Launching “The Special Participation Scheme for In-Service Teachers” in Volunteers for Japanese Communities Overseas

April 11, 2008

  1. Taking the opportunity of the “Japan-Brazil Year of Exchange and the 100th Anniversary of Japanese Emigration to Brazil,” the Government of Japan (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) will launch “the Special Participation Scheme for In-Service Teachers” in the Volunteers for Japanese Communities Overseas of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as part of the assistance for children of the Japanese communities in Latin America including Brazil.  
     
  2.  Japan has dispatched young volunteers through the Volunteers for Japanese Communities Overseas to assist the development of Japanese communities and local communities in Latin America since 1996.  “The Special Participation Scheme for In-Service Teachers” to be launched soon aims to dispatch Japanese elementary, junior-high, and high school teachers to the schools which are managed by Nikkei (Japanese descendants) groups in Latin America.  The dispatched teachers are expected to teach Japanese language and values, introduce Japanese history, culture, and customs, and support to organize school events.
     
  3.  By learning the languages, and deepening their understanding of the society, culture, customs, and history of the countries to which they will be dispatched through the volunteer activities, the teachers are expected to make the best of their experiences for teaching Nikkei children in Japan.  Therefore, expected applicants are the teachers who mainly work in the regions where many Nikkei children live in Japan.  (In the beginning, the teachers in the regions which have a large number of Brazilian population in Japan will be dispatched.)
     
  4. This scheme aims to assist teaching Japanese language and culture to the children, which has been strong concerns among Japanese communities in Latin America.  It is also expected to be effective for the education of Nikkei children in Japan.
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