being a part of jensys 2.0 in 2013

 my first abroad visit ... thanks to my university i was selected as one of the 30 university student in the country to represant Sri Lanka in japan....

 japan ... asian wonderland . awesome peoples with one goal..'devoploping their country'.
adapting to jappan.. one awesome experiance for me.. very very bussy one week july 15 to july 22.

SAARC University Student Invitation Program 2013

SAARC University Student Invitation Program 2013

JENESYS 2.0

Following the “Kizuna Project” which was implemented in 2012 in accordance with the Sixth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM6) Okinawa Kizuna Declaration, the Government of Japan announced the JENESYS 2.0 Project as a new initiative of Japan’s commitment to further promote people-to-people exchange and build closer relations between Japan and Pacific Island Countries.  This Project will lead to strengthening friendship and deepening mutual understanding between Japanese and Pacific island youths. 

The Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of Japan, selected 5 students and 1 supervisor from the University of Colombo; who were nominated to be part of this youth exchange programme. They who took part in the SAARC University Invitation Program 2013 which was held in Japan from 10 – 15 of June 2013.

 It was indeed a great pleasure to represent Sri Lanka and the University of Colombo at the JENESYS 2.0 program 2013 organized by the Government of Japan for university students from SAARC countries.

 The program was conducted and directed by officials from the JICE (Japan International cooperation center) from the 10^th -15^th June 2013.

The entire program was based in Yokohama and Tokyo. We landed at the Narita International Airport on the 10^th June 2013. We were warmly welcomed by the JICE officials at the Airport and stayed the first three nights at the Prince Hotel Shin Yokohama. It was indeed a great experience.

Before coming to Japan we had a good understanding about the Japanese culture and industrial development. By participating in this program we gained knowledge about industrial development in modern Japan. It is indeed great to see how Japan has transformed from an isolated nation in the Tokugawa period to a great nation with large scale technological innovations and very high infrastructure development.

Japan is a G-8 nation. We realized that their economy is one of the leading economies of the world and that their living standards are very high.

We were taken to the Shibaura Water reclamation center in Tokyo on the 11^th June. It began its operations in 1931 and is the 3^rd oldest water reclamation center in Tokyo. The treated water is discharged to Tokyo bay. After the sand filtration, some treated water is used for cleaning the facilities, cooling some machines and flushing toilets in the reclamation center. The sludge is treated at Nambu sludge plant. The quality of water discharged from the plant meets the water quality standards of the Tokyo metropolitan Environmental Security ordinance.

We also visited the Nihon Minkaen open air Museum in Kawasaki to experience the rich Japanese culture. We saw many Traditional Japanese farmhouses, samurai houses, merchant houses (e.g. Suzuki House) and a Kabuki stage. We also took part in a traditional Japanese Indigo dying workshop. It was a great experience as we got a chance to get a good knowledge on Japanese architectural history as well as their traditional way of living. Many of the traditional style houses have wooden floors known as Tatami.

The following day we visited the The Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum to experience the developments of modern science and technology. The museum exhibited a large amount of replicas of rockets, air planes, ships, machinery etc. The experience-based exhibits encourage visitors to experience aspects of manufacturing through the design, fabrication and operation of various types of vehicles.

The same day after lunch we visited the Yokohama Disaster Management Center which was established to give citizens a good training on how to face disasters such as floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, fires etc. The drill regarding earthquakes was indeed a new experience for us as we all got a chance to experience several earthquake tremors. They enlightened us on various safety measures to be taken during disasters.

The next day we visited the Wada Elementary School and shared our experiences and cultural values with Grade 6 students. The students and school authorities welcomed us warmly. We played games with the students and had a presentation on Sri Lankan history. Several students from the Sri Lankan delegation performed dance acts. They received very good responses from the audience. Then we moved to the Hotel New Otani, Chiba to spend the remaining two nights.

The following day we had our final presentation at the hotel banquet hall. It was indeed a very good presentation. We made our final action plan and it received a very high response from the audience. Our action plan focused mostly on increasing productivity through efficiency and punctuality. The Japanese are very active people who are very committed and efficient. They are very punctual and hard working. Therefore, by participating in the JENESYS 2.0 program we gained a wide knowledge on the Japanese culture, industries and the success behind Japan’s successful industrial development.

In the evening we visited the Asakusa area in   Tokyo. We saw the Famous Sensoji Temple which hosts a large number of Mahayana Buddha statues.  The temple is the oldest and most famous temple in Tokyo.  The main hall was originally built in 645 to house a tiny golden statue of kannon, the goddess of mercy that had been caught by two brothers fishing in the Sumida River. The colorful back streets give tourists a glimpse of old Japan. A large number of souvenir shops can be seen in this area.

Afterwards we visited the Akihabara area in central Tokyo, which is famous for their electrical shops.

The JENESYS program was indeed a great experience for us not only because we got a chance to experience the industrial developments in Japan but we also got a chance to meet various people belonging to various cultures and exchange contact details with them.

This one week program helped us to interact with various people and share their wonderful experiences. We left Japan on the 15^th June with many wonderful experiences.