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Soka University

Two Soka University Students Participate in the "Ship for World Youth" Project - Youth International Exchange Project Sponsored by Japan's Cabinet Office

April 16, 2019

From January 19 to March 1 over the course of 40 days, Mr. Eijiro Amagasa (Global Citizenship Program student) of the Faculty of Science and Engineering and Ms. Naomi Tamagawa of the Faculty of Letters, both sophomores at Soka University, participated in training in Japan and in seminars and workshops on a ship for the "Ship For World Youth" project sponsored by Japan's Cabinet Office.


This project, in which youth with various backgrounds participate, conducts discussions and cultural exchanges among youth that gather from various places around the world and holds seminars and workshops by experts/intellectuals. The project's purpose is to foster youth that can contribute to society and manifest leadership in various fields where internationalism and diversification is progressing, by elevating their ability to cope with different cultures and by improving communication, leadership, and management skills while deepening mutual understanding and fostering their spirit of international cooperation.


This year, approximately 250 youth gathered from 11 countries and regions, including Australia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Ecuador, Chile, Greece, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Tanzania. They spent time together on a ship for approximately a month and visited Australia and other places.


Mr. Amagasa commented: "Through this program, I was able to experience what I would not have had in my daily life, such as having discussions on international cooperation and receiving leadership training as a leader presenting and introducing cultures, or serving as an assistant leader in committee activities including overseas youth. Especially in terms of discussions, there were many opportunities to have dialogues with youth from around the world in English. Since I had many opportunities to hold discussions in English in the Global Citizenship Program (GCP), I felt that the skills that I have cultivated in the last two years was put into practice through this program. I will be heading to Thailand from August as an exchange student. I will challenge myself so that I can acquire the knowledge and skills that I learned through the GCP and the Faculty of Science and Engineering."


Ms. Tamagawa shared: "Through this training, I encountered various ways of thinking and senses of values as related to culture, religion, education, food habits, and gender, and this widely opened up my perspective. One thing that impressed me was when a participant from Ecuador shared her ethnic culture. Seeing how passionately she shared her culture, I felt the importance of sharing my own story with others, including what shaped myself to this day, along with my cherished beliefs. For the performance to introduce Japanese culture, I served as a leader for the Japanese folk song, Soran Bushi. Practicing together with members from Australia and performing a total of four times, including the peace ceremony held in Darwin, has become one of my fond memories. I want to become someone that can manifest leadership in harmonizing people. I will continue to exert myself in improving my language skills and acquiring specialized knowledge."

 

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