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“I want to learn about the origins of the universe” – Five middle school students talk about their dreams (and threw in some English as well!)

The original article was published in the Iwate Nippo. Read the original here.

The ILC Club is a group of five middle school students from throughout Iwate (part of Iwate Nippo’s IWATE ILC 2030 project) of five middle school students from throughout Iwate. These students participated in the welcome reception (for the LCWS) held at the Hotel Metropolitan Morioka adjacent to Morioka Station. Smiling brightly, the students presented on their August trip to Geneva, Switzerland, as well as their hopes for the ILC to be realized in Tohoku.

There were around 270 LCWS participants in attendance and 50 people related to the realization of ILC in the Tohoku. The five students greeted everyone in English, and then confidently spoke about the region that would host the ILC as well as their own dreams.

Momoyo Sugawara (3rd year at Mizusawa MS, Oshu City) said, “The ILC will contribute to the progress of science and technology, and have a good effect on the economy. As people from around the whole world work together, this will also lead to peace.”

Kotomi Sato (2nd year at Hanaizumi MS, Ichinoseki City) spoke of her dreams. “I was so happy that people greeted me in Japanese while I was in Geneva. I hope to make Iwate a place where people want to stay for a long time.”

Go Hatakeyama (2nd year at Kuroishino MS, Morioka City) vowed to improve his English. “If the ILC comes here I want Morioka to develop as an international city. It will become the pride of Iwate and Japan, so I want them to make the preparations to receive the ILC.”

Through ILC club activities, Yume Ishikawa (1st year at Takizawa Minami MS, Takizawa City) gained an appreciation for the universe. “I want to know about the origins and limits of the universe. There’s so much we don’t know, so I hope you can solve the mysteries.”

Mayuko Yamamoto (2nd year at Kamaishi MS, Kamaishi City) said, “I was so surprised when a physicist at CERN in Geneva told me that not all that is written in the textbooks is correct.” She is impressed with the serious lifestyle of researchers, and hopes that Iwate can become a hub of knowledge for the world.

Amanda Steinhebel, who works on detectors at the University of Oregon, said, “We researchers are the ones who are impressed by your energetic presentations. In 2030, it would be wonderful if we are all chasing the same dreams in Iwate at the ILC.”

The ILC Club was formed in July 2016. They participated in July’s Iwate Science Symposium (in Morioka), visited Geneva in August, went to the AAA Symposium in September (in Oshu City), and in November met with Governor Tasso to talk about their opinions. They are planning to spread awareness of the realization of ILC in Tohoku throughout the entire country by visiting Tokyo next year.

Read the ILC Club’s speeches in both English and Japanese

ILC Club Speeches