On the 23rd of June, an information session was held in Tokyo for the “Children’s Conference of the Future in Support of the United Nations / Mynavi Kid Ambassadors Project,” sponsored by The Peace Communication Foundation, in which elementary school students from Japan travel to the United Nations Headquarters in New York to propose “Ideas for a Sustainable Future.” The students, serving as Mynavi Kid Ambassadors, expressed their enthusiasm for their upcoming presentation at the United Nations.

“This is a project in which elementary student representatives from “The Children’s Conference of the Future in Support of the United Nations,” who participated in discussions about “a sustainable future” in order to meet the 2030 target year for achieving the SDGs, visit the DDR of the United Nations Headquarters and submit and present their “Ideas for a Sustainable Future.” This marks the second time the project has been held, following last year.

Nine students who were chosen out of approximately 100 hundred participants during March 24th’s “The 4th Children’s Conference of the Future in Support of the United Nations,” that took place at the Main Conference Hall at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, will participate as “Mynavi Kid Ambassadors” for the upcoming event at the United Nations Headquarters. On this day, eight of the ambassadors and their parents will participate in person and online.

The children looked serious as they were explained the various roles the ambassadors must perform on site, some of which include “Submitting an idea book to the United Nations Department of Global Communications,” “Experiencing the UN special curriculum,” and “Presenting ideas in English on stage and performing the theme song.”

After the session, the children divided up into groups to brush up on their ideas they had for the themes of “Climate Change” and “Peace” that was announced at the event in March. Following that, they practiced “The Children’s Conference of the Future in Support of the United Nation’s” theme song, “That’s What I’m Gonna Be,” during which each person has to come up with what and how to present their future dreams in English starting with, “I’m gonna be…”

The children expressed their enthusiasm for the upcoming presentation in New York. Their enthusiasm sparked comments such as, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I want to learn many things and apply it towards my future,” “You don’t get an opportunity such as this, so I want to do my best at the UN,” “I’m excited about the opportunity to go to New York,” and “I want to focus and deliver a strong presentation.”

The kid ambassadors will depart from Haneda on July 15th and stay in New York for five days. On July 17th, they will take part in the launch event at the United Nations Headquarters.

“It’s absolutely wonderful being able to see everyone spread their messages after sincerely facing the issues concerning peace and the environment,” said Hitomi Miki of Mynavi Corporation, a supporter of the project, while trying to raise the Kids Ambassadors’ expectations. “In a world where you can’t predict how the future will turn out, Mynavi is participating with the hopes of creating a diverse society alongside the children where everyone can accept each other. I would like for all of you who are serving as ambassadors to hold on to that hope and make the most of this experience, and bring back to Japan all that you’ve learned with you. I look forward to seeing you at the debriefing in August.”

The 2024 domestic expansion for “The Children’s Conference of the Future in Support of the United Nation” is scheduled to be implemented nationwide. In addition, a metaverse room is currently in the works for EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, where children from around the world can participate.