In the 20^th century, despite the rapid progress that was achieved in science, technology and industry, conflicts relating to poverty, crime, terrorism, local conflicts and wars, and environmental disruption became firmly entrenched as the major problems facing human beings.  Unsolved tasks which are derived from the limitations of modern societies have been carried over to the societies of the 21^st century at various levels, involving individuals, societies and the international community as a whole.  In school settings, those who are involved in education, including parents and teachers have been suffering from such difficult challenges as bullying, violence and refusal of children to attend schools.  These issues raise serious questions concerning the state of the human mind.  Ideally, the human mind should be revitalized through social systems and organizations produced by human beings, but in reality, these social systems and organizations have instead sometimes tormented human beings and enfeebled our minds.

The problems of minds should be explored by various disciplines; we believe that education should be the area that is most essential to the study of the state of the human mind.  However, in a contemporary, highly information-oriented society, it is critical to remember that education should not represent a limited concept such as schooling, but rather education should be understood in a larger, more comprehensive context.  This perspective should incorporate the perspectives of lifelong learning and lifelong development in the comprehensive context of how human beings live.

Through education and through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, human beings obtain a sense of competence , and through connection with nature and society, we obtain a vital sense of life, or the feeling that we are living on earth. Further, when we direct these two senses in the same direction to the fullest amount, we obtain a sense of achievement and in this, we can also feel a sense of happiness. Conversely, if a part of this interconnectedness does not function properly, various problems may occur.

Recently, the problem of minds and education has been a heated topic and, therefore, it is from this framework that we have formed the basis for the Revitalizing Education for Dynamic Hearts and Minds project, incorporating international perspectives to foster human resources to solve the problems of minds and education.  In addition, we plan to foster not only the human resources that will play an active role at academic institutions, but also the diverse personnel who will contribute to other educational industries and will be invaluable in activating those education fields vital to activating the aging society.