Japan!
In DC, no country inspires such a high level of student interest and at the same time such a wealth of local resources, expertise, and experience than Japan. We’ve found so many young people in all parts of the city who are fanatics about manga, anime, otaku culture, J-pop, J-rock, video gaming, martial arts, haiku, and other aspects of Japanese culture. DC has a long history of connection with Japan – most famously, the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Embassy of Japan.
Yet formal free programming on Japan for DC students has been virtually non-existent. No Japanese is currently taught in DC public schools. We feel this gives Globalize DC both the imperative and the opportunity to develop new programming that begins to address this untapped student interest – to build knowledge of Japan and Japanese specifically, global awareness and global competence more generally, and pipelines to college and careers for those students who are inspired to seriously pursue their interest in Japan beyond high school.
Our interest in Japan has allowed us to test new approaches to how we implement our core strategies – specifically, in developing new student programming that taps into a large community of partners and creates access for students at public schools (DCPS and charter) across the city and across sectors. We are very grateful to our major funders – US-Japan Council and US-Japan Foundation – and our major partner – American Councils for International Education — who have given us the opportunity to create these popular programs.
Four Programs
For six years, between 2013 and 2018, Globalize DC served as the local DC partner on the TOMODACHI US-Japan Youth Exchange Program (USJYEP), managed by American Councils for International Education. Each year, a group of DC public school students was been selected to participate in a two-way, fully funded cultural exchange between DC and Japan. The exchange focused on cross-cultural understanding, leadership development, social change, and social entrepreneurship. For more information, refer for our TOMODACHI page on this website.
And for a more comprehensive understanding, go directly to the TOMODACHI USJYEP website at www.usjapanfuture.org. [temporarily unavailable]
Starting in October 2016, Globalize DC launched Japanese Plus, a free afterschool Japanese language, culture, and career exposure program open to DCPS and DC charter high school students across the city. That year, twenty-two (22) students from nine (9) different schools met twice a week (Wednesdays 4:30-6:30 pm and Saturdays 9 am – noon) at Columbia Heights Education Campus through the school year. The group returned in SY2017-19 for a second year. In September 2018, Globalize selected a new group of students for our second two-year cycle of Japanese Plus. The Japanese Plus program incorporates a full Japanese language course, aligned to ACTFL standards, and available for up to two years of high school credit.
To learn more, refer to the Japanese Plus page on this website. Even better, check out our Japanese Plus website at www.japaneseplus.org.
“Japan In DC” Program
In summer 2017 Globalize DC introduced a new free six-week summer program, called Japan in DC, open to DCPS and DC charter high school students. The program was offered as part of the Marion Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, so student participants were eligible to earn summer pay. Students spent their summer investigating people, places, and organizations in the city with a connection to Japan. They learned interviewing, research, writing, navigational, and photography skills, and were able to meet a wide range of interesting people from many walks of life.
A smaller version of the program was offered in 2019 in order to complete a final set of articles for the program’s major product – a book, called Japan in DC, based on the students’ writing, photography, and other creative expressions. The full-color 128-page book is available for purchase here. All revenue from sales will support future student programs. We invite you and encourage you to purchase one or more of these beautiful and informative books HERE.
Japanese at Columbia Heights Education Campus
A major partner supporting our Japan programs has been Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC), a grades 6-12 public school located at 16th & Irving Streets, NW, which offered regular meeting space for our citywide Japanese Plus, Japan in DC, and TOMODACHI programs. We are so grateful for Principal Tukeva and all the staff members who have been so helpful over the years.
Working together, Globalize DC and CHEC were able to secure salary assistance grants from the Japan Foundation-Los Angeles to launch what would be the first and only in-school Japanese language program in a DC public school. The program began as a single course in spring 2018, and grew to a full-time teacher is SY2019-20. We are hoping that the major disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will not disrupt the establishment of this important new DCPS language program.
Ways to Get Involved
To learn more about our Japan programs, sign up for our newsletter and be sure to check the box for our special Japan updates.
We also accept donations earmarked for our Japan programs. Click here to donate.
Purchase our Japan in DC Book here.
If you are interested in volunteering for our school-year Japanese Plus program, please fill out our online Japanese Plus Volunteer Interest Form.