It is once again the
time for the youth of Sri Lanka to be excited about the Ship for Youth
Programme! This annual event is organized by the Government of Japan and takes
place onboard a ship- M/S Fuji Maru. Year 2012 will mark the 24th edition
of this prestigious global youth programme.
Purpose of the
programme
The purpose of the Ship for World Youth (SWY) program
is to broaden the global view of the Japanese youths, to promote mutual
understanding and friendship between Japanese and foreign youths as well as to
cultivate the spirit of international cooperation and the competence to
practice it. Furthermore this international programme is aimed at fostering the
youth with the capability of showing leadership in various areas in the
international society.
One of the important characteristics of this programme
is that it aims at establishing networks and promotes joint activities among
youth from around the world through providing, as the concrete and practical
opportunity, the cohabitation and the joint activity on the board of the
"Ship for World Youth". The life onboard the ship is the epitome of
international society with the youth being exposed to a wide variety of
cultures and ideas. It is a window to a multicultural way of life.
Approximately 300 youth from Japan and from various
areas of the world live together onboard the ship and engage in various
multilateral exchange activities such as studying and discussing common issues
from a global viewpoint whilst visiting the countries at which the Ship berths.
History of the
Programme
Going in to a little bit of history, this
international youth exchange program of the Cabinet Office of Japan originally
started in 1959 when it was implemented under the “Japanese Youth Goodwill
Mission Program” which the then Prime Minister Kishi had proposed personally in
order to commemorate the marriage of H.M. the Emperor, who was at that time the
Crown Prince.
In 1967, the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise
Program” started as one of the projects to commemorate the Centennial of the
Meiji Restoration. Both the “Japanese Youth Goodwill Mission Program” and the
“Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” gave a great dreams and hope to the
youth of Japan since the Government would take the initiative to send the youth
overseas at a time when it was still very difficult for them to go aboard on
their own.
Due to the recent expansion of the international
role of Japan and the remarkable advancement in internationalisation in various
fields all over the world, the improvement of the contents of international
youth exchange programs of the Cabinet Office has been found necessary in order
to cope with such a changing social environment. Firstly, therefore, in 1988 the
“Japanese Youth Goodwill Cruise Program” was reorganized and upgraded to the
“Ship for World Youth Program”. The main objective of the former program was
changed, so that the exchange between Japanese and foreign youth became one of
the current main activities. The contents also became more academic through the
introduction of activities such as discussions and seminars.
Even though SWY has academic contents in its schedule,
it does not limit itself to pure academics. The programme as a whole is
knowledge gaining and the participating youth (PYs) are able to gain information
about their peers and their countries in a variety of different activities such
as group discussions, games, volunteer activities and of course, during their
free time! The more subject oriented course discussions provide the
participating youth with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge with regard
to subject oriented matters, for example the United Nations, the environment,
Corporate Social Responsibility, multiculturalism etc.
The Ship for World Youth programme is definitely a
life changing experience that leaves you wanting to return to the programme again
and again!
The link to the published article can be found here.
