高校生によるSDGsグローバル対談(2026.08.02)　第2回カンボジア世界遺産からの探究学習会

Summary (SDGs Global Dialogue, Cambodia World Heritage inquiry)

This program is the second session of “SDGs Global Dialogue by High School Students”, held as a commemorative initiative connected to Japan’s 75th anniversary of joining UNESCO. Students from Japan and Taiwan, along with local UNESCO-related participants, share inquiry-learning results centered on Cambodia’s World Heritage sites.

A key element is a live (Zoom/stream) component from the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21)—a former Khmer Rouge detention and torture facility. The session aims to connect lessons of history to human rights, peace, and memory, emphasizing that understanding past tragedies should inform present action.

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1) Program framing: “learning from tragedy” to build peace

Organizers stress that remembrance must lead to prevention: understanding human-rights violations so they will not be repeated.

The live segment is intended to transmit the museum’s educational message—peace, human dignity, and the value of life—and to encourage participants to translate learning into future responsibility.

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2) Opening remarks and advisory guidance

• Professor Noguchi

  • Highlights UNESCO’s theme that wars begin “in the minds of men,” arguing that societies must cultivate peace-minded values.
  • Discusses how Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge ideology and historical influences (including revolutionary movements and fear of external threats) contributed to mass persecution and killing.

• Chairman Hirai (Gifu Prefecture UNESCO Association)

  • Emphasizes that even when wars end, harms such as landmines and social division can last a century or more.
  • Notes that restoring peace is extremely difficult for ordinary people.

• Professor Matsuno (speaking from Cambodia via broadcast)

  • Sets a reflective tone, mourning ongoing wars/conflict worldwide.
  • Frames today’s learning as a way to consider the importance of life and peace.

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3) Student research presentations: poverty, education, heritage, and dialogue

A. Japan (UNESCO Association in Gifu): poverty + education + landmine reality

A student presentation links Khmer Rouge legacies to ongoing hardship, especially landmines and persistent poverty.

The speaker recounts pre-trip learning through field visits, including observations of:

• limited schooling resources,
• educational constraints affecting both adults and children,
• literacy and numeracy barriers that keep families trapped in poverty.

A key theme is that education (literacy and numeracy) is necessary not only for schooling outcomes, but also to reduce vulnerability—for example, inability to read can prevent people from understanding exploitation or unfair charges.

The presentation also describes visits to killing fields and minefields, emphasizing both the sensory reality of danger and the preciousness of peace.

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B. Taiwan (Taiwan National Fengshan Business School): “negative heritage” / place of memory and activism

Taiwan students focus on Cambodia’s historical destruction and how UNESCO involvement in 1992 aimed to preserve cultural heritage—even when wars and collapse destroy identity, not just buildings.

They describe Khmer Rouge policies such as:

• school closures,
• abolition of currencies,
• mass killing of intellectuals, teachers, and students.

They connect these experiences to the need for transitional justice and memory preservation.

The presentation also includes examples of student-led support during COVID-19, such as:

• handmade mask donations to Cambodia,
• school-festival fundraising to support Cambodian education and small businesses.

Solidarity is framed as ongoing partner-based support, not one-way aid.

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C. Japan (Ichimura High School): education as a human-rights safeguard; “verify facts” and dialogue

Ichimura students ask a core question: why did a school become a place of suffering?

They explain that Tuol Sleng (S-21) turned educational space into a detention and torture site, causing massive human losses and the collapse of education and health systems.

Their team stresses that peace requires systems that protect:

• human rights,
• education,
• dialogue.

Their action plan includes:

• verify historical facts to avoid hasty assumptions,
• practice dialogue that crosses cultural/country differences,
• ensure support fosters exchange and dignity, not just charity.

They also mention follow-up engagement, such as adding playground equipment and organizing cultural exchange at a local school.

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4) Live broadcast from Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum: detailed educational walkthrough

The broadcast provides a structured, tour-style explanation of key areas and artifacts, with repeated warnings that the content is disturbing.

Major points include:

• former prison spaces (S-21), including areas where detainees were processed, detained, and punished,
• how a normal school classroom was transformed into torture/detention infrastructure,
• museum rules panels showing how prisoners were controlled through fear and restricted speech,
• torture methods described through exhibit explanations (including water-related devices and other mechanisms), presented as historical documentation rather than spectacle,
• survivor/painter accounts and artifacts, such as a turtle artifact used in water-torture-related imagery, illustrating that experiences were preserved through testimony and art as well as objects.

The program emphasizes that the museum preserves records so visitors can remember victims as individuals and help prevent repetition.

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5) Discussion: UNESCO “Place of Memory,” long-term consequences, and peace education

In the post-broadcast lecture/discussion:

• Professor Noguchi

  • Explains UNESCO’s approach to sites categorized as a “place of memory” rather than sensational “negative heritage.”
  • Argues that reconciliation, reflection, and careful contemplation are crucial.
  • Draws parallels to historical atrocities (e.g., Auschwitz) to show how persecution can arise from ideologies and leaders’ obsessions.
  • Connects Cambodia’s story to Japan’s responsibility as a past aggressor, urging solidarity and preventing repeats.

• Chairman Hirai

  • Reiterates that war harms ordinary people long after it ends (including long timelines for landmine clearance).
  • Emphasizes peace restoration through long-term cooperation and education, not only formal treaties.

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6) Closing student reflections and commitments

Students conclude with messages centered on:

• the deep emotional impact of seeing museum content beyond textbooks,
• the idea that history education is a form of support—spreading knowledge to prevent repetition,
• continuing activities in schools and communities by expanding awareness circles (sharing with classmates, families, and local networks),
• cross-border solidarity: participants from Taiwan and Japan stress that shared learning supports peace-building through dialogue and mutual understanding.

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7) Final guidance: UNESCO ideals and “solidarity across borders”

Additional remarks near the end highlight:

• UNESCO’s view that peace cannot be guaranteed by governments alone; it requires intellectual and spiritual solidarity among people worldwide.
• Students are encouraged to continue meaningful exchanges with Cambodians and to use the internet/communication tools to spread awareness.
• The program presents the ongoing UNESCO partnership model (education/science/culture collaboration) as a way to “build a fortress of peace in hearts.”

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Presenters / contributors (as named in subtitles)

• Sato (host; referenced as “Mr. Sato”)
• Matsui (host)
• Kawase (host)
• Kawaguchi (host)
• Mr. Paysombara / Hisu-Paphar (Cambodia greeting; name varies due to auto-caption errors)
• Mr. Payneson Harrah / Payneson (Cambodia greeting; name varies due to auto-caption errors)
• Professor Noguchi
• Mr. Hirai (Chairman, prefectural UNESCO association—Gifu Prefecture)
• Professor Matsuno (Nagoya University UNESCO ESD Promotion Office; speaking from Cambodia)
• Ms. Onishi (UNESCO Association in Gifu Prefecture; presenter)
• Taiwan National Fengshan Business School students (Taiwan presentation; representative speaker mentioned as Heiwa no Kagebashi Ranti)
• Students from Ichimura High School (Nagoya Keizai University Ichimura High School) (research presentation; multiple speakers)
• Dr. Matsuno (mentioned briefly; likely referring to Professor Matsuno in a different role/name)
• Mr. Nakazawa (appears in on-site remarks; Japanese Embassy head of Cambodia mentioned)
• Mr. Sato / Professor Kawashima (briefly referenced later; “Professor Kawashima” thanked)
• Professor Yamaguchi
• Professor Hirakawa (referenced in an advice prompt; subtitles unclear)
• Kazuo (mentioned in context of receiving lectures; likely “Mr. Kazuo” from the Ichimura-related network)
• “Mr. Liberal Arts” (lecturer mentioned; exact name unclear due to caption errors)
• Additional on-site guides/participants from Cambodia (not individually named clearly in the text)