Kanato Matsumoto (16 ), CE youth reporter, participated in the 10th International Youth Media Summit in Belgrade, Serbia, from July 27th through August 6th, 2015. He joined one of the seven issue groups, Poverty, of which Veton Kastrati was the advisor. This was Kanato’s first time to meet and talk to a young man from Kosovo.
Q. Could you give me a brief explanation about your country, Kosovo?
Kosovo is the newest country in Europe. We became independent in 2008 by help from USA and EU because we were occupied by Ottomans and Serbia for 600 years. Kosovo is in the middle of the Balkans surrounded by Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. It is a small country. The population is around 2 million. The capital is Pristina. There are a lot of old cities, but I live in Malisheva city. Our country has very old traditions of clothing, music and food.
Poverty group
Q. What kind of work do you do?
I work as an English teacher in primary school, Ibrahim Mazreku, and I am the founder of an NGO called Values for Better Future. We do a lot of activities for children, students and youth. Our aim is on education, culture, media and art. We try to help young people to find young talents and we work with them making short movies, and news for WADADA NEWS FOR KIDS. Q. Why did you choose that job?
Because English is spreading fast in Kosovo but we don’t have enough English teachers. At first,it was the best way to get a job. After that I will be able to contact with people from international organizations, summits and festivals.
I started my work as an English teacher when I was 19 years old. My father was also an English teacher and he helped me. There are not enough teachers in my city, so for me, it was easy to get this job.
I made the first movie in my city. It was called “ The Dreamers” about children who have dreams and they want to do something but they can’t. Therefore I made it to express their talent. We participated in festival film Prix Jeunesse International with students from the Ibrahim Mazreku school. I was motivated so I started another project which is called “Kosovo’s Children Government.” We had great success in Kosovo with this movie. Last one is “No hands, no problems” about a boy who was born without hands. I am very happy to work as a teacher because I have motivated a lot of students to love the English language, media and international relationships even more. This was evaluated from relevant institutions and they have announced that I was one of the most active teachers in Malisheva for 2014-2015.
National costume
Q. Why did you participate in this summit?
I participated in this summit to meet new people and to show my work. It is very important to show my work to delegates from 30 countries from different kinds of cultures, backgrounds and educational levels. It was a very great experience. I would like to thank Royal Norwegian Embassy in Kosovo for supporting me to come to this summit.
Q. What did you learn through the summit?
I got a lot of experiences and could learn about different kind of educational backgrounds, cultural backgrounds and traditions. But what is more important is to learn how to make better movies in the future.
Q. Why did you choose the “Poverty” group?
I was most affected by the Poverty group because we are still suffering from poverty in Kosovo. I try to share my experience of poverty.
It is good to help poor people because for them it is hard to live in bad conditions. Still today there are a lot of children who do not have the opportunity to be educated. They need more help from others. In Kosovo, we have a lot of poor people because we were damaged by war. We are trying to make their lives and their futures better.
Q. What are the problems about poverty in Kosovo?
We are a new country. We became independent in 2008 and there are a lot of people who misused the budget of our nation. They don’t invest into the right places. I think they made business by spending the money of Kosovo. They don’t send the money to the right place so it can be invested in factories and employees to raise their business.
Q. What do you think of the solution to end poverty?
It is very hard to solve this problem because it is a global issue. We should work as a team to protect each other and to give more space to people who are not able to create possibilities for themselves. I think the government is one of the most important elements that can solve this problem by investing money in the right places that would create more job opportunities for the youth. They need to manage the youth population who are growing and who are not satisfied. They are trying to leave Kosovo. The government should do more but I, as an individual, can do things to help as one of citizens or teachers. I can help educate poor children.
Q. How does the government get money?
We have 2 million people but the government gets money only from taxes and small industries of Kosovo. Now, in Kosovo is the time to open more factories and empower the youth.
Q. Are there any industries?
There are a small number of industries and businesses . We don’t have any huge industries such as ships, trade, airplane, technology. We only have small businesses. We produce our own electricity and agriculture.
Q. Do you receive enough support from other countries ?
Yes, the EU and the US invested a lot. There are more than 5 hundred thousand people who work abroad but we need more businesses as every country has. We have to establish businesses from a strong economic perspective.
Malisheva city
Q. Do you have any problems in education?
In the past, there were some problems but after the war, we have more interest for school and every child has access to education. To attend universities it is not too expensive . You have to pay only 100 Euro for annual college tuition. A lot of young women are going to school to be educated by themselves in order to create better families and to find good jobs in the future. There were no women who went to university before, but now the possibility is there for both genders to attend university.
Q. Do you think that one of the reasons everyone is not going to university is poverty?
Yes, even if they are good students, if they are poor, the parents can’t support them. They just get married or leave Kosovo for a better life somewhere else.
Q. Is Kosovo going better in 7 years ?
Yes, it is going to be better but we are still facing some problems because in Kosovo, most of the population is young people. The average age is 30 years old and the young people are going to go abroad to find a better job or a better life. This situation is not being managed. Last year, there were 2 hundred thousand young people who left Kosovo to live in Germany, Austria and Italy. This is the worst situation after the war in my country.
Q. How Japanese people can support your country?
I don’t know because I don’t know your possibility. Maybe you can support the youth and schools. You can bring things you don’t use anymore such as technology or equipments. Even if we are far from Japan we can find other good solutions in the future because Japan has supported Kosovo’s institutions very much such as by bringing in medicine, new technology, philanthropy, instruments, and vehicles to clean the cities. We are very thankful for that and always expect good news from Japan, who is a model of future citizenship and inventions.
Japan is said to be an “aging society” today. One of the problems of an aging society is that “waiting elderly”, meaning elderly people who are waiting to enter a special care nursing home because there are no spaces available. I investigated the actual conditions of the waiting elderly problem.
I asked Shoji Kawamoto, Elderly Facility Deputy Manager and Group Leader, Kanagawa Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Welfare Department, about whether or not people who wish to enter the special nursing home has increased. He said it has. The government created a nursing care insurance system in 2000. Since then, every year in April, the government conducts a survey that looks at the number of people wanting to enter nursing homes. In the first survey that year, in Kanagawa prefecture, there were 6,300 people on the list. In 2004 that number rose to 21,585, an increase of over 15,000 people. Since the 2004 survey, the numbers continue to rise. In 2014, 22,928 were on the list due to the increase of the elderly population.
In my next interview with Sumire Narita, Certified Care Worker and Care Manager, Social Welfare Service Corporation Shikou Kai and Director of Aobadai Area Care Plaza, I learned that many elderly people who have difficulty in their daily life come to Aobadai Area Care Plaza. Sometimes, people come only for consultation about nursing care for their who live in distant suburbs. This care plaza accepts applications for care level assessments for long term care.
To make use of the nursing service provided by nurse-care insurance, the necessity for care must be recognized. In this system, several steps must be taken to receive authorization. First, the person or their family send in their application to a public office or to a Community General Support Centers.
Second, a certified examiner visits the home to confirm the information stated in the application. Also, the home doctor writes a statement to support the application. Then the Certification Committee of Needed Long-Term Care, organized by health, medical and social welfare experts, examines the application. The applicant may be assigned a Certification of Needed Support with a number between 1 and 2 or a Nursing Care Level between 1 and 5 based on assessed care needs and ability to live independently. The more care services one needs, the higher the score they receive. If the applicant receives a Certification of Needed Support, a preventive care plan will be provided.
If an applicant receives a Certification of Nursing Care level with a number between 1 and 5, in addition to the care plan, they can also apply to enter a nursing home. However, if the nursing home is full, one has to wait. This is the problem of the “waiting elderly.”
If one has to wait to enter the nursing home with a high level of nursing care needs, it would be difficult to maintain the daily routine alone. Therefore, one would need more help in that case. Nowadays, there are many services to support a daily routine as an alternative choice to nursing homes such as household help including cooking, cleaning or laundry. Also, there are day centers providing a place for the elderly to spend their time and have meals or bathe. Thanks to these services, the waiting elderly are able to maintain their lives more easily than they had before.
Mr. Kawamoto pointed out one of the causes of the waiting elderly problem and that is that many people apply to many nursing homes at the same or apply without any urgency. In other words, there are many people rushing to apply to nursing homes because they worry about their future. However, some of them wouldn’t enter the nursing home even if their application was approved because they are still healthy enough or can receive care from their family members.
It is natural for us to worry about our future but in order to reduce the waiting elderly problem, we shouldn’t apply for nursing homes due of our insecurities. We should rather wisely utilize the living support service that appropriately supports our daily functioning .
It is almost three and half year since March 11, what a memorable day. At 9.0 on the Richter scale, maximum seismic intensity at 7, the earthquake hit in the east Japan. It named “The Great East Japan Earthquake.” This earthquake caused a huge tsunami and drowned towns at Sanriku coast. I went to those damaged areas, Ishinomaki and Onagawa on August 16th. The aim was to learn how the damaged areas look like from the children who live there. I conducted an interview for Children Reporters who work at The Kids Media Station at Ishinomaki.
First of all, I visited Hiyoriyama Park, Ishinomaki Port, Minato Elementary School and Onagawa Regional Medical Center (the old Onagawa town hospital.) Since Hiyoriyama Park is located at height, we could see a panoramic view of Ishinomaki city from there. There were landscape pictures taken before the earthquake posted in places. To compare with those pictures, it is clear that city landscape was dynamically changed. Buildings in the town disappeared sharply, resulting in almost vacant land in Minamihama Area and Kadonowaki Area. Sandbanks in Old Kitakami River got smaller than before because the tsunami flushed it out. A half destroyed building is still remained at Ishinomaki port. It was a pitiful sight.
Owing to the earthquake, Minato Second Elementary School (closed in 2013) unified to Minato Elementary School. On the site of Minato Second Elementary School, there were stone monuments commemorating closure of the school.
Onagawa Regional Medical Center.
Although Onagawa Regional Medical Center was built at 18 meters height from the ground, the first floor of the building was flooded about 2 meters when the tsunami came. We saw many signs which indicate “tsunami attained at this point of height.” Also, small temporary housings still remain there. There were many things I couldn’t realize without going there.
After that, I visited children reporters in general incorporated association Kids Media Station to ask about the earthquake. Kids Media Station is an organization, publishes “Ishinomaki Hibi Kodomo Shinbun.”
When I asked how he felt when the earthquake happened, Ren Yaegashi (first year in Ishinomaki middle school) said “At that time, I was in fourth year in elementary school. So I was in school and I worried about my family members.”
Questioned about what he wants the town to be in the future, Hiroki Matsubayashi (first year in Hebita middle school) said “Since the tsunami hit our town, we could play only inside. I would like there to be more playgrounds” Also, according to Hinako Kimura (third year in Kadonowaki middle school), “After the earthquake, many stores in a shopping arcade were closed and became empty. So I hope stores would be opened again and become more bright.” Ren Yaegashi said “the stores are concentrated in the suburb area, I would like to make central area livelier.” Their opinions were mainly about town surroundings that have hugely changed from the tsunami.
When I was asking about whether the status quo of the city gradually approaches to their ideal, Yuuko Sakai (sixth grade in Kadonowaki elementary school) indicated that “It is approaching to the ideal. However, I don’t think the town became the ideal yet.” Ayaka Abe (sixth grade in Hebita elementary school) said “Minamihama area where Kadonowaki elementary school used to be there is now almost vacant area. The tsunami flushed almost everything out, there is grass only remained right now. That place is very dark because there are no lights, so I want to make that place brighter.” Hearing their answers, it seemed the area hasn’t recovered from the disaster or reached to the standard before.
With children reporters of Kids Media Station.
What do they want people in other places to do is “I would be happy to if people in Japan will pay more attention to our town Ishinomaki and read “Ishinomaki Hibi Kodomo Shinbun.” On the one hand, there are reporter specified opinions there but on the other hand, there were opinions such “I hope many people will visit Ishinomaki and exchange with us.” (Kimura) or “I want the population of the visitors to increase than now. I would like them to know more about the earth quake.” (Abe). As stated above, there were many wishes for people to visit Ishinomaki.
Finally, I asked are there any lessons from the earthquake for people in Japan. Yaegashi said “People in Ishinomaki became more prepared for disasters than before. So, I would like people in other areas to be prepared for disasters.” Hinako Kimura also said “Since we can’t predict when earthquakes happen, I strongly recommend preparing for those unforeseen happenings.” Sakai indicated “It would be better to think about how to manage and survive from the earthquake on daily basis.” They told us their lessons from the earthquake.
As I visited in Ishinomaki, I felt an atmosphere which I couldn’t gain only watching documentaries or news through a screen. Also, I noticed there were many things I could never know as long as I could ask them who survived from the earthquake directly. If more people know about the earthquake by visiting the spot, it would be helpful for people to prepare for earthquakes whose epicenter is directly below Tokyo or Nankai Trough earthquake. To gain more knowledge about earthquakes will prevent people and cities from damaging.
At noon on the third day of the “International Youth Media Summit” 2014, I was in an orientation session where each group consisting of seven students introduced themselves. I felt like whimpering in the middle of my presentation because of my poor English. I could not talk about myself fluently like other members.
Many times I was at a loss for words and said I was sorry. Then they encouraged me patiently to continue my speech and told me they did not judge me by my English level and I did not have to apologize. After I listened to those words, I started to say “Thank you” instead. Those words gave me the courage to speak English for the rest of the summit.
This event, the 9th International Youth Media Summit took place in US Soka University campus in Southern California from July 14 to 27th, 2014. Around 80 young people from 22 countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Palestine and Kosovo participated in the event. They were divided into seven groups and each group was assigned one of these topics: discrimination, poverty, violence, health, environment, women’s rights and youth empowerment.
I joined the young people’s status group. Other member students were from Armenia, Slovenia, Kosovo, United States, Mexico and Nigeria. First we presented problems relating to the young people’s status in their home countries, shared information and then discussed the solutions. A Nigerian girl told that many young people in her country could not choose what they wished to do due to financial constraints and social status. Everyone agreed that was also the case in their own countries.
Our mission was to make a one-minute video clip. Each member picked a video as their example and shared them with the other members. Then we discussed what our theme should be and how to create it. We finally decided to title our work “EVERY TALENT HAS ITS POWER” aiming to motivate young people to believe in their own talents and pursue their chosen way even if they feel hesitant to do it.
Gaffer.
We shot our video on the university campus. Everyone was given a particular role such as producer, director, etc. and also received necessary training for our roles from professional experts. I was in charge of gaffer, controlling the light level in a scene using the light and a reflection board. This was a new skill for me. I had never experienced this kind of workshop before. I was amazed that the other members understood their roles quite well and were surprisingly skilled at video creation. Sometimes we disagreed with each other but ultimately always reached a reasonable resolution after discussion and listening to each other. Japanese people tend to withdraw their opinion before even making efforts to listen to others when they confront a different point of view. I felt this type of interaction was something the Japanese could learn from. We were all delighted when we finished editing and completed our film.
Another mission was to draft a declaration. Everyone composed an essay to discuss problems in their countries and propose solutions. One declaration from each group would be nominated for recording and would be also shown together with the group video work. The declaration I wrote was selected from our group. I asked parents and teachers to use more encouraging words to children. I practiced my English pronunciation very hard and spent much time preparing while receiving support from others for the recording. When my declaration and our video were presented in the closing ceremony, we were all filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment.
Recording the declaration.
What I realized by the end of the summit was that at the beginning, we all came with many worries but by the end we all successfully worked as a team and produced a video by exchanging our ideas. I learned that when we are confronted with challenges, the key to success is to jump right in and try it. When watching arguments that occurred within the groups, it made me feel that people are basically the same no matter where they come from. Most of the disagreements were a result of clashes between different cultural values and strong feelings by participants of wanting to change that. This summit brought many young people from various sets of circumstances, different views on issues. By having participants work on joint projects, it provided them an opportunity to be able see things from a more global perspective. Having spent my time among those who are able express their ideas very well and listen to others, I learned the importance of being able to assert one’s opinions. For that, I feel I must work hard to raise my level of English.
Rui Murakami (15), CE youth reporter, participated in the 9th International Youth Media Summit in Aliso Viejo, southern California, from July 14th through 27th, 2014. She joined one of the seven issue groups, Environment, of which Hania was the advisor. This was Rui’s first time to meet and talk to an Iranian and was eager to have an interview.
Q. What kind of work do you do?
I am a Children’s Media Professional working as a freelance media researcher & educator. I have also my own center called United Dreams devoted to children’s issues specially children’s media.
Q. Why did you choose that job?
Because I believe media plays a great role in our era as we are living in 21st century.Working in this field, especially with children and young people, it is both vital and interesting. It not only makes you feel fresh and active but also provides a platform to help children in gaining media literacy; as you know nowadays literacy is not limited to the knowledge of reading and writing.
Q.What is your religion?
I am Muslim.
Q.What do you like about Iran?
Iran has a great culture. Our culture goes back to 3,000 before Christ (BC) which makes me feel proud.
Q.What do you think the problems are in Iran ?
We have many problems in Iran but the main one is we are isolated from some parts of the world. We should open our doors to the world and they should open their doors to us.
If each nation wants to live in a peaceful world, we have to respect other nations with their own beliefs. We should distance ourselves from political views. We should open our doors to welcome other beliefs, other ideas, and listen to other comments on how to live peacefully together. We should remove all hostilities.
Q. What is the impact of social media?
As I mentioned in my presentation, social media is the most important part of our lives. If you look at the people nowadays, they are all involved in social media in their personal lives, workplace and in their leisure time. When social media becomes like oxygen, it has a great impact. We cannot live without it. So we should increase our knowledge on how to use it in a proper way.
Q. Are there any co-education schools in Iran from primary to secondary?
In Kindergarten, we have co-education. In primary and secondary schools, we are separated by gender but study the same curriculum. Primary school starts from age of six and secondary school ends at the age of eighteen. We have colleges and universities that are co-educational.
Q. Did you go to university in Iran?
Yes, I did. I earned my Master’s Degree in Iran.There are some practical and difficult departments that are predominantly pursued by male students such as mining.
Q. What is Master’s degree in?
Communications—Research in Media.
Q. Why did you choose Communications?
I really love it because as I mentioned earlier we are living in the media age and we are involved in it everywhere all the time. We are bombard by media messages and we can also produce media to overcome our challenges. This is very interesting to me. It is a major which is in fact a package of other sciences like psychology, human science, law, politics, international relations.
Q. Are there any women’s university in Iran?
Yes, there is. There is a well-known university with a very good faculty. But I went to a co-educational one.
Q. Are you satisfied with education of Iran?
Honestly not, because it is too strict. We have to study a lot. I don’t believe an education means you just go to school to study. Education means you go to school to have different activities and to learn various skills. You need to have social activities. Iranians are highly educated people but I believe we have to pay attention to other aspects as well.
Q. Do you think that the government controls social media in Iran?
Yes, they do. We have only state TV and radio, no private stations. There are private newspapers but they are soft-censored. The internet is filtered. Let me talk about the Iranian impression about Japanese people In Iran people respect Japanese people because they work so hard.
After the World War II, Japan was completely destroyed but they kept their unity to rebuild their country. Japanese are very respectful and Iranians admire you.
