Kobe City: [Participation in City Government for the First Time] Municipal School Students and “GIGA Terminal

Press Release (September 20, 2023)
Policy Division, Planning and Coordination Bureau
The City of Kobe will newly implement the “First Participation in the City Government” program to let children, who will be responsible for the future of Kobe, learn about the city that is undergoing major changes toward the future, such as the redevelopment of downtown Sannomiya and renovation in front of the station, and to think about the appeal of the city individually, so that together they can envision The new program, “First-Time Participation in the City Government,” is designed to help students of municipal schools envision an “exciting future for Kobe” together. Students at municipal schools will answer a questionnaire about the attractiveness of Kobe’s “city” and “people” using a GIGA terminal in their classrooms.
　This is an opportunity for children to think about what they want to pass on to the future Kobe and what they want to cherish forever, together with the adults around them, including their guardians.

Outline of “First-Time Participation in City Government

Objective

• Experience participation in the municipal government through participation in the survey and feedback on the results
• Foster civic pride (love for one’s hometown) in children by increasing their expectations for and interest in the changing Kobe.
• Continuous participation of children in the municipal government through this project

Contents

• Participation in a questionnaire survey for the next “formulation of the basic concept” through the “GIGA terminal

Period

• September 25, 2023 (Monday) – October 13, 2023 (Friday)

Targets

• Students (4th grade and above) attending Kobe City elementary schools, junior high schools, compulsory education schools, and special-needs schools (elementary and junior high).

Main points of the program

• The children who are the future of Kobe are the main players!
• Participation in the municipal government from the “school classroom” through the “GIGA terminal
• Fostering civic pride (love for one’s hometown) that goes beyond knowledge acquisition and interest in the city government!

(Project for formulating the next “Comprehensive Basic Plan”)

• The City of Kobe has started to study a new “Comprehensive Basic Plan” that will describe the future image and direction of the city.

Next “Comprehensive Basic Plan” Formulation Project

• In fiscal year 2023, we are planning various projects to receive opinions from citizens in order to study the “basic philosophy (basic concept) of the city” that we would like to weave into the future.
• As part of the project to formulate the next “Comprehensive Basic Plan,” the “First Participation in the City Government” will be implemented by introducing a system that allows not only adults but also children to respond to a questionnaire regarding the formulation of the next “Basic Concept.