The 6th Minecraft Cup Hokkaido Block Regional Competition will be held on November 30 (Sat) at the Kitadori Intersection Plaza [East] in Chikaho (underground walking space)! In this competition using the educational version of Minecraft, which is used around the world, 16 teams will compete in a heated battle to create the city of the future from among 744 entries from all over Japan and abroad that have successfully passed the qualifying round in the Hokkaido Block "City Planning Division.

What is the Minecraft Cup?
The Minecraft Cup is a competition for children of high school age and younger, inviting entries from Japan and abroad to compete with works created using an "educational version of Minecraft".

The Minecraft Cup is held with the concept of "a place where each child can challenge his or her own potential" with the aim of bringing programming and digital manufacturing education to all children through this competition. The Minecraft Cup is a unique event.

In a joint research conducted by Minecraft Cup and the University of Tokyo, it was found that children who participated in the tournament tended to develop a "flexibility" that allowed them to change their viewpoints and develop diverse ideas. In this era of globalization and information technology, when change is rapid and the future is difficult to predict, we believe that the experience of thinking for oneself, collaborating with others, and flexibly creating new things will help each child to develop his or her abilities and create opportunities to challenge new possibilities.

Theme: "Let's co-create a city of the future" - Express a "city" that will make the earth we live on more enjoyable and happier.

The 6th Minecraft Cup will focus on the theme of "Let's Design Well-being" with the aim of fostering human resources who can envision the future after the achievement of the 17 SDGs goals. Well-being refers to the future after the 17 SDGs goals have been achieved (beyond SDGs). When creating your artwork, please research the SDGs first, and once you have a better understanding of the SDGs, discuss with your team the SDG goals that you would like to include in your artwork. Then, working together as a team, express freely in the educational version of Minecraft a "city that makes our planet a happier and more enjoyable place to live.

Eligible entries: Representative entries selected from the preliminary rounds in each region and those that meet the seeding requirements.

Method: A judging session will be held at the site of each region for each team to present the following information.
(1) Replay of a one-minute video introducing the work
(2) 2-minute speech presentation
(3) Question and answer session from the judges

Audience voting:
Voting: All Minecraft Cup members
How to Vote: Watch the judging session on the official YouTube and vote from My Page on the official website.
Number of votes: One entry per person per regional block.
Number of votes: One entry per person per regional block. Unlike the preliminary round, you cannot vote for your own entry.

Judging Criteria
Conceptual Ability
Research Agency
Technical skills
Execution of plan
Thematic
Expression

Number of entries: Top 2 entries from each district (14 districts in total x 2 entries = 28 entries).

MC: Ayaka Suzuki, AIR-G' personality

■Judges
Hokkaido Newspaper Corporation (First Leap Co., Ltd.) Takumi Yamamoto
Yoshiyasu Kobayashi, Hoshimi High School for the Disabled, Hokkaido Hoshiki School for the Disabled
Yota Kim, Miyagi University of Education Elementary School
Kimi Mitani, General Incorporated Association LOCAL Sakura Internet Co.

About the National Convention
Representatives selected from all 14 regional blocks will gather for the national competition in February next year. The judging panel will be made up of experts in various fields and the competition partners. The event will be streamed live, and audience voting will be conducted in real time. An awards ceremony will be held on the same day to determine the Grand Prize and other awards for the year.

Date: Sunday, February 16, 2025
Venue: Osaka Environment and Industry Recovery Center Osaka ATC Green Eco Plaza (West side, 11th floor, ITM Building, ATC Building, 2-1-10 Nanko-Kita, Suminoe-ku, Osaka City)

*Please be sure to check the organizer's official website for the event status.