Greetings from the Leader

Ochanomizu University's Global COE program, "Science of Human Development for Restructuring the Gap-Widening Society," that was launched five years ago in 2007, is now drawing to a close.

The Global COE program was formed with the goal of training human development researchers—particularly, women researchers—to explore the Science of Human Development for Restructuring the "Gap-Widening Society" and the pillar upon which it is based, social justice. Primary emphasis was focused on the training and education of post-doctoral students, graduate students, and other young researchers. Specific initiatives covered an great range: employment for research assistants, grant-in-aid research, sending graduate students abroad to participate in conferences and international surveys, support for students in preparing and presenting English research papers, sponsoring numerous seminars on all kinds of topics, hosting international symposia, and more.

Based on the results and achievements of the 21st Century COE Program "Studies of Human Development from Birth to Death," research activities took a longitudinal approach to human development and inequality through the human lifespan, and focused on three areas of inequality: international inequality, educational and social inequality, and inequality in childrearing groups. In each of these areas, we shed light on how social inequality is perpetuated, and proposed ways of transforming society to eliminate the inequalities. This work led to many new insights that clarified the mechanisms supporting and perpetuating inequality.

The program was well documented from start to finish through numerous annual journals and publications including the "Grant-In-Aid Research Awards Proceedings," "English Monographs," "Seminar and Symposium Reports," and "Disciplinary Linkage Project Reports." Some twenty issues of the "Proceedings: Science of Human Development for Restructuring the Gap Widening Society" series were published during the course of the program. A grand compilation was published in a series of four volumes entitled the "Series on Science of Human Development for Restructuring the Gap Widening Society."

Unfortunately, once the program is over that's the end of our funding, and we can no longer sustain ongoing training and development of young researches as we have over the past five years. The expansion of programs on this scale is wholly dependent on national policy. Yet in our graduate program in human development sciences we built a well-developed foundation that can compete with centers of excellence for education and research throughout Japan and the world over—at the very least, we have sown seeds that will someday bear fruit. Our mission is to carefully tend and nurture these seeds until they grow into something really remarkable.

To all who pitched in and contributed to make this program the success that it was, I extend my sincere thanks!

February 14, 2012
Professor MIMIZUKA Hiroaki
Leader, G-COE Program,
Science of Human Development for Restructuring the “Gap-Widening Society”