With the theme of “Why are young people fleeing Hiroshima?”, the general public and EUH students came together to discuss the future of Hiroshima, with Hiroshima Prefecture, which has had the highest number of people moving out for three consecutive years, as the topic.

As guest speakers, we invited Mr. Masahiro Suwa, who went to university in Tokyo but then returned to Hiroshima to work for the  Hiroshima Electric Railway Co., Ltd. , and Mr. Junpei Hirao, the representative director of the NPO Hiroshima-jin university network, who is from Hiroshima, and asked them for their opinions.

While some students said they wanted to leave Hiroshima and work in the city when they started working, other participants said that leaving Hiroshima Prefecture would allow them to rediscover the appeal of the prefecture, so it was also an important opportunity to share diverse values.

A workshop was held where participants could experience making accessories such as straps, key holders and earrings using materials made from washed and processed marine plastic that has drifted into the ocean. This workshop was held again this year to raise awareness of the problem of plastic waste dumped into the ocean becoming microscopic microplastics and being ingested by many organisms through the food chain.

In line with this year’s theme of “flower”, there were a number of participatory workshops, including one where participants used hand stamps to make flowers, and another where they made origami and flower illustrations. Many people took part, and the children really enjoyed themselves.
The international students who enrolled this autumn also tried origami for the first time, and their faces lit up with smiles when they completed their creations.

At this year’s Eikei Students festival, we held various events at each Port, including workshops, exhibitions, and food and drink booths.
Port is the student support system that 40 students form a group and 2 to 3 faculty members (different fields of expertise) are assigned to support those students.

Students from different grades worked together on everything from planning to preparation and management, and deepened their exchanges with the port members.

At the food and drink booths, there was a wide variety of food on offer, including okonomiyaki, fries, fried chicken, and rice omelet.

At one port, a flea market was held with the aim of promoting recycling activities, mainly with clothes brought in by students.

A variety of stage events were held on the special stage, including performances by the EUH Dance Club, performances by the EUH Band Club, Ryukyuan dance, and Eisa (traditional Okinawan performing arts).

The EUH Dance Club was the first act on the stage.
They got the audience involved in the call-and-response and entertained the audience.

The EUH Band Club performed, playing a variety of music from J-pop to Western music.
As a secret guest, a member of the administrative staff also joined in the performance, much to the delight of the audience.

Students from Okinawa performed Ryukyuan dance. Ryukyuan dance, which has been established as an art form within the history and traditions of Okinawa, was designated as an important intangible cultural asset by the Japanese government in 2009.
We also welcomed the “RyugoTaiko”, who are active mainly in Kure City, as guests, and they livened up the venue with their powerful “Eisa” dance to the sound of sanshin, song and drum rhythm.