Gifu City Mayor and Ama City Mayor (Aichi Prefecture) Visit Student-Led Project in the Social Education Specialist Training Program
On Saturday, July 18, 2026, Mayor SHIBAHASHI Masanao of Gifu City, and Mayor YASHIMA Kenji of Ama City, Aichi Prefecture, visited Gifu University to observe a student project conducted as part of the course "Characteristics of Learners and Support Methods" in the Social Education Specialist Training Program (Zenkyo General Education Curriculum).
This course aims to develop professionals who can provide learner-centered support in the fields of social education and lifelong learning. In addition to studying fundamental theories of learning and facilitation techniques, students acquire practical skills by planning and implementing educational programs for elementary and junior high school students.
On the day of the visit, students hosted an experiential workshop titled "Intellectual Exploration: Paper Airplane Edition - How Will You Make It Fly?" in a lecture room at Gifu University. The workshop was designed to encourage participants to enjoy making paper airplanes alongside university students, interact with peers across schools and grade levels, and learn the value of continuous challenge through experimentation, collaboration, and incorporating the ideas of others to create better solutions. The workshop was open to students from third grade elementary school through third grade junior high school, and 25 children participated on July 18.
Guided by the university students, the children designed and built original paper airplanes, experimenting with different folding techniques and materials. They repeatedly modified their designs in an effort to improve flight distance. Although many airplanes struggled to fly far at the beginning of the session, the children's flight distances gradually improved as they shared ideas and techniques with one another.
Participants commented: "I'm glad that by making various improvements, I was able to create a plane that flew far." "It was fun because I could keep making new ones even after failing," and "I was happy to do this together with everyone." These comments reflected the children's enjoyment of taking on challenges and learning collaboratively with their peers.
Mayor Shibahashi and Mayor Yashima highly praised the students for their careful planning and dedication, noting that they had successfully created a learning environment in which children could support one another and enjoy the process of trial and error.
Following the workshop, the two mayors held a discussion with the Director IWASAWA Atsushi and Professor MASUKAWA Koichi of the Center for Collaborative Study with Community, Promotion of Regional Collaboration. During the discussion, participants exchanged views on the importance of fostering two-way engagement between university students and local residents, particularly in the context of population decline and an aging society. Such engagement was recognized as a way to revitalize local communities while also deepening students' learning experiences.
The mayors also emphasized the importance of incorporating educational perspectives into regional revitalization efforts. They expressed a desire to further strengthen collaboration between local governments and universities, creating more opportunities for students to contribute to community development and serve as bridges connecting people of different generations.
Through partnerships with municipalities and private-sector organizations, the Gifu University Social Education Specialist Training Program will continue to promote and enhance social education, lifelong learning, and community-based school collaboration activities.
