2018 APCC Junior Ambassadors

The Japan-America Society of Hawaii (JASH) is pleased to announce the selection of six Junior Ambassadors (JAs) to represent JASH and Hawaii at the 30th Annual Asian-Pacific Children’s Convention (APCC) in Fukuoka, Japan in summer 2018. The APCC is a cultural exchange program that deepens participant’s appreciation for the cultures of other nations and regions, and promotes mutual understanding and friendship, nurtures international awareness in young people, and works towards world peace and co-existence. It is hoped that the JAs will build an international network of friends. For the next several months, the six Junior Ambassadors -- three boys and three girls, all age 11 at the time of travel -- will participate in a JASH-designed training program for their Japan experience this July. In Fukuoka, the students will meet over 200 fellow Junior Ambassadors from 40 countries and cities in the Asia-Pacific region in a global youth camp. This will be followed by a home stay where they will live with a Japanese host family. It is our hope that our Ambassadors will mature into adults with a strong sense of social responsibility. The 2018 Junior Ambassadors are:

1. Keanna Lau, Mid-Pacific

2. Joanna Sato, Hawaii Baptist Academy

3. Emi Takatsuka, Punahou School

4. Maxwell Niemann, Kainalu Elementary

5. Reyn Shimabuku, Iolani School

6. Kala Soares, Aina Haina Elementary

If you wish to know more about the APCC program, please visit the JASH website at http://jashawaii.org/education/, or contact Liz Stanton-Barrera, JASH Educational Program Director, at (808) 524-4450 or via ebarrera@jashawaii.org. We thank you for your continued support of JASH.