10)From the Harima Multi-media School to the Net Day


It started from the simple question of one technical expert, John Geyge.

Geigy who works as the chief technical expert in the computer company which is called the Sun Micro Systems knew the fact that the becoming information-oriented percentage of the school in the State of California is less than the 40th in all the rice 50 states in some case.

The present situation of the area which himself lives at could not be believed to him who has the self-confidence to engage in the information high-technology and to be running at the head as the front desk runner.

Because the State of California was an area with much population of all United State and it wasn't made of odd budget even if it and tried to invest in the being becoming information-oriented education when attempting to examine. He found the fact that the planning isn't developing as quickly.

The amount of money to be checked for them who are usually constructing a network in the company with their hand was as huge as to be surprised.

"There is not possibility to hang on what which doesn't come to. If supposing that the persons like us who live in this place cooperated with the network construction and the education and so on because of the becoming information-oriented spread of the school scene as the volunteer who gathered a best field, will extremely high quality not be able to be very cheaply provided?".

One sheet of memos which he wrote at this time connect to " t he Net Day " by the Smart- Valley P ublic C orporation and expand into " the National N et D ay " of all United State which is due to Clinton government.

The efficiency of the Net Day, it was not only "Spreading becoming information-oriented in a education field with a Internet connection" but also the volunteers were being technical advisers for the becoming information-oriented education, the education field were getting noticed that they would control their network by themselves and it made distance of school and the area closer than ever by the volunteers' having network with education field.

The children can bring up the interest and a personality free from all cares by providing the environment which can touch an Internet freely.

Also, to raise the talent who is such " the bearer of the area economy in future " causes the effect which makes area economy the raising of it and activation just as it is in the direct connection.

S tarted i n 1995, the N et D ay in the Silicon Valley area got excellent results to connect an Internet at 85 % of school, in 75 % of classrooms and the N et D ay of the Silicon Valley got and ended excellent results like being above-mentioned as " N et D ay III " in November, 1997.

It knew that there was a school with various situations even if it said generally that it does a western Harima area while developing " Harima M ulti - media S chool ".

It played a leading role aggressively as an innovator , there was a teacher who studies Internet use in the school scene and there was an area which is pushing it, too. There was an area which pulls a leg oppositely and to it it is struck as " the nail to go out of " to the such teacher, too. Also, there was an area where the system which advances a match about the becoming information-oriented isn't ready, too. When seeing as alone the father, the school for his child to study and the teacher to make study can not be chosen from us.

Our own selfish such as " wanting to request that teacher to do a child" can not be able to be realized and doesn't wish for doing the falling at the beginning of the year on the earnestly " good teacher ".

Also, the becoming information-oriented education doesn't concern to be the social theme which is inevitable in the future, too, and if there are areas which can not implement the education in the various reasons, too, there is an aggressively spreading area, too.

If the difference of the match posture in the present is continued in the future, it is the difference whether or not it is given opportunity or whether or not it is not. If opportunity is given, as for doing it or not, is " the individual differential " by the choice of the very man. However, if opportunity isn't given by the area, it mistakes that it is mainly taken up in the near future as " the area differential " without choice and there will are not to be. Then, it grew into the one like the faith only when in the consideration of me.

If it could not be done early as a educational policy of the government by being equal like "for every school simultaneous.", it would be natural to think that the volunteers and companies would be main body and it would have the Net Day as like it done at Silicon Valley. And it would be becoming my policy in my thinking any how.

Even if it is called " the N et D ay " in one word , the management of it is terrible. It accepts proposal ( the application ) from the school to hope for the participation and it does an appropriate guide according to the materiality of the presented plan from the school and selects an object school. According to my focus, it is quite difficult with a quick plan because of there are many things to do like that to spread a network in the school before the day, to have education program for the instructor volunteers of the Net Day, recruiting the volunteer and operation as a organization, adjustment of the donation, event operation of the Net Day and following up program for the schools after the day. Therefore, I was picturing the schedule to be quiet and to have been to hold the next year while preparing the human network which is growing up with " Harima M ulti - media S chool " with in the basis without being too greedy at the head.

I n the first week of September , t here was opportunity to have the draft beer in the tavern in Motomachi, Kobe in the return from the conference with Mr. Yoshihide Kimura of which " the Kobe M ulti - media Internet C onference " S ecretary- G eneral who is an information trapper inside in Kobe. Mr. Kimura said in the chat mode that

" It is moving to wants to hold a net day in Kobe . The net day is the wonderful device which makes area activation in the direct connection. We are hoping to have it with the "public" power not leading by the government and shall Harima join to us to have it ?."

Because quietly assuming a posture Harima was carrying forward no preparation in addition to being surprised at the sudden proposition of that , I was shrunk back about it. But with Mr. Kimura's passion which he said that "I'm not thinking about big thing because we may involve only 2 schools (finally 4 schools) in current situation. It may possible in Harima wh ile making it with a 1 school ." With his passion, my passion for making it have been coming out. It is my bad habit. When we were out of the tavern, I was already getting the feel " there is only a net day!" without thinking about the planning how much work it will be with in only 2 months.

There was effort of Mr. Kohnaga C hief D irector in NTT Kobe branch and so on, in September 25th, it linked Kobe and Himeji and it held a remote video-conferencing for the net day implementation.

Mr. Junji Hasegawa Himeji City A mount P olicy H ead of an office sat on the Himeji meeting place and could discuss what support was possible as the administration aggressively . In this points, we had a confidence to have it and I proposed that " shall we have a Net Day which will be the first in Japan with the cooperation of Kobe, Harima and Itami", and got agreement of every our members at the monthly meeting of Harima Internet Research Association. Of course, there is a human network of the Harima M ulti - media S chool to decide.

In the 45 day decisive battle of to be short-term which we were given to, in the problem how it moves efficiently, we recruited person of the volunteer who can move voluntarily who is called " the execution corps ". When appealing this by the mailing list at the Harima M ulti - media S chool and so on, the interested person with the nearness of 15 raised a hand first. We have started without thinking to much like that we would make a team and connecting each other with mailing list of the execution corps, sharing "What kind of work it will be at the day" and "what I can for it" with putting adjustment for the base organization behind. Since then, this execution corps gathers about twice per week in many places and make a plan.

I make some hypothesis.

In the Harima area, in case of the great earthquake of Hanshin Awaji , it was less suffered damage luckily . However, in Hanshin area in the vicinage, the terrible sight is spreading to the catastrophe with never been . Anyone in the area is not beautiful words such as " the volunteer " and the mistaking doesn't lie in its spending the several first days in the consciousness, " it is possible to be useful!". One .. it to have played an active part as the later support of entering a direct disaster area of being executed in grasping the grasp of the cooking broth to letting out relief goods and the disaster area in the thought and lifesaving's and relief's making efforts was various. It is possible to say that " the temperature " of the feelings to the disaster area in this area was more the one which is very higher in the whole country from such a situation.

The heart of the volunteer who is engaged in the relief activity of this Hanshin Awaji great earthquake supposes whether or not it didn't sprout up especially in the Harima area in Japan to be said to " that it is not in the ground of the volunteer ". Then, the thought as the volunteer looks for the suitable course to take which can be actually shown in the present real world which is full of the blockade sense and it thinks whether or not it wasn't kept in the chest of each one for a long time. It thinks whether the area didn't need the place making that the pure thought to want to attend a stranger and an area purely can be released.

To move these execution corps smoothly, the strong person who becomes a pivot must exist. What I who is started was doing that I had the plan to go to the implementation day in the American Silicon Valley for 1 week to the inspection before 2 weeks of the net day . The time which seems to be most important to make business succeed, it is a completely irresponsible story.

Then, played an active part in doing , OSS corporation , president , Mr. Hisaaki Ohoka being as the motive power which leads this project to the success.

He was indeed headed project with strong hard work like the negotiation and the plan in the spot, the adjustment of the cooperation in Kobe, the taking gathering of a volunteer.

The day of the Net Day, November 8th, 1997, inviting Mr. Masaaki Itoh, R epresentative of Smart-Valley Japan (Tokyo) , too, the one day event started at the Himeji City Shigo E lementary S chool.

The Shigo E lementary S chool could not have the enough explanation of the implementation sufficiently at first, and there was a sense which is a little dealt with with the half the body, too. However, the identity could be held by having it with everybody's such as the principal teacher, too, during thanks to the act of person in the execution corps such as Mr. Ohoka the self devoting. It was by about 100 volunteers' being gathered in the day which could count only about 30 that it was surprised. I thought of the importance of the project , the net day, once more. Also, each person could give taking charge by the indication of the execution corps team and corresponded. The number of locally the school children and the guardians became 350. This becomes about 1/3 of the whole school student, too. The cheer didn't disappear with the work by which the children attempt to refer to the home page by being able to brighten eyes by it and to make his illustration book and it makes only its home page by putting back in the digital camera in the state of the net day.

It did so and the net day as one day event left person who participated as the volunteer the confidence " to be made ". Then, it found " the bud at the citizen ventures " which become a center in the area in the future to and to be moved to it. It thinks that we could be moved by the skin about the importance to start an action, and the importance to accomplish, the result which is born from there.

There were various problems before the day. Thing s which could not pressure into donation of the corporations and that it could not help removing machinery and materials in the insufficiency in the adjustment with the school board and that it hung inconvenience because the mutual contact was insufficient in some day . There may not count but I thinks that it is possible to solve completely as the next task in the future.

It made this a catchword and the movement to let's hold " the net day " in western Harima each place in the future appeared. For example, in Ako City, started a new project about the study session which made it one for the purpose, too, and already, some school s expresses proposal to take part in the next year. Will " the wav e " which spreads with small first of a thought becoming a big welter been born? .

The Harima M ulti - media S chool wa s giving "the chance" in the theme, " the future of the children ".

The N et D ay made have the confidence " to be made " through the activity.

We think that we wants to think of the gusset making positively based on the creation for " the citizen ventures " where to find in the process through the various activities is made in the future.


/The Director of the Representative of the corporation of Info MeMe ; the provider for the making towns of Harima._/ _/The building up the human network ; Harima Internet Research Association ; Secretary-General._/ _/The creation of Age NPOSmart Valley Japan ; The execution member of the committee, http://www.svj.or.jp _/ _/The member of the special meeting of the talk for the promotion of creation of the information society of Hyogo _ / AM Kobe commentator_/ _/The constituency branch secretary of 11th of Hyogo of the party of the democracy http://www.memenet.or.jp/takeaki/_/ _/ the Himeji JC_/The local SI-The president of the electric machinery of the Nojima Denki Mr. Hiroshi Wasaki = Kotatsu Neko _/ _/ http://www.memenet.or.jp/kotatsu/ Email: kotatsu@memenet.or.jp _/ _/ http://www.memenet.or.jp/hir/ Harima Internet Research Association_/ _/ http://www.harima.or.jp/ Harima Multi-media School_/ _, http://www.harima.or.jp/netday / NetDay in HARIMA ( the dream project ) _/

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