Problem Statement:

To realize a society that is biodiversity-oriented and environmentally-friendly, it is crucial that individuals in the community internalize the relevant issues. However, in a 2019 survey conducted by the Cabinet Office of the Japanese Government, 47.2% of respondents had never heard of the term “biodiversity” and 31.7% had heard the word but did not understand its meaning, while only 20.1% understood what it meant.

 

Target Group:

Youth (mainly university students) who will shape society as producers and consumers in the near future.

 

Proposed Solution:

Design thinking workshops are an effective form of learning that help participants internalize topics. Therefore, we will organize design thinking workshops to encourage people, regardless of their expertise, to take it upon themselves to lead the effort towards realizing an environmentally-friendly society. The workshops will be held around the same time as the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15). A key objective of the workshops is not only for the participants to gain new knowledge about biodiversity, but to take action towards realizing a better future.

 

Hub Activities:

We will organize online design thinking workshops using a tool called Mural. Each workshop will include non-GSC youth (mostly university students) as participants and GSC members as facilitators. In order to make the sessions as interactive as possible, participants will be divided into small breakout groups where they will consider current issues in their communities related to biodiversity and discuss solutions towards realizing a more environmentally-friendly society.

 

Short & Long-Term Goals/Results:

The short-term goal is for participants of our workshops to become more familiar with biodiversity and environmental issues, and to influence their future actions.

The long-term goal is for each participant to become a leader in creating a more environmentally-friendly and biodiversity-oriented society. 

 

Available Metrics:

Each workshop is expected to last for 3 hours. Participants who successfully complete a workshop will be considered “Green Innovators” who will become leaders in their communities to champion biodiversity and a more environmentally-friendly society. Through our program, we aim to have at least 50 “Green Innovators” by the end of 2022. At the end of each workshop, a questionnaire survey will be conducted to determine changes in the attitudes of the participants. We will also consider providing further opportunities to the participants in the future.

 

Collaborators: N/A