Proposals for the future for society in your own words
The following matters are listed in the basic principles of the Basic Law for Children.

All children shall have their opinions respected and their best interests given priority according to their age and developmental level” (from the Basic Law for Children and Families, website of the Agency for Children and Families).

As indicated here, in recent years, there has been a movement to guarantee the rights of children to publicly express their opinions to society.
In doing so, it is important not to unilaterally accept children’s opinions, but to respect children’s opinions while discussing how to reflect those opinions in society, both among children and between children and adults on an equal footing.

For example, local governments in Japan have established “children’s assemblies” in which local children make policy proposals. This is an opportunity for children to propose their vision for the future society to the adults in their community.
However, no matter where you live, you cannot escape the influence of international trends. If this is the case, it is necessary to cultivate the ability to think about and discuss social issues from a global perspective that includes and transcends the region in which they live.

The Osaka University Social Solutions Initiative’s project, “Development of Education to Nurture Next-Generation Citizens who Co-Create Public Knowledge from Their Own Lives,” envisions a society in which children and other citizens can participate.
Through dialogue and discussion among children and between children and adults, this project aims to rethink conventional categorizations that no longer seem to correspond to reality, and to enable citizens to envision and build a better society.
As part of this effort, we are planning and implementing a project called “Let’s Academically Explore Beyond the SDGs! The project is designed and implemented by the following organizations.

The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) were adopted by the United Nations as goals that “all of us” must achieve in order to continue living on the Earth in the future, with the motto of “leaving no one behind.
The term “all of us” means that the opinions and wishes of high school students, who will play a central role in the future society, must also be taken into consideration.
Have the goals of the SDGs really responded to the future that high school students envision and wish for?
If they do not adequately reflect the opinions and wishes of high school students, are the goals really sustainable?

Let’s explore beyond the SDGs academically! In “Let’s Explore Beyond the SDGs Academically!”, high school students will question the SDGs from a global perspective, using their own words and thinking skills, and through discussions with others, while following academic methodologies, and attempt to envision a future society beyond the SDG target year of 2030 to 2050.
On the first day, we will investigate how the SDGs came into existence, and confirm once again the significance of the SDGs.
On the second day, based on the previous day’s research and study, we will critically review the SDG targets and goals through discussions among high school students and with university students.
On the third day, participants will use their own words and thinking skills to envision a future society while collecting materials from the Osaka University General Library and various article search engines. The Inochi Council will publish the contents of this conceptualization as “Inochi no Koe” (Voice of Life).

Twenty to thirty high school students will present their vision of the future society they desire and make proposals to society.
How to respond to these proposals is the question for the adults of today and for the high school and college students who will become adults in the future.
The “Voice of Life” of high school students is the first step toward building a future society in which “all of us” can work together.

Inochi Council aims to create a society in which young people, the leaders of the next generation, can overcome all divisions, engage in dialogue with others, and make proposals in their own words through the support of such projects.