KUCHING: Twenty-five Japanese and Malaysian youth recently gathered online for ‘Diversity Voyage 2022’, a Global Citizenship Programme organised by GiFT (Global Incubation x Fostering Talents) from August 26 to September 2.
The youth comprised 15 overseas and 10 local undergraduate students.
According to a statement, the aim of the programme is to explore the secrets of unity, diversity and inclusion and subsequently share the core values to schoolchildren in the local community.
The online eight-day youth exchange programme included students from Japan’s Kwansei Gakuin University and students from East China Normal University, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) and Teachers Education Institute Batu Lintang Campus.
Chi Poh Yung from Richmind Consulting & Mentoring Sdn. Bhd. and Johny Kon, principal of Chung Hua Middle School No. 4, were invited to share their views on “Secret and Values of Unity in Sarawak ” and “Unity at School ” respectively with all the programme participants.
On the last day of the programme, 100 pupils from 5 primary schools in Kuching were invited to join an online workshop conducted by the programme’s participants on Zoom.
The objective of the online workshop was to cultivate the value of diversity (multiculturalism) and inclusion for a peaceful future among the younger generation.
This was the 5th time the programme had to be conducted online due to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
With the pandemic transitioning into the endemic phase, Chew Kim Soon, the programme coordinator in Kuching, hoped Japanese participants in the following years would be able to visit the state in person to experience for themselves Sarawak’s local cultures, biodiversity and local delicacies.
GiFT (Global Incubation x Fostering Talents) is a Tokyo based non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote Global Citizenship Education and to foster global citizenship among youth.
GiFT’s Diversity Voyage programme has been organised in eight different cities (Tokyo, Cebu, Kuching, Vientiane, Bangkok, Bali, Phnom Penh and Paro) annually since 2014.
