NEWS

During the 2022 fall semester, APU and Oita Bank offered an endowed lecture series entitled “Community Development Using Oita’s Heritage.” College of Asia Pacific Studies Professor Takayuki Kubo along with part-time lecturers, Hiromi Kotari and Joji Naramoto, conducted this class of 33 APU students.

In this lecture series, Oita Bank offered support for lectures and field work based on the theme of utilizing “Oita Heritage” (tangible and intangible regional resources selected by Oita Godo Shimbun as part of its 120th anniversary project) for regional tourism while considering how to build a sustainable community. In addition, the lectures of this course were also open to the public, allowing 44 citizens to join the lecture online.

Focusing on Yabakei, Bungo-Ono, and Usuki, researchers of history, nature, and cultural properties as well as staff from the Oita Bank Regional Creation Department gave lectures in addition to field studies conducted on-site. Students deepened their understanding by experiencing first hand the regions they had learned about in classroom lectures, and at the end of the course, presented their findings publicly at Beppu City Public Hall.

Presentation themes

• Aonodomon Bamboo Lantern Festival - Morning Bread Festival
• Magaibutsu On the Stage
• Mesmerizing U”suki”
• Fukoji Temple Hydrangea Music Festival
• Take an E-scooter for a stroll around Bungo-Ono
• Oita Heritage Big Plan! ~The first step from Usuki~
• Get yourself together in nature in Bungo-Ono

This is the 6th cooperative lecture series that APU and Oita Godo Shinbun have offered since starting “Oita Heritage” in the fall of 2017. In 2021, APU signed a new agreement with Oita Bank and held this endowed course. APU hopes that this initiative will continue to contribute to the sustainable development of the Oita region.

Comment from Professor Takayuki Kubo:
This year, we were able to continue the course thanks to the generous support of Oita Bank and the prefecture’s locals we have visited. The students who joined this year have spent much of their valuable time as university students taking classes online. For such students, I think that this class was part of a meaningful quarter with the valuable experience that can only be obtained in the field in addition to the advantages of face-to-face classes. Moreover, our young professors, who will be assigned to the College of Sustainability and Tourism next year, had the opportunity to participate in fieldwork and deepen their connections with the Regional Creation Department of Oita Bank as well as the local community. From now on, I want to continue to create bonds in this course through Oita Heritage.