Mr. Makita, a Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, conducted an online lecture connecting with Papua New Guinea

25.05.2021

Mr. Jun Makita, a Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Hirosaki University conducted an online lecture connecting with Papua New Guinea on 20 and 21, May 2021. Mr. Makita had created a cartoon video whose theme is democracy and he has used it in a series of elementary school visits with the aim of teaching children the meaning of democracy. The video, “Democracy in Polititown,” used in this PNG online lecture is its English version, and this is a first lecture abroad.

The video presentation includes an opportunity for young viewers to engage in “mock voting.” In the video, two characters are running in the town’s mayoral election, and the children, as townspeople, will vote for one of the two candidates. Following the vote, the story of the video follows one of two paths, depending on which candidate wins the election (two storylines were prepared beforehand).

The online lecture was held at the St John Primary School, Port Moresby, on 20 May. 43 students of 7th grade discussed which candidate is better after watching the first half of video, and then, they actually voted. The winner of voting was Candy by 30 to 13.

Also, the class was conducted at the Boreboa Primary School, Port Moresby, on 21 May. 44 students of 6th grade mock-voted after the group discussion, and the winner was Candy by 28 to 16.

Every students enthusiastically discussed while having a fun and they were quite excited about the first voting in their life. Mr. Makita emphasized “I would like students to understand that our daily life and politics are directly connected and we can change the society by our own actions,” and spoke his enthusiasm for continuing this school-visit project in the foreign countries to contribute to spreading democracy across the world in the future.