2017 Discretionary Grant Summaries
Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
Seeking Peace in the Nuclear Era
Project Director: Akiko Kawano Jones
$4,775.00
The purpose of this project is to bring together a discussion on nuclear war and the approaches to peacemaking in today’s world through a series of presentations and engagements with important speakers. Two Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima Bomb, Ms. Keiko Ogura and Ms. Setsuko Thurlow will discuss their perspectives on promoting peace. Gwynne Dyer journalist and filmmaker will discuss focusing on nuclear issues and North korea. Dr. Donna Hicks, professor at Harvard will provide insights on how to solve the intractable conflicts with her approach.
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
United States-Japan Grassroots Exchange on Homelessness
Project Director: Kat Johnson
$4,598.00
Homelessness has been an issue in Japan and the United States and the Institute of Global Homelessness at DePaul University will collaborate with students from Meiji University and non-profit Entrepreneurial Training for Innovative Communities to organize an exchange on homelessness. The goal is strengthen its network with leaders that are seeking to reduce homelessness in Japan and the United States and to find experts from each country that can help each other to solve local challenges related to homelessness.
Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute, Irvington, NY
Girls and Women Empowerment through Eileen Workshop
Project Director: Keiko Watanabe
$6,000.00
From their past visit to Japan, EFLI has gained relations with existing Japanese partners and was given insights on how to develop their workshop curriculum. With that said, they are trying to build more workshops reaching out to young women in Japan to have two cultures come together to connect and share a common goal of empowerment in women.
International Student Conferences, Inc., Washington, DC
2018 U.S-Japan-Korea Trilateral Forum
Project Director: Rachel Little
$3,500.00
The International Student Conferences is planning on bringing college student leaders from the Korea-America Student Conferences and the Japan-America Student Conference to Washington DC for the U.S-Japan-Korea trilateral Forum. This program will give an opportunity for the three countries Executive Committee Members to discuss current issues and ways to improve, increase corporation, and bolster ties between the three countries. With the student leaders having experience living in the three countries, they may provide necessary information that will lead to a stronger U.S-Japan-Korea relationship.
Japan Society of Alabama, Birmingham, AL
JASA Community Center Programming
Project Director: Jolie Thevenot
$1,441.00
JASA wants to change their office space into a community center in which they think it will help them improve their programming and increase in the individual memberships. They eventually want wider variety of audiences and partnering organizations through an establishment of the meeting space in Samuel Ullman Muesum.
Japan Society of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
Japan Fest 2018 & Kathryn Tolbert Panel Session
Project Director: Jennifer G. Torres
$2,980.00
Japan Society of New Orleans will participate in Japan Fest which is the largest cultural event in the New Orleans region. They want to raise their own visibility into the community and so by doing that, they want to provide significant cultural and educational programs to the New Orleans community. Young professionals and a mix of the Japanese and American percentage will be the intended audience of this project. There will be showings of Fall Seven times, Get up Eight, and The Japanese Warbrides. After, Mrs. Kathryn Tolbert will attend for the Q&A session.
Japan Society of North Carolina, Raleigh, NC
2018 Charlotte Conference & Reception
Project Director: David S. Robinson
$2,600.00
Japan Society of North Carolina will be holding its annual conference in Charlotte. They will be working with other Japan-related organizations to help increase both corporate and individual membership throughout the state of North Carolina. In doing so, they will expand their outreach by reaching out to large Japanese companies as well as non-Japanese companies interested in Japan and have not already participated in the JASNC events.
Japan Society of St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Building Institutional Capacity for sustainable growth
Project Director: Chikako Usui
$21,340.00
A three-year effort to grow and manage the growth of JASSTL. The third year goal is to stabilize and expand the recent gains by strengthening administrative and managerial support by extending the tenure of the project manager and acquiring a new project assistant, as well as implement a succession plan for the outgoing president of ten years.
Kizuna Across Cultures, Washington, DC
Global Classmates Summit 2017
Project Director: Ayako Smethurst
$8,415.00
The Global Classmates Summit held in Washington, D.C for nine days will gather 12 selected students six from the United States and six from Japan to participate in it. This summit is seeking engagements of cultural and language exchanges. The summit will helps serve as an example to show students the understanding of promoting each other’s friendships and understanding one another’s cultures.
National Council on Independent Living, Washington, DC
CIL Exchange Program
Project Director: Kelly Buckland
$1,997.00
The Global Independent Living Summit held in July as well as the NCIL Annual Conference with participants of Japanese Independent Living Advocates already in the United States is trying to aim at increasing Japanese Independent Living history, values, and accomplishments among the American Independent Living Advocates. They anticipate on cross-cultural exchanges and group discussions on international disability rights.
Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Dialogues of Civilizations: Disaster and Recovery in Japan
Project Director: Daniel Aldrich
$10.000.00
This short term faculty-led academic program will allow undergraduate students to learn conditions and factors Japan had to face focusing on the dynamics of earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear meltdowns. This program will give the students a chance to study rehabilitation and revitalization after the 1923 Tokyo and 1995 Kobe earthquakes and also to participate in a cultural dialogue with students from Tohoku University.
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Enhancing Peer-to peer dialog between Reischauer Scholars Program Students in the U.S with Stanford e-Japan students in Japan
Project Director: Gary Mukai
$20,000.00
The Reischauer Scholars Program will select about 30 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors throughout the United States to engage in an intensive study of Japan and U.S-Japan relations. The program wants students to experience learning Japanese society and culture, appreciate the importance of the U.S-Japan relationship focusing on areas of economics, politics, and security, etc. During the 14th and 15th years of RSP, the exchange between RSP and Stanford e-Japan was successful and so they want to enhance peer-to-peer dialogue between the students in the RSP and Stanford e-Japan.