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 | The Cook Island students from the islands of Rarotonga, Mangaia, Mitiaro and Aitutaki before their departure to Japan on the Kizuna Project. |
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The first batch of 91 participants recently left for Japan under the newly-launched Kizuna Project.
The student groups from Cook Islands, Niue, Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia are in Japan on fully funded two-week study tours.
This will provide the opportunity for Pacific Island youths and future leaders to obtain a perspective into the Japanese way of life and to promote the understanding about the recovery efforts after the earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011, and current situations in Japan.
Kizuna (Bonds of Friendship) Project, a F$5.5 million Japanese Government funded project was launched on July 6th 2012 at the Japan-Pacific ICT Centre.
The 14 PICs in this programme include Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Each country group consisting of 22 students and one adult supervisor will travel to Japan by country at different times between September to December 2012.
The Director of the USP Marshall Islands Campus, Dr Irene Tafaaki, said that the Marshall Islands students were very excited about their trip.
She added that the Kizuna Project has created stronger bonds of association between the Marshall Islands campus and Japan as well as the students.
Similar views were shared by the Secretary of Education in Cook Islands, Ms Sharyn Paio, who thanked the Government of Japan for providing this opportunity to the students of Cook Islands, noting that, “much good learning takes place outside the classroom”.
The Vice-Chancellor and President of USP, Professor Rajesh Chandra said that the significance of this project would build and foster a deep and meaningful relationship between the Pacific Island Countries and Japan.
He stated that this was just another example of the expansive nature of the assistance to the Pacific and to USP by the Government and the people of Japan.
The Embassy of Japan in the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands and Fiji, as well as the Embassy of Japan in New Zealand who were in charge of the Cook Islands and Niue group have all sent their warm greetings to all the participants in this very first dispatch of students on the Kizuna Project and wish that the experience under this project will be beneficial to all the participants.
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