Student Declaration: Our Voice in 2017 
[Preamble] 
We, members of the Innovative Schools Network from 9 countries (Germany, Estonia, USA, 
Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore, Turkey and Japan) and active participants of the 
International Student Innovation Forum in Tokyo, Japan, August 2017, and with the support of the OECD 
Education 2030 project, have come together as students to reflect and exchange what we have learned through 
our shared journey during the past two years. During this time, each of us has connected with students from 
around the world who are in different classrooms, have different teachers, speak different languages, and have 
different learning styles; yet, we share a common concern for problems that affect us all. Our exchange 
partners also share the desire to reach out beyond the limits of our own familiar world to collaborate in 
thinking and in action. We also reflected with other peers from around the world, who, unlike us, do not 
benefit from similar learning opportunities or who still do not have their voices heard. 
In the midst of all this, we have decided to stand together and learn from one another so we can build 
better lives for ourselves and others. We created this joint declaration to affirm our belief in and our hope for a 
better future. We know we can make a difference in our local communities and in the world, so we are proud 
to make the following statement and announce it to everyone in the world; 
[The World in 2030] 
We will adapt to world shifts toward IT and globalization. So far, our lives have become incredibly 
convenient and effective thanks to rapid advances in technology. At the same time, we acknowledge that new 
developments in IT, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)� could massively disturb our society and overpower 
us if they were to continue progressing beyond our reach.  
Ongoing globalization has been gradually erasing borders in the world. Thus, we can now not only 
deepen our friendship with international fellows, but also experience borderless collaborative learning . 
Globalization, however, could also contribute to economic inequalities, refugee crises, and the spread of 
conflicts and terrorism. . 
In fact, we, the young generation, have been struggling to keep up and live with these extremely fast 
changes of the current society. Therefore, many of us have concerns about the world in 2030 and beyond: we 
worry about being able to build a meaningful existence, about excessively developed technology, and about 
more regional and religious conflicts. 
However, through our entire activities in Innovative Schools Network, we have acquired a 
fundamental belief toward 2030: no matter what tasks confronts us, we embrace our bright hopes to face them 
without being pessimistic. We will strive to make the world as follows: peace, not conflict, will prevail; every 
human right and human values, including freedom of speech, will be respected; every society will be 
eco-friendly based on renewable energies; and societies will persevere through natural disasters. We 
understand that each of us is obligated to play an active role for achieving our goals described above. Our 
actions will impact the world in 2030. 
[Participating in Communities] 
We made our first step for entering our society by reaching outside the world of schools. We have 
begun to communicate with local people such as mayors, store managers, and farmers, etc. Cooperating with 
such local people, each cluster has proposed possible resolutions for the challenges in each local region. Since 
we do not usually experience community issues in school life the same way, learning with those who 
faithfully love their communities outside of schools was interestingand unforgettable. Some of them were 
fairly passionate and unique with enormous ideals; others were different from our teachers, which also 
motivated us. Through our participation in communities, we recognize that collaborative attempts for 
solutions between adults and us will make communities better.  
[International Collaboration] 
Global warming, immigrants and refugees crises, natural disasters, and terrorism cannot be resolved 
by the power of a single nation. We have to address these problems with aglobal view, based on the insights of 
varied standing points  and values. We should bond together by eliminating borders among schools, 
communities, and countries. By extending these bonds worldwide, we can share our similar problems and 
consider possible solutions together.1 With the purpose of building this world community, we, gathering here 
in Tokyo, should extend our network. We can strengthen our bonds thanks to face-to-face occasions, such as 
this forum. Furthermore, we can build closer bonds by using IT. Languages also play an important role in 
fostering relationships. We, therefore, have to learn and will be happy to learn languages as a tool for 
communicating, not learning to pass our examinations. 
[Students-Centered Learning] 
We have been wondering if the current education system functions well enough within this rapidly 
changing world. We do not think that the speed of education reforms has matched the current flow of world 
changes. We cannot build the world we hope for by acquiring knowledge just for better grades in our 
examinations. We believe it is our duty to obtain knowledge and build competencies to effectively identify 
problems, search for solutions, set plans and, finally, put knowledge into an action. In order to accomplish the 
duties mentioned above, we should not consider learning as others’ task but ours. Through countless 
discussions with local people and people from abroad, who have a variety of perspectives and experience, we 
will move forward. We will not simply receive tasks from teachers. We will, on our own initiatives, 
communicate with those who have varied backgrounds and views and explore new communities to learn 
different values that we have never encountered before. Through these attempts, we will develop 
competencies including knowledge based on experience, to invent new perspectives, rather than just following 
trends and traditions without our own thoughts. Experiences cannot be taught. To learn from experiences, we 
must actually experience ourselves. We will never know until we actually understand. We are ready to take 
responsibility for our own learning and growth by creating and choosing which curriculums are needed 
                                                   1 Attachment: Participating clusters and main thematic challenges worked at the ISN2030. 
for ourselves. Knowing that stronger communities, societies, and countries are built upon the gifts of every 
one of its participants, we will also encourage and help those around us to develop their own talent and pursue 
their interests, and expect government to support this no matter what social background each person is from.  
[Innovation] 
It is time to change our concepts of education. School life is not just a preparation period for 
acquiring knowledge to be a member of the society. We need to learn how to use information and acquire life 
skills and social skills. Each of us, as we move towards 2030, must take actions with pride in ourselves as 
primary individuals of this world. We have built our confidence through a series of activities and because we 
achieved various goals by fully applying our own competencies. We will spread the innovation over the entire 
world by innovating  our own education.  
[Closing Remarks] 
We declare the following 4 messages; 
1. We are confident for our future. We can be actively engaged individuals in this world, not only by acquiring 
knowledge, but also by utilizing and applying it in complex ways. We are students; as such, we can imagine 
what adults cannot. .  We want adults be aware of our power which can be used effectively for the 
common good. 
2. We recognize that a powerful will and practical plans and acts are essential to accomplish important goals. 
Instead of struggling with depressing concerns because of discords or gaps of perspectives, we will 
overcome these challenges by sharing aims and mutually helping each other. Taking actions with shared 
aims and a sense of purpose for improving society will enable us to set global trends. 
3. We understand that the global connections are fundamental. First, learning begins with each individual. 
From there, each individual discusses with friends in a smaller group, learns with classmates who share the 
same aspirations, then continue the conversation with domestic peers and even those from abroad. Through 
this development, learning collaboratively with people who hold similar aspirations and  concerns and 
who engage in similar efforts is massively motivating for all. Moreover, cooperation not only with the same 
generation but also with adults from other generations provides us fulfilment and a sense of 
accomplishment. Additionally, we recognize that global problems can be addressed best if communities 
with similar problems establish cooperation.  
4. Our vision is of a future that is respectful of all forms of life, that helps heal the planet from the harmful 
actions of the past, and that is inclusive of all people regardless of their gender, religion, origin, 
socio-economic background, and personal circumstances. We shall not mindlessly follow the trends around 
us, but we will strive to create the world we want. We should believe in ourselves, strengthen global 
connections, and influence new world trends through our activities. Hand-in-hand, we will take actions. 
Wherever we fail, persevere, and ultimately succeed together, and we will build global community in which 
the entire world communicates and receives opportunities, peace, and happiness. We are not onlookers, but 
creators of the world! 
August 4, 2017,  
International Student Innovation Form 2017 
Attachment: Participating clusters and main thematic challenges worked at the ISN2030. 
Tohoku-Germany (Haar) Cluster 
Members of Tohoku Cluster have experienced the 2011 Great Earthquake followed by the nuclear 
disaster and hardships such as depopulation, deportation, or harmful rumors. Fukushima city team 
and Kesennuma team have been trying to revitalize our town by making sightseeing tours, which 
help many people to recognize the attractiveness of their local areas. Futaba Future School team has 
been conducting research in collaboration with EMG to make our society sustainable through 
renewable energy without depending on thermal and nuclear energy.  
Germany (Haar), Ernst-Mach Gymnasium（EMG）aimed at putting “Think Green” into practice to 
make our lifestyle more sustainable / environmentally friendly. The exchange with our Japanese 
partners about the nuclear disaster in Fukushima showed us how much we have to care for our 
environment. That is why in our projects in Germany we did research on how we affect the 
environment with our modern lifestyle and on how we can minimize the negative effects this has by 
implementing changes in our school (e.g. new waste collection methods to increase recycling) and our 
daily lives (e.g. reducing the use of plastic, buying from local farmers and organic whole food stores). 
We interviewed experts and even made some experiments on our own like trying to go without any 
kind plastic for a week. The exchange with our Japanese partners made us even more aware of the 
global implications of our lifestyle and the need to start changing it in our “backyard”, i.e. with 
ourselves. 
Hiroshima- USA- Indonesia – New Zealand- Philippines 
110 high school students from Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United 
States formed the Hiroshima Innovative School: Partnership for Youth (P4Y) Vision 2030. We met in 
Hawaii in summer 2016 and identified three universal challenges: education, the environment, and 
global awareness. In summer 2017, we met again in Hiroshima and finalized the vision.  
Our experience in Hawaii and in Hiroshima has inspired us to think about the complexity and 
consequences of history in our countries and how it affects the present and the way we work for 
changes. The P4Y Vision 2030 addresses the need and importance of access to education, the ability 
to sustain it, and the quality of education, to encourage understanding and properly acting towards 
environment and global awareness. 
Wakayama – Turkey – Germany (Constance) Cluster 
In addition to individual themes in the five participating schools in Wakayama, (Hidaka High shool, 
Tanabe High school, Seirin High school, Naga High school, and Kainan High school), the Wakayama 
cluster explored the way to integrate people from outside of Japan living in Wakayama into our 
communities by organizing an exchange event. This was due to our history of sending migrants to 
Canada. Our view was further extended by collaborations with Turkish and German students who 
have been facing migrant and refugee problems. 
Due to the geographical location of our country, Turkey immigration has always been an ongoing 
issue since it creates settlement problems in the area. Therefore, it is imperative to find long-lasting 
and sustainable solutions to it. We, as three Turkish schools (MEF National, MEF International and 
Darussafaka Meltem), aimed to work on the ‘Immigration Issue in our area, its consequences, and 
suggestions for solutions’. First of all, our students did extensive research on ‘Immigration’ and 
shared the knowledge that they obtained with each other giving presentations or making posters.  
Then people who had immigrated were interviewed and asked to share their experiences; old record 
albums with songs about immigration were listened to; books were read and notes were taken. Some 
belongings, posters, and photographs which symbolize immigration were collected. Old photographs 
were re-enacted in the historical Haydarpaşa Railway Terminal, the first place that comes to our 
minds when immigration is mentioned. In the end, an exhibition was opened in which the products 
of all this work were displayed. 
How does the refugee crisis affect Germany and how are refugees in Constance organized? With this 
project, we, Wessenberg-Schule, tried to point out some of the main problems and even further, the 
consequences of this crisis. We separated our topic into an overview of Germany in comparison to 
other European countries and then we explored in more detail how these realities play out in 
Constance. We got a chance to interview our mayor, which was a big enrichment for our project. We 
also explored sustainable tourism; examined different aspects of the German language we would 
speak in 2030; explored the issue of climate change through a small survey on German and Japanese 
aspects of it. 
Fukui-Singapore Cluster 
Tsuruga High school students have inquired into Environmental and Energetic Problems based on 
their hometown’s issues, where the nuclear power plant is located. Usui High school students have 
investigated  some peculiar problems in the central city with Fukui city officials. Wakasa High 
school students together with Temasek Junior College (TJC) students in Singapore have conducted 
the Joint International Research about water pollutant by micro-plastics that have some possibilities 
of influencing the ecosystem.�  Students in Primary & Junior High School attached to the 
University of Fukui have conducted their Project-Based Learning with the themes of “Psychology,” 
“Television” and “Japanese Culture,” based on their heritage of designing longitudinal Inquiry-Based 
Learning and Project-Based Learning. 
At the TJC in Singapore, in addition to the research of microbeads, to fit with Wakasa High School’s 
research on micro-plastics, we investigated how oil spills affect the world’s oceans and Singapore as 
well as the dangers they pose to the livelihoods of those living in Nigeria. Then, we researched 
different ways in which we could clean up existing oil spills to prevent further damage to the ocean. 
As Singapore prepares for an ageing society, we also explored both challenges and opportunities 
associated with an ageing society.  
Estonia – Oki-Dozen Cluster 
Our home island Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia. Saaremaa is visited every year by many 
tourists. We have seen that this affects the economy and environment of our island, but there are no 
scientific studies about it. To protect Saaremaa from too many negative influences but still retain the 
positive effects of tourism in 2030, it was necessary to analyze the situation and think about possible 
actions. The theme of our project was “The impact of tourism on the economy and environment of 
Saaremaa”. We studied various sources of literature, met with local government employees and 
visited tourist companies, went to study excursions and interviewed people. We identified the main 
problems and possible actions related to tourism in Saaremaa, and presented our findings to people 
in our community. 
In 2030, we want to become adults who can support Oki-Dozen’s sustainable development. So we 
tried to solve the biggest problem in Dozen, that of decreasing population. One of the reasons of 
decreasing population is that people in Dozen think that they should have children only after 
marriage, and this contributes to low birth rates. We held an event to show the different marriage 
perceptions around the world and to perform a play about marriage. We hope that this will give an 
opportunity for people in Oki-Dozen to learn that there are other ways of having a family. 