Participants of the TOMODACHI US-Japan Exchange Program Arrive in Japan
On November 2, 2013, six American students from public schools in Washington D.C. arrived in Japan to participate in the second half of the TOMODACHI U.S.-Japan Youth Exchange Program. The students visited Tokyo and the Tohoku region for three weeks to gain cross cultural perspective before designing a service project to improve the lives of those affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
On November 5, the American students were reunited with their Japanese counterparts. The program paired the students with six Japanese students from Keio High School in Tokyo. The Japanese students visited Washington DC in July 2013 for the first half of the program and participated in programming with community organizations, youth programs, and cultural awareness institutions for three weeks.
On November 8, the program participants visited the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo for a presentation titled “TOMODACHI Event: Talk by nonprofit leaders and industry movers and shakers in Japan”. Mayo Hotta from Softbank described her involvement in organizing the TOMODACHI SoftBank Leadership Program. Satoko Azami presented on Project Yui, a non-profit organization created after the Great East Japan Earthquake to provide mental healthcare to children affected by the disaster. Koumei Ishikawa explained ETIC and his role in the non-profit organization that incubates start up social entrepreneurs throughout Japan. After the presentations, the students had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss their own ideas of social entrepreneurship.
- For more information on this program, please refer to the program description and press release.
The program was developed and implemented by the American Councils for International Education, with local partners Globalize DC in the District of Columbia and the Akira Foundation in Japan and the additional support of The World We Want Foundation. The program is funded by TOMODACHI’s Fund for Exchanges through generous contributions from Toyota Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Hitachi Ltd.
This program is funded by TOMODACHI’s Fund for Exchanges through generous contributions from Toyota Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Hitachi, Ltd.
