Kagoshima Kids Programming Contest finalists chosen from 138 entries
Hisato Abe giving a presentation on Kagopoly online
The Grand Prize Final and award ceremony of the “Kagoshima Kids Programming Contest” was held online on February 27.
This year’s contest, organized by the NPO Kagoshima Infarmation, is the third of its kind and has been held since 2019 with the hope that “it will provide children in Kagoshima with an opportunity to experience the potential of Information Technology and to take on new dreams.”
The theme of this year was “The Charm of Kagoshima.” The contest was open from July to October last year, and out of the 138 entries received, 13 that were “particularly outstanding” passed the preliminary screening. In the Grand Prize Final, elementary and junior high school children, including one kindergarten-age child, each gave a presentation of their work.
The Prefectural Governor’s Prize and the Grand Prize went to fourth-grader Hisato Abe for his “Kagopoly: Let’s Turn Kagoshima’s Future Around!” Kagopoly is a Kagoshima version of the board game Monopoly. Abe’s work “packed a lot of charm of Kagoshima” into the game by using Kagoshima’s sightseeing spots as the board squares, local specialties and natural features as the chance cards, and well-known historical figures as the tokens.
The runner-up prize went to “Let’s Dance Together: Kawakami Odori” by Akari Uchida, a fifth-grader. It is a game that allows players to learn the choreography and rhythm of Kawakami Dance, a designated Intangible Folk Cultural Property of the Kawakami district, Ichikikushikino City, and has a function that allows players to receive points if they perform the correct movements.
This year, the Prefectural Governor’s Prize was also given for the first time, for which Governor Koichi Shiota offered words of encouragement. In addition, nine prizes for each grade level and 18 corporate sponsors’ prizes were awarded. Takayasu Fuchida, President of the NPO, said: “We were amazed at the high level of the entries and the impressive presentations by the elementary and junior high school students. They were full of ideas to express their passion for programming and creating something according to the given theme.”