Help 2000 students from US & Japan connect online!

From July 28^th to August 5^th, Kizuna Across Cultures held its inaugural Global Classmates Summit 2017 in Washington, DC with the theme, How can we strengthen future people-to-people ties in US-Japan relations? The Summit brought together twelve high school students from the US and Japan, who were selected from a pool of nearly 1,350 participants of our virtual exchange program in the previous year.  The students met each other in person for the first time after spending six months this past school year communicating electronically to learn about each other’s culture, language, policies and lifestyle. 

Ayako Smethurst, our President and Co-founder, comments, “We are very excited about evolving these successful virtual exchanges into an in-person collaboration that will serve as an example and inspiration for many young people on how friendship with peers abroad can lead to positive impacts on the relationship between their nations and the broader international community.”

 During the Summit, the students lived under the same roof and participated in various activities ranging from teambuilding exercises to meeting international leaders and experts. At the end of the program the participants reflected on what they have learned and shared their proposals to tackle common challenges in US-Japan relations and in the broader international community.

Our inaugural Global Classmates Summit concluded with many tears and hugs as students said their goodbyes. It was amazing to see their personal growth and tight bonds of friendship they formed with one another over the 9-day Summit. Even as they began their travels home, they continued to chat via LINE and facetime calls. We can't wait to see how the lessons learned and friendships created will blossom over the years amongst this group of outstanding students! 

Links:

• Global Classmates Summit