The first national My Timeline Workshop for foreigners

　Bachelor’s Program in Global Issues (BPGI), an English program designed to develop human resources with a broad basic knowledge of global issues in general, the ability to think through global issues such as global warming on their own and to find their solutions, held the first national My Timeline (individual make-your-own disaster prevention action plan) workshop for foreigners on July 15, 2022, in Joso City, Ibaraki Prefecture in collaboration with Joso City Gov., the River Information Center of Japan, and the Shimodate River Management Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT).

　My Timeline is a tool developed in response to the delays in evacuation and the isolation of evacuees during the September 2015 Kanto and Tohoku torrential rains to encourage each individual to share knowledge and preparedness regarding flood disaster prevention and to prepare for evacuation planning. The MLIT organizes efforts to promote and raise awareness of My Timeline for its nationwide deployment.

　BPGI has been conducting fieldwork in Joso City as part of Seminars on Global Issues A- I/II for Problem/Project Based Learning on resilient community development from flood disasters. In 2022 My Timeline workshop led by Professor Hiroichi Kawashima and Assistant Professor Sunyong Eom (Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems), BPGI second-, and third-year students communicated with Brazilian junior-high and high school age students in Joso and supported them in activities ranging from “knowing” about flood risks and disaster prevention information to “thinking” about how to act to prevent damages from the flood (Photo 1). In addition, BPGI students presented their ideas for developing and promoting My Timeline based on both the knowledge learned at the university and experiences in their home countries (Photo 2).

　Through this activity, BPGI students were able to address real-world problems using the knowledge from the university and had the opportunity to contribute to the sustainable development of their local communities. It was also a good opportunity for the participating BPGI and Brazilian students to deepen their understanding of each other’s cultures. The River Information Center and Joso City Gov. officials commented, “it was a good opportunity to learn about problems and remedial measures that Japanese people were not aware of.”

Photo 1 Support for making My Timeline

Photo 2 My Timeline idea presentation