Human Security Platform is a website that conveys world issues in Japanese and English based on the idea of “human security.” Every day it selects news from announcements by the UN, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA, NGOs and others, and presents it with editorial comments. It covers six areas: poverty and hunger, disasters and disaster risk reduction, conflict and refugees, environment and climate change, infectious diseases and health, and human rights and gender.
Beyond news, it puts effort into learning content. A six-part introductory course, five minutes per lesson, covers the idea, its history, Japan’s involvement and what each of us can do. There are also issue-based courses on disasters and recovery, conflict, refugees and humanitarian aid, climate change and vulnerability, global health, and careers in international cooperation.
It also offers a “World Crisis Map” that shows crises on a map, a game called “Save the Refugee Camp!,” and pages on donating and volunteering, designed to help people move from knowing to acting.
Key points
- Daily news in Japanese and English, selected from announcements by the UN, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA and NGOs
- A six-part, five-minute-per-lesson introductory course and issue-based courses let you learn from the basics
- A world crisis map, a game, and guides to donating and volunteering help turn knowledge into action
Why this site stands out
World news is overwhelming, and it is hard to know where to start. By organizing it by issue, with short explanations and learning courses, the site is easy to enter even for people new to international cooperation.
Looking across disasters, conflict, climate change, infectious diseases and human rights through the shared lens of “human security” is another feature. It also leads to NGO activities and to ways of donating and volunteering.
Editor's comment
It is also run as a related site of NGO network Japan. Please use it to build a habit of reading the news every day.
Knowing what is happening in the world now is the first step in international cooperation. Start with whichever area interests you.