Involving Multiple Local Actors in Grassroots International Cooperation

In 2005, JCIE was commissioned by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to undertake a yearlong project to examine successful cases of grassroots-level international cooperation activities. The objective was to explore the process and methodology for carrying out such cooperation with the involvement of diverse actors at the local level. Four areas were selected, each of which has a strong tradition of international cooperation, and a research committee was formed. Two-day meetings were held in each location and discussions were held with local participants in international cooperation activities to try to ascertain the particular characteristics and success factors of their activities.

An initial planning meeting was held on March 30–31, 2005, at JICA’s Tokyo International Center. A second meeting was held in Takikawa, Hokkaido, on June 12–13, 2005. That was followed by meetings on August 8–9, 2005, in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture; on November 13–14, 2005, in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture; and February 6–7, 2006, in Musashino, Tokyo. In addition to examining the significance of citizen-to-citizen, regional-level international cooperation, participants sought to better understand what is involved at the local community level when such projects are encouraged, and what benefits the activities bring to the community. They considered what policies might effectively encourage local international cooperation that involves multiple actors and what JICA’s role might be in that process.