Education United States Project #21335

Help 2000 students from US & Japan connect online!

by Kizuna Across Cultures

Project Report | Jun 19, 2024
Celebrating Another Successful Virtual Exchange

By Rose Yeazel | Program Coordinator

Photo of Japanese students with certificate

In February we successfully wrapped up the 2023-24 Global Classmates program, connecting 2,190 students from 79 high schools across the US and Japan.

Program Results

At Kizuna Across Cultures we strive to provide consistent, quality virtual exchange programming and we have continued our strong performance record with 95% of students indicating that they were satisfied with the program! Additionally, students shared that they had grown in a number of ways as a result of the Global Classmates program, including:

96% Became more open and curious about learning from and about people of different cultures.
96% Increased their awareness of diverse perspectives and experiences.
94% Enhanced their desire to collaborate with people from other cultures in the future.

In addition to the students, 96% of the teachers were satisfied with the program and many are looking forward to joining us for the next academic year. After participating in the Global Classmates program:

97% of teachers said that their students’ level of understanding of their partner classmates’ culture increased
99% of teachers agreed that their students' desire to explore other cultures increased as a result of participating in the Global Classmates program.
96% of teachers believe that their students' Intercultural Competence has improved through their participation in the program.

Discussions on Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging (DEIB)

This year, we offered schools the opportunity to incorporate the theme of "Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging (DEIB)" into their exchanges, providing every student with an opportunity to engage with this critical global issue. Here are some comments from students about this new topic.

US Students’ Comments:

It was a good experience for me to learn about the social struggles others have faced, especially in another country and helped me be more open minded of the struggles others go through. However, it was also somewhat of a reassuring experience because it helped me realize no matter what country someone is from, we can still share similar experiences and struggles. It makes others feel less alone in knowing that you aren't the only one who goes through tough times. It shows no matter where we come from, we are not so different after all.
The social issue topic was interesting and introduced me to new insight into people's backgrounds and such. It led me to sort of think of my own becoming and how it led me to be who I am today, and I found I wanted to express that to people.

Japanese Students’ Comments:

My pair discussed Diversity and Inclusion. Through this project, I was able to learn a few things. First, I learned that diversity is not just about differences in people's appearances or cultural background but also includes ways of thinking and experiences. I realized that the key to more abundant solutions and innovations can come from each individual’s point of views and values. Also, I learned that inclusion is not only about accepting diversity but also making a safe environment. For organizations and society to grow, I realized that creating a place for everyone to state their opinions and participate without fear is necessary. The most memorable moment was the change in my recognition and awareness by deepening my understanding of other people’s perspectives and experiences. I felt that by listening to other people’s stories and experiences, I was able to gain new perspectives and it had led me to grow and understand rapidly. As for my new ideas and perspectives, I think that it is important to not only accept other people’s perspectives but also think of ways in which we can make the best of these differences. In order to draw out the full potential of diversity, I thought it necessary to accept it as a positive and engage with it proactively.
In society, even though there are movements to respect individuality and diversity, there are people who say inconsiderate things. If I had seen this situation, I would not have known how to react but through this exchange, I was able to think “In this situation, I would do this!” It was an eye-opening experience and we had a good discussion during the project.

Photo of US participants with certificate

Photo of Japanese participants with certificate

Links:

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Feb 26, 2024
Crossing Screens and Borders

By Rose Yeazel | Program Coordinator

Glenbrook South & Yokohama Commercial High School

Crossing Screens and Borders: Japanese and American Students' Journey from Virtual Encounter to Face-to-Face Gatherings

As overseas travel has come back, some students and teachers were able to visit their partner schools in person after six months of virtual bilingual interactions through the Global Classmates program.
We would like to share some of the highlights from their trips.

1) Glenbrook South High School (Illinois) & Yokohama Commercial High School (Kanagawa)

On the day of the visit, the Yokohama Commercial High School students greeted Glenbrook South High School students with a welcome sign at a nearby train station. Students split up into small groups to talk and then everyone enjoyed playing musical chairs together. Five students who participated in the previous year’s Global Classmates program joined the activities and provided various teas (green tea, Hoji-cha, barley tea), Japanese sweets and snacks they brought from home. They also had fun making origami boxes and cranes. After the school visit, they visited Minato Mirai and went out to eat together.

2) Southwest High School (Minnesota) & Takamatsu Nishi High School (Kagawa)

Southwest High School visited Takamatsu Nishi High School and students participated in a homestay experience. The local media came to feature this exchange.
KSB Setonaikai Housou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUqYpnRpCxI

3) A student from Eleanor Roosevelt High School Student (Maryland) visited Asaka Reimei High School (Fukushima) during his trip to Japan

Jackson from Eleanor Roosevelt High School stayed in touch with his partner classmates at Asaka Reimei High School in Fukushima prefecture even after the program ended. He visited their school with his brother this summer. Students at Asaka Reimei HS reflected on their reunion with Jackson as follows:

I have not had the experience of speaking with someone from another country (in-person) before so I was nervous about whether I could communicate properly. However, he liked Japan and he actively communicated with us so I thought I would do my best, too. I was able to relate to Jackson’s favorite anime and I thought it was amazing how Japanese pop-culture allows you to connect with people across the ocean that it made me want to study about it in college. From this one experience, I gained so much inspiration!

I was happy that he came all the way to Japan and even to Asaka Reimei High School and I was excited to communicate with him in-person. He was very good at Japanese so it made me want to master English quickly.

It was very fun to talk a lot! It was a great experience to realize that I can use the English I learned in class in real life and I am happy that Jackson learned more about my school and Japan. I was able to see that Jackson had already been exposed to lots of Japanese culture so it made me want to also learn more about other cultures and to study more to be able to express myself in English.

4) Hamel Sensei (Southwest High School, MN )and Takahashi Sensei (Takamatsu Nishi High School)

Not only students but teachers also met in-person. Hamel sensei visited Takamatsu Nishi while on a trip to Japan with his wife. Although the weather in Takamatsu Nishi was not sunny, Hamel sensei told us that Kuribayashi Koen in the rain had a quaint atmosphere and was beautiful.

Learn more about us:

KAC Website: https://kacultures.org/en/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kacultures/

Southwest HS & Takamatsu Nishi High School

Jackson with Asaka Reimei students

Jackson at Asaka Reimei HS

Hamel sensei and Takahashi sensei

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Oct 29, 2023
Our Super Stars of Cross-Cultural Exchange

By Rose Yeazel | Program Coordinator

2023 Summit Logo

We are thrilled to share that the seventh Global Classmates Summit successfully took place this past summer allowing the participants to deepen their understanding of one another and develop friendships, while fostering their skills to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between Japan and the U.S., as well as the broader international community! Fourteen high school students (seven from the U.S. and seven from Japan) were selected from a pool of 2,129 participants from the 2022-23 Global Classmates Exchange Program to participate in this virtual exchange program held over twelve sessions.

Each year we invite international leaders and professionals to speak with the students and broaden their knowledge of global affairs. This year, we introduced a new topic of discussion by inviting journalists to present case studies on issues related to AI. We were concerned that the AI topic might be too difficult for students linguistically; however, they overcame this challenge to engage in passionate discussions and even kept the AI conversation going into the next day. AI has a great impact on the students' future, so they were eager to take on this subject and learn from it.

We also chose to re-introduce a previous Summit topic related to cultural differences though a workshop focused on "impressions of the other culture". This topic included an open discussion of how the participants’ impressions changed before and after making personal connections with people from the other country. Before getting to know people personally from the other country, impressions of the other country were mainly formed through media exposure and included some negative impressions as well as positive ones. In contrast, after interacting with people from the other country, their impressions became overwhelmingly positive and more nuanced. The students realized that in building trust between countries, it is important to interact as individuals. The workshop also generated discussions that delved into the causes and effects of relying on superficial or generalized cultural understandings.

In another new effort this year, staff collected positive comments from students about their fellow participants after each session and announced a few “Super Stars” from the previous session at the beginning of each session. The "Super Stars" were students who made quality contributions to the discussion, who were brave enough to step out of their comfort zones to share their opinions and feelings, who encouraged others to speak up, and who contributed to intercultural collaboration. We could sense the joy and pride in the faces of the students picked as each session’s Super Stars. Perhaps because of this, this year's team had a strong sense of cohesion, and all participants showed a strong desire to actively contribute while at the same time being mindful to elicit and respond to comments from others. Even after the closure of each official session, almost all the students stayed online for hours to continue talking and deepen their bond.

Below are some of the student comments regarding their Summit experience:

Japanese Students:

I absorbed a lot of ideas through engaging deeply with people from different parts of Japan and people from across the U.S. Everyone had such a wide variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and culture, yet I was happy that we connected through our differences more than our commonalities. I have gained confidence that I will be able to get along with many different people in the future, and I want to be friends with these members forever! Everyone was really inspiring, and through the in-depth interaction with the guest speakers, I developed a desire to work internationally. I had always wanted to contribute to the medical field. I was particularly interested in the Universal Health College of the United Nations World Health Organization, but I found out that there are so many different ways to contribute to the international community, and I am not sure what to do. Although I am unsure now, I feel as if my possibilities have expanded and I am so excited.

I was able to learn various ways of thinking and it became clear to me what I need. I was also able to think about how I could improve my own relationships and my country's relationships, something I had been hesitant about before. I realize through the Summit that while everyone has different interests, there is a place for everyone to shine, and there are things even students like us can do to make a difference in the world.

US Students:

Listening to all of the speakers and learning about their careers, I have gained a whole new perspective on how different careers aid international relations. Also, just being able to meet all the participants and hearing everyone's different thoughts and ideas was motivating and interesting. I now know that I definitely want to study international relations in college and I would like to maybe intern at the Embassy of Japan or pursue similar opportunities.

I can't help but feel sad now that I know that the Summit is over because I made such deep connections with the other participants. We had such interesting discussions and learned to listen openly to each other, and the guest speakers’ talks were always really interesting. I think the connections and eye-opening experiences were what really made the Summit so great. I always wanted to study abroad in Japan, and attending this Summit only heightened those feelings for me.

We would like to say a huge thank you to our supporters for making this year’s Summit possible. We appreciate your contributions to our mission.

Learn more about us:

KAC Website: https://kacultures.org/en/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kacultures/

Photo of participants learning about AI

Group Photo of Summit Participants

Photo of Participant with Summit Certificate

Links:

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