Universities’ involvement in local communities : Gainanyo University in Nomura and the Japanese Sake "Ogata Koan" to Support Recovery from Disaster

ダイガク　ノ　チイキ　トノ　カカワリ　ガイナンヨ　ダイガク　in　ノムラ　ト　フッコウ　シエン　シュ　オガタコウアン　ノ　トリクミ

カワバタ, アキラ

Kawabata, Akira

日本酒「緒方洪庵」

大学生

えひめ南予きずな博

Gainanyo University in Nomura

Japanese Sake “Ogata Koan”

University students

Ehime Nanyo Kizuna Expo

論文

Research Article

The Nomura area of Nomura-cho, Seiyo City, Ehime Prefecture, is a depopulated area which was hit and damaged by the torrential rains in western Japan in 2018. We, a group from the Graduate School of Human Sciences at Osaka University, organized NEO Nomura, a general incorporated association, and have been supporting the reconstruction of the Nomura area. In this article, we introduce two projects carried out in 2021 and 2022. The first was the "Gainanyo University in Nomura" held within the Ehime Nanyo Kizuna Expo in Ehime Prefecture. Nine lectures and rakugo storytelling sessions were held over a two-year period. The second was an activity to commission a sake brewery to brew "Ogata Koan" sake to support reconstruction efforts, and sell it to promote the name of Nomura and encourage those who know Nomura to support the town in any way they can. Through these efforts, we considered the meanings of Universities’ involvement in the community. First, unlike other organizations, universities have advanced and diverse expertise that can be utilized to serve society. Second, as we argued, citing specific examples, universities can utilize university students, who are valuable young people in local communities, and can activate the attitudes of young people in the community.