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MONTHLY NEWS September 1998 International Exchange Group Celebrates Tenth Year |
N early 400 young delegates from 44 countries and territories were invited to Japan for an annual three-week program of international exchange in Fukuoka Prefecture in July 1998. This year's gathering of the Asian-Pacific Children's Convention (APCC) was the tenth annual meeting, and it was devoted to the theme of promoting international unity and protecting the global environment.
One of the highlights was a Children's Summit on July 13, where elementary school kids from 13 Asia-Pacific countries discussed how they could reduce energy consumption and preserve the natural environment for future generations. 
Participants brought up a lot of different issues affecting the environment near where they live. For instance, Chinese kids talked about the contamination of the Huang He (Yellow River), and Australians discussed the deteriorating condition of the Great Barrier Reef.
On July 25 students from 12 countries held a videoconference with around 20 Japanese elementary schoolchildren in the city of Kawauchi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on ways to conserve natural resources and prevent global warming. The meeting was part of an international forum for children called Enercology. The Japanese participants talked about their views of nuclear energy and other topics. Kazuki Hotta, a sixth-grade participant attending Kameyama Elementary School in Kawauchi, said, "I was a bit nervous because there were so many kids from different countries at the meeting, but I was glad I had a chance to speak up." Earlier, a ceremony was held on July 21 to mark APCC's tenth birthday. Joining this year's junior delegates were 69 former participants, who were invited as "peace ambassadors." Attendees sang "We Are the Bridge," the convention's theme song, and there was a chance to look back on APCC's accomplishments over the past 10 years. An 18-year-old Chinese "ambassador" who was an APCC representative eight years ago said, "It's friendship with people from different countries that makes the world such a great place to live in." "We're responsible for bringing peace to the international community as leaders of tomorrow," added a 19-year-old Australian in his speech, "by making the best use of our past experiences." All participants, including local Japanese children, made a pledge during the ceremony to work together to achieve global peace. Convention delegates from overseas had a busy schedule. Besides attending meetings, they stayed with Japanese host families, took part in welcoming events, went camping and sightseeing, and played sports. Some of them also visited local Japanese elementary schools. Eight Chinese students from Xi'an, for instance, visited Nagasumi Elementary School in Fukuoka, where they performed traditional dances wearing beautiful costumes in front of around 500 Japanese children. The Japanese pupils expressed their gratitude by singing songs in Chinese and performing on Japanese drums. Minami Mizota and Nao Sato, students at the school, said, "The meeting with Chinese students really opened our eyes. Now, we want to learn their language and find out more about their country." Representatives from ten other countries including Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Australia also visited schools in Fukuoka, trying calligraphy and eating the school lunch. Through these exchanges, the organizers of APCC hope that these children will grow into "global citizens" who can look beyond differences in nationality, language, skin color, and culture and contribute to international friendship in the twenty-first century.
Photos: Children at the convention took part in all sorts of performances and presentations. (Executive Committee of the APCC in Fukuoka) | ||||||||
you can also visit the APCC Web site.
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