Toyota City, Japan, May 28, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - Aichi Prefecture-based Chukyo University and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) have agreed to participate in a project to inspire kids through sports in Toyota City. This strengthens an October 2014 agreement between the Japan Football Association (JFA) and Toyota City to bring JFA's nationwide Kokoro Project to Toyota City. Under the expanded arrangement, 51 sessions will be held at 22 elementary schools in the city starting from today.
Based on the structure of JFA's Kokoro Project, athletes from Chukyo University and TMC's sports teams, in addition to athletes sent by JFA, will visit elementary schools in the local area. The athletes, serving as teachers and role models, will play energetic games with the children before talking openly about the challenges they had to overcome, and how they overcame them. The purpose of these activities is to communicate the joy and immense value of pursuing a dream, as well as the importance of effort and teamwork. The athletes will be accompanied by recent graduates working for TMC, volunteering to support each session.
The teachers selected to visit the elementary schools will include the figure skater Takahiko Kozuka, who studied at Chukyo University while working at TMC, as well as other athletes affiliated with Chukyo University and/or TMC.
This four-way cooperation between the academic, public, and private sectors is a first for JFA's Kokoro Project, and it is hoped that it serve as a model for new methods of teaching across the whole country.
The press conference held before the first class was attended by Saburo Kawabuchi, JFA's honorary president and leader of the Kokoro Project, as well as Toshihiko Ota, mayor of Toyota city.
Comment from Toshihiko Ota, mayor of Toyota City
"We started the We Love Toyota project this year to encourage people to use the resources of the city to enjoy our historical, cultural, artistic, and sporting heritage. The aim of these classes is to give a further boost to the We Love Toyota project by harnessing the strengths of our local universities and companies. I hope that these classes will help motivate kids to turn their dreams into reality."
Comment from Saburo Kawabuchi, honorary president of JFA
"In my role as Chairman of Tokyo Metropolitan University, I have worked on joint projects involving the academic, public, and private sectors. These projects were difficult to pull off and did not always produce the desired results. As a representative of football in Japan, I am delighted to see how successfully these organizations have come together for this project. This is the first cooperation between the academic, public, and private sectors based on the JFA's Kokoro Project, and I hope that it will help the project grow and diversify."
Comment from Hitoshi Yasumura, Vice-President of Chukyo University
"Chukyo University was founded with the aim of providing excellence in both learning and sports. In this spirit, we established four key principles for the university: play by the rules, do your best, promote teamwork, and respect your opponent. We want to see the children that are the foundation of the future grow up to pursue their dreams tenaciously. We are fully behind the aim of this project: to nurture both the minds and bodies of children. It will also provide an excellent opportunity for our athletes to return to the origins of their own dreams through teaching. It should help both the teachers and the children to grow."
Comment from Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota
"Toyota has been involved in sports since its foundation. Throughout our history we have confronted and overcome major challenges and, since becoming president, I have also faced many difficult situations. During those times, I took courage and strength of spirit from sports and from Toyota's sports teams. Sports can bring a smile to the faces of people throughout the world.
Through this project, we want to demonstrate the joy of sports and the importance of pursuing a dream and having hope for the future. There is no greater pleasure than to bring a smile to the face of a child."
Overview of classes in Toyota City
- Participating elementary schools (22 in total): Motoshiro, Shinmori, Obayashi, Komaba, Hanayama, Wakazono, Ichigi, Josui Kita, Takane, Terabe, Itsutsugaoka, Asuke, Wakabayashi Nishi, Kamitakimi, Tsutsumi, Nishi Hirose, Hirai, Miyama, Koshimizu, Josui, Koromogaoka, Nakagane
- Participating students: Elementary school fifth grade students
- Dream Teachers (planned): Approx. 20 athletes selected directly by the JFAApprox. 5 athletes studying or working at Chukyo University (figure skating, track and field, and volleyball)Approx. 26 athletes working at TMC (rugby, baseball, long-distance track and field, men's and women's basketball, women's softball)
- Volunteer staff: Approx. 3 per class(young employees from TMC in their third year after joining the company from university)
Overview of the JFA Kokoro Project
The JFA Kokoro Project was started in February 2006 by the Japan Football Association to help nurture the minds and bodies of children. In September of the same year, JFA established the JFA Kokoro Project Promotion Department, beginning full-scale implementation of the project in April 2007. In addition to football players, the project sends out active and retired athletes from a whole range of sports to elementary schools as teachers and role models to carry out activity sessions.
These classes aim to demonstrate the joy and value of teamwork and of striving to achieve a dream, in addition to the importance of respect for opponents. To achieve these aims, the athletes use energetic games and discussions to create strong interaction with the children.
Kokoro Project milestones to date
- April 2007: Start of Dream Classes as part of the JFA Kokoro Project.
- September 2011: Start of the Sports Kokoro Project in Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Chiba Prefectures as part of the reconstruction support activities of four groups (Japan Sports Association, Japanese Olympic Committee, JFA, and the Japan Top League Alliance) after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
- October 2014: JFA and Toyota City sign an agreement to cooperate in carrying out the JFA Kokoro Project. The project in Toyota City starts by holding 10 classes in local 3 elementary schools.
- May 2015: JFA, Toyota City, Chukyo University, and TMC agree to expand the scope of the previous year's agreement regarding bringing the JFA Kokoro Project to Toyota City. Plans call for 51 classes in 22 elementary schools throughout Toyota City in 2015.
About Toyota
Supported by people around the world, Toyota Motor Corporation (TSE: 7203; NYSE: TM), has endeavored since its establishment in 1937 to serve society by creating better products. As of the end of December 2013, Toyota conducts its business worldwide with 52 overseas manufacturing companies in 27 countries and regions. Toyota's vehicles are sold in more than 170 countries and regions. For more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com.
Source: Toyota
Contact:
Toyota Motor Corporation Public Affairs Division Global Communications Department Tel: +81-3-3817-9926
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