Meet Our 2022 Junior Ambassadors
(Originally published May 13, 2022)
The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) is pleased to announce the selection of four Junior Ambassadors (JAs) to represent JASH and Hawaii at the 34th Annual Asian-Pacific Children’s Convention (APCC). This year’s JASH APCC program will be a hybrid program, combining in-person JASH preparatory workshops with virtual APCC activities.
The 2022 Junior Ambassadors for the United States of America-Hawaii Delegation are (L-R, above photo):
Kent Clark, attends ʻIolani School
Jake Miyasaki, attends Voyager Public Charter School
Sehren Villarimo, attends Aina Haina Elementary School
Zoe Kikuta, attends Aina Haina Elementary School
They will be accompanied during their virtual exchanges by chaperone David Hayashida, an active member and current secretary of the JASH NexGen Advisory Committee.
For the next several months, the four Junior Ambassadors—two boys and two girls, all aged eleven at the time of the APCC—will participate in a JASH-designed training program for their cross-cultural virtual exchanges later this summer. Our JAs will have hands-on experiences with Japanese and Pacific cultures, through activities such as a cuisine scavenger hunt and taste-test at Don Quijote; zazen and kendo lesson at Daihonzan Chozen-ji International Zen Dojo in Kalihi; and a three-day, two-night trip to the ʻAkahiao Nature Institute in Kona. During the virtual APCC, students will meet over 100 fellow Junior Ambassadors from over thirty regions throughout the Asia-Pacific region through a series of Zoom workshops held over three weekends. Although they are unable to gather together in Fukuoka, Japan this year, the virtual exchange is a special and unique opportunity to connect students from around the globe. It is our hope that our Ambassadors will mature into adults with a strong sense of social responsibility. The Asian-Pacific Children's Convention is a cultural exchange program that deepens participants’ appreciation for the cultures of other nations and regions, promotes mutual understanding and friendship, nurtures international awareness in young people, and works towards world peace and co-existence. It is hoped that the JAs will build an international network of friends. JASH is honored to have served as the Liaison Office for the Hawaii delegation since 2003. If you wish to know more about the APCC program, please visit the JASH website at https://www.jashawaii.org/apcc
