On Saturday, May 9th, our university, in collaboration with the election commissions of Fukuoka City and Koga City, held a special lecture on civic education for approximately 150 students. This special lecture aimed to increase youth political participation and voter turnout, and through collaboration between the university and the government, aimed to help students understand "voting" and "elections" as something relevant to their own lives. Sovereign Education Advisor" is also Faculty of Collaborative Regional Development Department of Regional DevelopmentProfessor Yu Munakata This is organized by [organizer name].
In the first part, the Koga City Election Administration Committee Secretariat introduced examples of measures taken to improve voter turnout in the city, such as the establishment of early voting stations in large commercial facilities and the "Senkyo-wari" program, which offers benefits to those who vote. In addition, they touched upon efforts to guarantee the right to vote, such as subtitles for political broadcasts and sign language interpretation, and also raised awareness about methods for gathering information about elections and the importance of changing one's residency registration, urging students to actively vote.
In the second part, the Fukuoka City Election Administration Commission Secretariat and the Fukuoka City Fair Election Promotion Group CECEUF* explained the basic mechanisms of elections, and a mock election was conducted under their facilitation. A mock election for a fictional "Hakata mayoral election" was held using mock ballots and ballot boxes made of the same material as actual ballots.
After the lecture, students actively offered questions about the initiatives and suggestions for raising Department of Regional Development Faculty of Collaborative Regional Development young people. Hiroto Hayashi (Kashima Asahi High School) said: Through various discussions, I felt a closer connection between daily life and politics, and I reaffirmed the importance of voting. Since many people, including myself, find it difficult to gather information about elections, I would like to put the knowledge I gained today to good use in the future." he said.
*This group is comprised of volunteer university students in Fukuoka City and conducts election awareness activities with the aim of increasing voter turnout among young people.
[Department of Regional Development]
