learning opportunities.

In other words, to create a system like a “relay of voices,” in which the thoughts and voices of children that emerge through one event, learning opportunity or class are carried forward into later events and other opportunities.

In this way, learning opportunities become connected, children learn that their voices are being put to use, and we create opportunities for children to connect with each other across schools and communities, and in some cases across national borders . . .

We are still far from having a concrete plan, but I intend to keep thinking without tiring and to keep going through trial and error. Please allow me to report to you at each milestone.

Thank you for reading this far!

For the path our organization has taken so far, please take a look at our back issues when you have a moment.

And we would be grateful for your continued guidance and support.

Finally, please take good care of yourselves.

Sep 20, 2026

Koenji, Suginami City

TODA Takao

Email: toda@forum2050.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/takao.toda.54

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