By Koji Kawazoe | Secretary General
This is a special report. It's the final update from this project — and also the beginning of something bigger. Thank you for making it all possible.
When Kids from 6 Countries Met AI Together
On December 7, 2025, we held the Season 7 finale of our "Computer Science in English" program — a truly global classroom. 125 children joined from six countries: Japan, the U.S., Canada, China, the Philippines, and Singapore.
The event connected five physical venues across Japan — Kumamoto, Kawasaki, Kobe, and two locations in Ishikawa — with online participants, all linked through Zoom. IT professionals and volunteers served as teaching assistants, keeping small group sizes of 4–6 learners each.
AI as a Creative Partner, Not a Magic Box
The theme was "Hour of AI," and the core lesson was something every child (and adult) needs to hear: AI is powerful, but it doesn't think for you.
A Google engineer showed the children an AI-generated giraffe with two necks. The room laughed — and then understood. An Amazon engineer reinforced: "Humans must do the final check. Originality comes from adding your imagination — not outsourcing it."
The children used Code.org's "Mix & Move with AI" to create their own music and dance performances — learning that creative decisions still belong to them.
Pro Musicians Treated Kids as Fellow Creators
Award-winning film composer Kazuma Jinnouchi and Boston-based music creator Yuki Kanesaka joined the session. When a fourth-grader from Kumamoto started dancing to Yuki's pandeiro, the two improvised together on the spot. At the end, student projects were reviewed by the pros — with feedback that was specific, generous, and craft-oriented.
In Their Own Words
"At first I couldn't understand because everything was in English, but after that it was really fun. I learned how music is made and what the English words in the prompts mean." — Child participant
"I thought my child wasn't interested in music. But they spent so much time concentrating on the AI music homework. I realized there's another way to spark interest — not just through instruments, but through creation like this." — Parent
What Your Support Built
This event was one highlight of a much larger picture. Since your first donation, Kids Code Club has held over 600 free online coding sessions, reaching 30,000 cumulative participants averaging 70 children per session. We've grown into a comprehensive program that now includes:
This Project Is Evolving
This is our final report under "Free Coding Community for 500 Children." But the work isn't ending — it's leveling up.
Everything you helped build has become the foundation for our new initiative: Digital Scholarship Japan (Project #75180). This program delivers laptops, Wi-Fi, mentorship, and career exposure as one integrated package to children who need them most.
Visit our new project page to see how your next gift can put a laptop in a child's hands.
With deep gratitude,
Koji Kawazoe
Executive Director, Kids Code Club
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