Global Kids Youth Ambassadors Report on Visit to Fukushima, Japan

NEW YORK - Nov. 14, 2018 - PRLog -- On Thursday, November 15th, nine Global Kids students will report on their service-learning trip to Japan last summer and screen videos they created about their experience and the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  The event will take place at Global Kids Headquarters in New York from 5:30pm – 7:30pm and will also be live streamed beginning at 6:00pm on the Global Kids Facebook Page.  During the live stream, audience members can send their questions to the students during the panel Q&A portion using the hashtag #GKLeadersinJapan.

During their 10-day trip to Tokyo and Fukushima, youth explored issues of nuclear radiation, water quality, and community health, meeting with industry experts as well as Futaba Mirai School students who are engaged in efforts to change perceptions of Fukushima since the nuclear disaster.  The trip was sponsored by the TOMODACHI Initiative and the Japan Foundation New York/Center for Global Partnerships and was designed to promote cultural exchange and understanding between Japanese and American youth leaders.

"My trip to Japan has taught me the true definition of resilience," Gianela Campos, a Global Kids Leader from Notre Dame School of Manhattan said.  "Despite all the devastation they have faced, they have kept a sense of unity in their community in order to move forward.  This has inspired me to not just be persistent but more altruistic as well in my own life."

Since returning, Global Kids youth have been finalizing storytelling projects and videos that will be shared at the event and with Japanese youth, American peers, and community members.  The youth attend the following schools:  Renaissance Charter School (QNS); Transit Tech High School (BK); William Cullen Bryant High School (QNS); John Adams High School (QNS); High School for Medical Professionals (BK); Notre Dame School of Manhattan; Bronx High School for the Visual Arts; and Bronxdale High School.

"At Global Kids, we always ask our youth to draw connections between what's happening abroad and their own communities, and this trip was no different," said Evie Hantzopoulos, Executive Director of Global Kids. "Meeting with peers in Japan, learning about US-Japan relations, and appreciating the resiliency and fortitude of the people there will no doubt further our youth's commitment to global citizenship."

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About Global Kids:  Through its after school and in-school programming, Global Kids works to ensure that youth from underserved communities in NYC and DC have the knowledge, skills, experiences, and values they need to succeed in school, participate effectively in the democratic process, and achieve leadership in their communities and in the world.

www.globalkids.org.  137 East 25th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10010.