Help 2000 students from US & Japan connect online!

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/

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Links:

• Learn more about the 2023 Summit
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• Visit our Website