For those of you whom I have talked in last two years, might have heard YMC Model (Youth Mediated Communication Model). I presented this model was presented at APAN conference at Kuala Lumpur about two years ago. It is the model to deliver necessary information to community through youths. Speaking with possible collaborators, we formed a team. The team applied at MIC (Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) Project program called Ubiquitous Alliance Project, and we are now granted to test this model in Mekong Delta area in Vinh Long Province, Vietnam with cooperation of CIS/MARD (Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development). NTT Communications leads the project, and we decided to focus on rice farming, or agriculture. For Agriculture Expert Team, we have Prof. Ikeda who worked as JICA Rice experts in various Asian and African countries, Prof. Ninomiya and Prof. Kameoka both leading researcher in agriculture and ICT (sensors) in Asia, and Dr. Takezaki who diligently support us to provide necessary materials and advices. Mekong area we work at has many rice farming families. Many farmers have problems in reading and writing. Youths in this project are able to obtain advices and tips to help their parents' rice farming from Japanese experts through Language Grid and Agriculture Grid. Youths will use Vietnamese language, and Experts will use Japanese language. Using Language Grid for last five years in Pangaea, we are able to learn how to use this kind of language service grid better and realistically. Pangaea will run workshops for youths to prepare them using PCs, and mobile phones, also provide youths tools to smoothen communications between them and their parents who are rice farmers. Our experiences in the last 8 years to run nearly 500 activities in various locations, including starting one at remote jungle in Borneo, help us to work suitable member to run such circumstances. Through past years, I am very certain that youths are the key to change the world for better. In few years, those youths in Mekong will be working populations, and when the model is proven to work, there will be significant implications from YMC model. Please keep your eyes on our progress on this project.

I hope you keep supporting Pangaea, and continue to be part of our community.

I introduce Ms. Kim Rose, the executive director of Viewpoints Research Institute, as a Pangaea Ring writer for this month. She has been a great supporter of Pangaea from the beginning.


Yumi