TICAD stands for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development,　co-organized by the Japanese government, United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and African Union Committee.
The main purpose of the conference is to create an arena to discus the future of the African continent with its various governmental bodies. First held in 1993, the 5th conference (TICAD V) was held last June in Yokohama.

Coinciding with the conference, TICAD V Student Project was created. This project was created to allow Japanese and African students to discuss the future of both countries, gather their findings, and present them to the general public. In March of this year a “Japanese and African student Summit” was held with roughly 100 Japanese and African students gathering for 11 days to discuss employment, education, and other critical issues. The result of this summit was the creation of a proposal which discusses the promotion of human resource development and student exchange in Africa, as well as the importance of peace education. In the end the main goal of this summit was to deliver the voice of the youth to the main TICAD V held in June.

Q: How did you come to participate in these activities?

Yokoyama: I learned about the project’s activities by seeing posts on Twitter by one of the people who worked in the “Student Project Office.” I have never been to Africa and didn’t really know much about the continent in general so I thought it would be interesting to learn more. Also, I have always been interested in the running of a student conference.

Miyauchi: I was invited by a friend when I was working for an international none-governmental organization (NGO). When I studied abroad in England I felt quite uneasy with the large gap in my pre-flight image of England and what it actually turned out to be like once I started my studies. Thinking that I would like to learn more about Africa, a place I knew very little about, I participated because I thought youth activities would be interesting and I wanted to see just how much I could do.

Haja: I was introduced to the summit by the Madagascar Embassy. I participated because I felt it would be a good experience and that it would be helpful for my own personal research.

Ali: I was introduced to the summit from my friend from Botswana. I participated because I am interested in the connections between Japan and my own country, as well as Japan and Africa.

Q: What kind of activities did you participate in?

Yokoyama: Personally, I worked with the United Nations Volunteers/Ministry of Foreign　Affairs of Japan. Our job was to administrate the TICAD V volunteers and side events. Also, for the student summit that was held in March, participating students took part in 5 days of training in either the Tohoku, Kansai, or Chugoku regions of Japan. At this time I was responsible for administering the training that was held in the Kansai region.

Miyauchi : I presided over the overall running of the student project planning. For the student summit I designed the local training in Kansai which discussed employment issues and the promotion of private sectors. Following the summit I worked to be able to submit the student project proposal to the TICAD V. In the end we were able to deliver our proposal to the various nation leaders, the president of the World Bank Group, plus other governmental bodies and international organizations that were involved. Also, to help liven up the TICAD V we held a friendly soccer match between former soccer star from Cameroon and ambassadors to Japan from various African countries.

Haja: I was part of the economic development sectional meeting and working out different technical concepts for our proposal paper

Ali: I was part of the sectional meeting for peace and stability so I participated in the Chyugoku region’s training. As part of our field work we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and it was quite shocking for me. I truly felt that the Japanese and people of Africa must work together to help spread peace around the world.

Q: What is your impressions regarding your participation in the project?

Yokoyama: When we presented our proposal we were praised for providing the voice of the youth and our hard work was recognized. This made me very happy. I learned a great deal by being so involved in the main conference and the running of the student project and my interest in Africa has vastly increased.

Miyauchi: At the “Yokohama Declaration 2013,” the “expanding of opportunities for youth” was considered an important common indicator when regarding developmental issues being brought up in the TICAD V. We don’t fully understand the scope of influence our youth activities have, but I was greatly moved and was able to reaffirm the possibilities of youth. Also, thanks to the various opportunities the project provided, we are proud to have been to create a network of students from Africa who are studying abroad in Japan. During the 11 day student summit there were many differences of cultures and opinions that sometimes lead to large arguments, but even including that it was a great experience. In the future I hope to pass on my experiences to the next generation.

Haja: I found it quite challenging to gather the ideas of so many people from so many different countries. However I think that matching the ideas from African and Japanese students had a very significant meaning on how the youth express their opinions about ‘Development’.

Ali: I am very glad that we were able to present the students’ ideas and feeling to the main TICAD V conference. The youth of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, so I feel there was significant meaning in us gathering together and thinking about various issues concerning our future and the future of others.

Q: What brought you to Japan and what are your goals?

Haja: Until 2009, I was working with JICA and its partners on different development projects. Unfortunately, a political crisis erupted the same year, as many of our projects were suspended, my co-workers suggested me to pursue my studies in Japan, and since I was always interested about everything related to Japan, I decided to give it a shot.
―Eventually I would like to become a part of the Foreign Ministry in Madagascar. As a future policy maker, I would like to develop new economic policies, particularly related to agriculture and improve food security.

Ali: On day I was looking at a local paper in my home country of Djibouti and noticed an article regarding a scholarship being offered by the Japanese embassy. I took a test for the scholarship and passed. I know it sounds easy, but only one in 600 people were able to receive the scholarship.
On day I would like to become the president of Djibouti. As president I want to improve foreign policy, create a strong civil society, allow freedom of the press, and make it a truly free and democratic country.