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REPORT REPORT : High School Students Islands Summit on “World Tsunami Awareness Day 2017” in Okinawa Okinawa Prefecture INTRODUCTION The High School Students Islands Summit on World Tsunami Awareness Day in Okinawa 2017 was held for two days on the 7th and 8th of November, 2017. In this summit we proudly welcomed 255 high school students or ‘The Youth Ambassadors for World Tsunami Awareness Day’ participated from 26 countries and regions around the world. We would like to extend our gratitude to the total of 815 individuals including the accompanying teachers, honorable guests, contributors to the summit and general audience for empowering the summit to succeed. We are also deeply thankful to all participating high school students from each country and region for their tireless efforts made in the months-long prestudies as they deepened their understanding of the goals of this summit and the tsunami prevention schemes to be ready to attend this summit, and to those teachers and relevant persons who devoted themselves to support the students. This year’s summit assumed the basic principle of the Kuroshio Declaration established in the first high school student’s summit, and on this foundation the participating students further discussed the schemes. The consequences of their discussions were summarized and presented in the Ambassadors’ Note as the action plans the students would implement in their communities. Two students from Okinawa Prefectural Naha Kokusai High School moderated the discussions as the summit presidents demonstrating their outstanding English proficiencies. I once again would like to pay tribute to the two students’ sincere attitudes as they made the significant contributions to the success of this summit along with other participating high school students. This year’s summit was held under the theme of; We want to protect people’s lives – Let’s do what we can now upon learning and preparing for the threat of tsunami: Send the message of “Yui Maaru” spirit from the island of Bankoku Shinryo. “Yui Maaru” is Okinawan dialect expressing the mind of mutual support. I hope by embracing this Yui Maaru sprit in your hearts, all of you the participating high school students would practice the action plans stipulated in the Ambassadors’ Note as you continue to explore what you should do and what you can do to protect people from the threats of tsunamis. Also in your future, I wish you would continue to play active roles as disaster prevention leaders of The Youth Ambassadors for World Tsunami Awareness Day back in your country and region aiming at building resilient nations. We the citizens of Okinawa Prefecture will work with The Youth Ambassadors for World Tsunami Awareness Day as we firmly share their spirits expressed in the Ambassadors’ Note, and will continue our endeavors to further increase the awareness of disaster preventions and to robustly promote the disaster prevention and reduction measures. To end my remarks, I once again would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who devoted themselves in guiding the participating high school students, the Ambassadors and their related individuals and organizations who extended the significant support and cooperation to us upon hosting this summit, and the citizens of Okinawa who warmly welcomed the young attendees. I also would like to express my sincere wish that the Ambassadors’ Note will disseminate widely in the world and contribute to enhance the awareness of disaster preventions and resilience of disaster prevention measures in the countries around the world including Japan. January, 2018 Takeshi Onaga The Governor of Okinawa Prefecture - 3 - - 4 - CONTENTS 1. Documentary Photography ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 2. Overview ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 3. Summit Schedule ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 4. The List of Participating Schools ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 5. Messages from the Organizers・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 6. Message from the Co-organizer・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 7. Welcome Message from the Mayor of Ginowan City ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 8. Message from the Advocate of the World Tsunami Awareness Day・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 9. Messages from Guests ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 10. Report from Miyako Island Study Tour ・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 11. Report from Ishigaki Island Study Tour・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 12. Report from World Tsunami Museum Conference・・・ 13. Reports from Workshops ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 14. Ambassadors’ Note・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 15. Participants Questionnaire・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ - 4 - - 5 - - 6 - １．Documentary Photography Opening Ceremony（November 7） - 1 - - 6 - - 7 - １．Documentary Photography Orientation for Workshops（November 7） - 2 - - 8 - １．Documentary Photography １．Documentary Photography Orientation for Workshops（November 7） Orientation for Workshops（November 7） - 3 - - 8 - - 9 - １．Documentary Photography Workshops（November 8） - 4 - - 10 - １．Documentary Photography １．Documentary Photography Workshops（November 8） Workshops（November 8） - 5 - - 10 - - 11 - １．Documentary Photography Workshops（November 8） Tree Planting（November 8） - 6 - - 12 - １．Documentary Photography １．Documentary Photography Workshops（November 8） General Meeting（November 8） Tree Planting（November 8） - 7 - - 12 - - 13 - １．Documentary Photography Welcoming participants at Naha Airport and the Venue - 8 - - 14 - １．Documentary Photography １．Documentary Photography Welcoming participants at Naha Airport and the Venue ） 写真はアンバサ ダーズノートの物 を使用 November 7 （ Participants Group Photo of All Photo Group of - 9 - - 15 - - 14 - １．Documentary Photography 写真はアンバサ ダーズノートの物 を使用 Participants at Tropical Beach at Tropical Participants ） of All of November 8 November Group Photo Photo Group （ -- 10 -16 - １．Documentary Photography ２．Overview High School Students Islands Summit on the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2017 in Okinawa Concept The World Tsunami Awareness Day on November 5th is an international day that was created through a resolution jointly proposed by 142 countries including Japan and unanimously adopted at the UN General Assembly in December 2015, with the aim of raising awareness of the risk posed by tsunami and promoting tsunami preparedness at global level. In June 2011, Japan designated November 5th as Tsunami Disaster Prevention Day, based 写真はアンバサ on the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. This date originates from Japan’s famous anecdote of “Inamura-no-hi (burning of harvested rice ダーズノートの物 sheaves)”. On the 5th of November 1854, Goryo Hamaguchi, a leader of a を使用 Hiro-mura village, (currently Hirogawa-cho, in Wakayama Prefecture) saved the lives of other villagers from a large tsunami by setting fire to his sheaves of rice as an early warning and thus helped them evacuate to a higher ground. In November 2016, the first year after the establishment of the World Tsunami Awareness Day, the High School Students Summit on World Tsunami Awareness Day in Kuroshio was held in Kuroshio-town, Kochi Prefecture from November 25th to 26th, to give opportunities for youth around the world, who bear responsibility for the next generation, to learn the threat of tsunami and precautionary measures against it. High school students from 30 countries (115 students from high schools in Japan and 246 students from overseas) participated in the last Summit and learned the history of tsunami in Japan and measures on disaster risk reduction (DRR) through field works and discussions. As an outcome document, “Kuroshio Declaration” was adopted at the Participants at Tropical Beach at Tropical Participants Summit. Following last year, we will hold this year the High School Students Islands Summit in Okinawa on the World Tsunami Awareness Day 2017 in Okinawa Prefecture. ） In Okinawa, Yaeyama earthquake accompanied by “Meiwa Giant Tsunami” in 1771 of All of caused many casualties. This giant tsunami is considered to be one of the world largest and there remain the historical heritages called tsunami stones in various parts of Okinawa. In addition, Okinawa is the sole island prefecture in Japan with many inhabited remote islands. We will hold the Summit this year for the purpose of training future leaders who will undertake national resilience measures by protecting people’s lives, bodies and properties from earthquakes and tsunamis, and thus minimizing the impacts of damages November 8 November to people’s lives and economy. To this end, we will invite high school students from Group Photo Photo Group （ islands countries which have similar natural environments to Okinawa and provide them with opportunities to acquire knowledge on disaster risk reduction and understand the threat of earthquakes and tsunamis for them to pass on to next generations. We will also provide them with opportunities to learn how to save people’s lives and properties from tsunamis through implementing policies on disaster mitigation and risk reduction, rapid rehabilitation and reconstruction as well as international cooperation comprehensively and in a systematic manner. - 16 - - 11 - - 17 - ２．Overview Theme We want to protect people’s lives – Let’s do what we can now upon learning and preparing for the threat of tsunami. ～Send the message of “Yui Maaru” *1 spirit from the island of Bankoku Shinryo*2～ *1 : ”Yui” means cooperation, while “maaru” means ”order” or “sequence.” It is a word in the Okinawan language meaning “mutual aid” or “mutual support.” *2: “Bankoku Shinryo,” meaning "Bridge between Nations," is the phrase symbolizing Okinawa. The phrase is

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