Pondering what it means to be a global citizen一般社団法人グローバル教育推進プロジェクト（GiFT）代表理事、辰野まどか さん

一般社団法人グローバル教育推進プロジェクト（GiFT）を立ち上げ、若者が世界とつながるための場を提供している辰野まどかさん。自身が17歳の誕生日に母から贈られた「国際会議に参加する体験」で感じた「グローバル教育が平和につながる」という思いが現在の活動へとつながっている。

From a young age, Madoka Tatsuno has been thinking about international cooperation and global citizenship. Her mindscape was filled with thoughts of how to build a more peaceful world. During university, she took a year off and joined an educational program with 120 members from around the world, traveling to 70 cities. At each stop, they engaged in volunteer work. After returning to Japan, she decided to pursue her interest in coaching, which she came across in the U.S., and chose a company that was a leader in that field in Japan.

“I had planned to go to graduate school after working for three years, but as coaching was on the verge of becoming a huge phenomenon, I was enjoying my work so much,” recalls Tatsuno. “Then one day, my friends threw me a birthday party and said how proud they were that I was holding onto my goal of international cooperation and global education.” Tatsuno decided to reconnect with her original dream and flew to the U.S. to study at the graduate institute of the School for International Training in Vermont.

Now Tatsuno helms GiFT, an organization she launched in 2012. GiFT is dedicated to spreading the importance and necessity of global citizenship through education and exposure to international communities. She works with people from various countries and social entrepreneurs to run global citizenship programs in different nations. Her aim is to foster global citizens who value diversity as the primary tool for solving critical global issues.

Tatsuno was 17 when she attended her first international conference. The topics included global poverty, human rights, environmental problems and conflict. Tatsuno realized how little she knew about the world. At the end, she participated in a small group and was asked to share her thoughts on the conference. “Because I learned firsthand how important these conferences were, I said that I hoped they will continue forever. Then one of the attendees – an older lady – chastised me. She said that world peace wasn’t something to hope and wait for, but something you need to work on by yourself.” That one encounter taught Tatsuno the value of taking action. “As she taught me, peace is something we need to create ourselves. I continue to believe in that.”

What’s the first step to becoming a global citizen? “Get out of your comfort zone. Once you do, you may feel anxious or stranded but your whole perspective will change. And after that, there is so much to learn and discover.”

Not surprisingly, Tatsuno’s schedule is packed to the gills with work commitments and invitations to speak at universities and corporations. Very surprisingly, Tatsuno says she never liked English while she was at school. “Rather, I think I was allergic to the subject,” she laughs. “Throughout junior high school, I tended to avoid English. I was a Japanese national so why did I need the language at all?” But Tatsuno had grown up with internationally minded parents who volunteered to be host parents to a bevy of foreign students from different countries. “I was very used to being around foreign people and hearing English being spoken. And yet, I couldn’t connect that experience to getting good grades in English in school.”

That changed dramatically when Tatsuno was 17 years old. “My mother gave me three weeks in Switzerland as a birthday present and said I was to volunteer at an international conference that was being held there.” The gift changed Tatsuno’s life and it also brought her much closer to the English language. “It was as though the puzzle pieces of English fit together to create one big picture and suddenly, the world shifted into focus. I could listen to English and connect the words to become aware of what was happening in the real world.” (Kaori Shoji)

Words to live by