Maru Office Introduces Open Badges to Certify High School and University Students' Work Camp Participation Achievements

InfoSign Inc. (Location: Taito-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Susumu Murata) announces that Maru Office, a general incorporated association based in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, has started an initiative in March 2026 to issue digital certificates, "Open Badges," based on international standards, for participation achievements in the "01 (Zeroichi) Work Camp" volunteer program for high school and university students.

This initiative is also part of the research and development of the Cabinet Office's "Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) Phase 3" and aims to build a new model for "visualization of learning and practice" in extracurricular activities.

■ Background of Introduction
Going to disaster-stricken areas, addressing local issues, and engaging in activities while living together—Maru Office's work camps are important practical experiences for high school and university students. However, traditionally, there has been no objective means to certify their participation achievements for job hunting or university admissions.

"We want to keep the fact of participation as a highly reliable digital certificate"—to address this challenge, in collaboration with Professor Tadashi Inagaki of Tohoku Gakuin University, the introduction of "Open Badge Factory" provided by InfoSign was decided.

■ About Maru Office, a General Incorporated Association
Maru Office is an education x community development NPO based in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture. It was established in the spring of 2015 by young people who moved to Kesennuma after the Great East Japan Earthquake and local youth. With the mission of "transforming local issues into learning," it primarily engages in educational projects that support challenges for junior high and high school students. It aims to transform regional issues into opportunities for exploratory learning and create a regionally decentralized future.

Organization Name: General Incorporated Association Maru Office
Established: May 30, 2015 (Heisei 27)
Location: Kawaharada, Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture
Officers: Representative Director Takuma Kato
Official Website: https://maru-office.com/

■ Contents of Issued Badges
The following badges were issued for two programs conducted in March 2026.

① 01 Work Camp March 2026 Wajima Participation Certificate
Target: Participating campers (high school and university students)
Activity Period: March 12-16, 2026 (Total 32 hours)
Activity Location: Machino District, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture
Activity Content: Reconstruction support activities in the Noto region
Organizer: General Incorporated Association Maru Office
Co-organizer: Nippon Foundation Volunteer Center

② Choi Work Camp March 2026 Chichibu Participation Certificate
Target: Participating campers (high school and university students)
Activity Period: March 6-7, 2026 (Total 8 hours)
Activity Location: Yokoze Town, Chichibu District, Saitama Prefecture
Activity Content: Child support activities and community development activities in the Chichibu region
Organizer: General Incorporated Association Maru Office

Both are Participation-type achievement badges designed based on the six activity principles of "01 Work Camp" (Want to make the world a little better, Fieldwork-oriented, Take a Brick, Eating from the same pot, Ownership, Welcome back). The acquired badges can be displayed on social media and electronic portfolios, and the issuer, issuance date, and acquirer information can be instantly confirmed by simply accessing the URL.

■ How to Certify Extracurricular Activity Achievements
Unlike school grades and qualification exams, extracurricular activity experiences largely depend on "personal narratives." While participation in volunteer and community activities is a definite opportunity for personal growth, there has been no objective means to convey it to third parties.

Open Badges have a mechanism to link the reliability of the issuing organization to the badge and are recorded as tamper-proof digital certificates. Since third parties can instantly confirm "this experience recognized by this organization," for organizations with practical programs like Maru Office, it serves as a means of giving back to participants and a tool to enhance the social credibility of the program itself.

■ Significance as Part of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP)
This initiative is being implemented as part of the research topic "Development of an Evaluation and Certification System from Multiple Indicators, Perspectives, and Viewpoints in a Society of Lifelong Learning" (Joint Research Representative: Professor Tadashi Inagaki, Tohoku Gakuin University) under the Cabinet Office SIP Phase 3 "Platform Construction for Realizing New Ways of Learning and Working in the Post-COVID-19 Era (Issue No. 111)."
With the cooperation of a research team led by Professor Hiroaki Ogata of Kyoto University, Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd., and InfoSign, continuous issuance and effect measurement will be carried out until FY2027, aiming to build a "learning evaluation model" applicable to regional communities throughout Japan.

SIP Official Page: https://www.jst.go.jp/sip/index.html
Project Overview: https://eds.let.media.kyoto-u