Over 60 members of Japanese friendship associations and participants of last year’s exchange programmes attended a get-together reception hosted by Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Maeda Toru.
The participants included BAJA (Brunei Association of Japan Alumni), BERSATU (Alumni Association for ex-participants of the SSEAYP), BJFA-UBD, BJFA-UTB, 2023 JENESYS, Bruneians who have studied in Japan and Japanese students who are currently studying in the country.
The embassy in a statement said that it was delightful to see all the friendship association members enjoying authentic Japanese food while sharing their fond memories in Japan.
The 47th delegates who participated in SSEAYP 2023 also joined the reception along with students who participated in the JENESYS programme under different categories such as students conference, children’s film festival and high school exchange programme.
The reception was an excellent opportunity for the Bruneian participants to explore pathways for future collaborations and stronger networking among themselves, added the embassy.
The SSEAYP (Ship for Southeast Asia Youth Programme), which Brunei joined in 1985 is a youth exchange programme between Japan and various ASEAN countries, organized by the Government of Japan. The programme aims to broaden youths’ minds, raise their awareness of international affairs and improve their leadership skills, so they will be better equipped to positively contribute to their societies.
The JENESYS programme (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) is a people-to-people exchange programme between Japan and countries of the Asia-Pacific region, which began in 2009.
It aims to promote mutual trust and understanding among people of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region and to build a basis for future friendship and cooperation while understanding ‘real’ Japan -its culture, economy, society, history, politics and diplomatic relations.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
