Cultural Exchange
Launch of “Partnership to Co-create a Future with the Next Generation: WA Project 2.0”
On December 17, Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio announced the launch of “Partnership to Co-Create a Future with the Next Generation: WA Project 2.0,” a comprehensive people-to-people exchange program, at the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation. The Prime Minister concurred with ASEAN leaders to work together to further promote people-to-people exchanges in this region.
This program will be intensively implemented over the next ten years with two-pillar projects, “Two-way Intellectual and Cultural Exchange” and “NIHONGO Partners,” by the Japan Foundation
as the successor of the “WA Project,” and it will benefit more than 10 million people, especially the next-generation leaders of Japan and ASEAN.
Through this initiative, the Government of Japan aims to build a strong relationship of trust between ASEAN and Japan for the future, promote two-way exchanges and strengthen multi-faceted human networks, address global challenges such as climate change and disaster prevention together with ASEAN, nurture the next generation to serve as a bridge between ASEAN and Japan, and contribute to the further development of a multicultural society.
This is a program implemented by the Japan Foundation as the main project of the Asian Cultural Exchange Policy “WA Project,” which was announced at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting held in December 2013.
NIHONGO Partners from Japan support Japanese-language education in their respective host countries and regions by assisting classes as a partner for local Japanese language teachers and students in learning Japanese and introducing Japanese culture.
At the same time, NIHONGO Partners themselves are expected to deepen their knowledge of the local languages, culture, and customs in order to serve as a bridge between Japan and the Asian region in the future.
