To address the pressing challenges facing humanity—such as war and global warming—cooperation and co-creation beyond regional, sectoral, and ethnic boundaries are essential. To achieve this, nurturing next-generation co-creative leaders is indispensable. However, while technological advances in IT and AI have dramatically improved the efficiency of individualized learning and knowledge acquisition, education that sufficiently fosters the skills necessary for cooperation and co-creation remains insufficient.

To truly foster these skills, the burden and cost must be shared across society as a whole. Governments, businesses, and academia must transcend sectoral and generational boundaries and engage collectively in education. The most critical factor in nurturing next-generation co-creative leaders is cultivating relationships and real interactions with diverse others.

What matters most is not establishing a top-down “vertical” relationship where adults teach the younger generation.

Rather, it is about building “horizontal” relationships where both sides think, learn, challenge, and refine each other through Co-creative Education—and sustaining this cycle over time. Naturally, ensuring the continuity of these efforts requires economic rationality for the social side. In this regard, the educational benefits for working adults deserve special attention. In a rapidly changing world, it is crucial for adults to continue learning and updating themselves.

Engaging with the pure, energetic minds of young people greatly enhances the quality and quantity of that learning.

In 2022, the Edgeson Management Association was es- tablished through industry-academia collaboration. Since 2024, the association has been implementing MIRA-GE— a multigenerational co-creative workshop—as the flagship of Co-creative Education. The initiative was sparked by the recognition that the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, is an opportunity to design a future society where every Inochi unleashes its radiant light.

MIRA-GE at Nagasaki Higashi High School: Multigenerational discussions on the future

The name MIRA-GE symbolizes building a bridge between the present and the future. In these workshops, groups of four to five middle and high school students, university students, and working adults come together to discuss their vision for a desired future, identify the challenges to realizing that future, and propose cross-generational actions to address these challenges. A key feature is that corporations such as Hitachi and Panasonic, as well as universities like Kagawa University, provide insights into future technologies, around which discussions are held to design a better future.

In 2024, MIRA-GE workshops were held eight times in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Kagawa, and Ibaraki. The initiative has been well received, with feedback from both young participants and working adults stating that it was “a valuable learning experience” and “inspiring.” Furthermore, through Co-creative Education, new relationships are being built across sectors and generations in local communities, among governments, businesses, and educational institutions. By 2030, Edgeson Management Association aims to expand Co-creative Education throughout Japan, establishing itself as a pioneer in this field. Moreover, the association intends to showcase the outcomes at the 2030 World Expo in Saudi Arabia and further promote Co-creative Education as an essential initiative to connect Inochi worldwide, beginning with Asia and expanding globally.

In collaboration with diverse educational organizations, the Inochi Forum will also promote Co-creative Education that fosters mutual learning across generations and professions.

[References]

・Edgeson Management
https://www.edgeson-management.jp/

・‘A programme to nurture the next generation of young leaders, “Aota-zukuri”, held at Nagasaki Higashi High School – From “Aota-gai” to “Aota-zukuri”. Nurturing young people across generations, together with Japan’s leading companies.’
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000505.000006682.html

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Education and Children

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