Commemorative Event Held for the Oki Islands’ 10th Anniversary as a Global Geopark! (September 9)

To commemorate the certification of the Oki Islands as a Global Geopark area in September 2013, the geopark held a symposium in Okinoshima Town on September 9 and a beach clean-up in the four municipalities on the following day of September 10.  We would like to thank everyone who came to the symposium, workshops, and clean-up activities! 

What follows are pictures from the day of the events, which we will use to look back on how the day went! 

9/9 (Saturday)     Workshop snapshots 

Local high school students took on leadership roles in the “Future Island” workshop. They created a diorama of the Oki Islands, and participants created flags representing their ideal future for the islands to decorate it. 

Then, high school students once again displayed leadership as they deepened participants’ thinking with a card game about solving the current problems on the Oki Islands. 

A workshop reusing marine plastics to create a one-of-a-kind, original keyholder. It was popular with children attending with their parents. 

A gaming event was held for students from elementary to high school. In the morning, participants explored a virtual version of the Oki Islands created in Minecraft and answered quiz questions related to the Oki Islands. In the afternoon, participants enjoyed playing Mario Kart. 

The symposium was chaired by Board Chairman Ikeda and began with a greeting from guest of honor Tatsuya Maruyama, Governor of Shimane Prefecture. Then, beginning with Nikolaos Zouros, President of the Global Geoparks Network, celebratory messages from people overseas related to the geopark were played. 

During the keynote speeches, Shimane University professor Ichiro Matsumoto spoke on “The Future of the Oki Islands when Considering SDGs” and former Olympic athlete Suzu Chiba presented on the topic of “Energizing Every Day with Increased Motivation!” 

Many people gathered for the celebratory rice cake throwing event, and even the guests of honor throwing the rice cakes immensely enjoyed the event. 

That is all for the September 9 report. 

In October, there will also be an Oki Islands Global Geopark certification anniversary event. We look forward to your continued participation!