Super Science Highschool international exchange program (Germany team) ~Learning session in Fukushima~ Posted on Aug.10th

From August 2nd to 3rd, the SSH(Super Science Highschool) Germany team went to the learning session in Fukushima.

①To visit Futaba Highschool, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station(F1NPS), and Ukedo Elementary School 【to compare the situation today with the one at the time of Great East Japan Earthquake】

②To join workshops after lectures by Ms. Hirohata from Odaka Workspace and Mr. Wada, Representative Director of Odaka Worker’s Base【to learn about the people working for the stricken area’s progress】

③To visit renewable energy plant.To plant a Commemorative tree .【Devastated area today, tomorrow and us】

【Session reviews】
・We have different thoughts and feelings. Although I'm living in Fukushima, I realized that I had been looking at the areas around F1NPS through prejudice.

・It was a great opportunity to think about the issues that even adults cannot solve yet, such as energy issues and post-GEJE-resurrection. Also, group discussion was valuable for me. Other opinions that I never thought of, really surprised me and widened my horizon.

・To see is to believe. The important thing is to see things with your own eyes, to consider if the thing which the media is reporting is true or not, and stop swallowing everything the media is reporting.

・I’ve been worrying too much about what others might think of me, and couldn’t really express what I wanted to say. But I realized that by expressing myself, I can really deepen the understanding of my own thoughts. Also, I felt I could actually gain more insight by listening to other opinions.

【What do you want to tell people around you and German people?】

・Some areas are still left barricaded and no one can enter. People in stricken areas are not trapped in the past, and in fact are taking actions for the future.

・GEJE damaged Fukushima seriously. But the residents’ aspiration developed the area greatly in the past 12 years, and the people living there are energetic.

・Many people in Fukushima are full of hope. Despite the unpreceded damage, the devastated area is reviving steadily, driven by people’s enthusiasm. It starts the positive chain reaction that leads to the future.

・Stricken areas in Fukushima are being developed again. A lot of people are not working for a restoration, but for an innovative development which exceeds the past. Although residents have been suffering from problems such as reputational damage and radiation dose, they are committed to this development for years.

・I don’t think that many German students exactly know the damage which Fukushima suffered and the current situation. I would like to tell them that there are energetic people like Ms.Hirohata and Mr.Wada who are developing this area not just for the restoration, but for a much better society, and some devastated areas are utilized as renewable energy power plants.