The Embassy of Japan in Brunei held a departure ceremony yesterday for Bruneian students and teachers who will be attending the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) programme.

The Jenesys programme was created by Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister of Japan, during the Second East Asia Summit 2007.

Brunei has been participating in the programme ever since and this year nine students and two teachers from different secondary schools all over Brunei will be going to Japan to attend the programme.

The delegation from Brunei will be leaving Japan on December 3, 2010.

The Jenesys programme consists of three components, including the invitation of students and youth from East Asian countries to Japan and the dispatch of Japanese youth to East Asian countries.

The third component of the programme is aimed at promoting youth interaction through youth networking programmes and student conferences.

The Japanese Ambassador to Brunei, Hirose Noriki, welcomed the participants and congratulated them for being selected to go to Japan.

The ambassador expressed his sincere appreciation towards the Ministry of Education for giving strong support to the Jenesys programme.

The ambassador then gave an introduction to the places the Bruneian participants will be visiting in Japan.

Noriki said he hoped the Bruneian participants will gain valuable experiences and the programme will succeed in advancing good relations between Brunei and Japan as well as other participating countries.

Noriki told The Brunei Times in an interview that he hoped the students would learn a lot from their trip to Japan. “I hope they will get a good and productive experience,” Noriki said. He also said the students are very privileged to be able to go to another country to experience a different culture.

In an interview, Qusyairi Mohd Zaki of Masin Secondary School, the student representative of Brunei, said he and his friends would like to learn more about the culture and language.

Qusyairi said that during the 11-day Jenesys programme, students will be staying with Japanese families to experience the Japanese culture first hand.

NURHAMIZA ROSLAN
via The Brunei Times
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN