JICA sends Mindanao student winners of vlog contest to Japan to promote PHL-JPN friendship

A video blog on peace and solidarity in Marawi won two students from Mindanao a trip to Japan.

The video blog contest under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was held in February 2020, but the winners’ supposed trip to Japan was halted by the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Now, that travel is allowed once again in many countries, the two students – Shannefamel Almazan and Francine Besorio finally went to Japan as their prize for their entry to deepen mutual understanding and promote friendship between two nations.

The contest organized by JICA, attracted video blog entries from Filipino students whose content focused on their opinion on international cooperation and Japan-Philippines friendship.

Almazan and Besorio visited the JICA headquarters in Tokyo, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and site visits in Osaka. They also met Filipino scholars under the JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program who were completing their postgraduate degrees at the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and Hitotsubashi University.

“For so long, I’ve only known Japan from stories and photos from everyone else. Experiencing Japan firsthand is a dream come true. There are so much to learn about their culture and ways of nation-building that I wish to share with people back home in Mindanao,” said one of the participants, Shannefamel Almazan.

JICA Philippines Chief Representative SAKAMOTO Takema said, “They must have been inspired by this trip to Japan on the way of nation-building and modernized society management among others. We sincerely hope they will share their precious experiences and inspired ideas with their friends in the country which should be helpful toward the better future of the Philippines.”

“We wish them success in their careers, and JICA looks forward to listening to the ideas and voices of Filipino youth who will eventually become leaders of their country,” added SAKAMOTO.

JICA took particular interest in the entry of the two students from Mindanao since it has ongoing cooperation projects for peace and development, such as the construction and rehabilitation of road infrastructures in Marawi, and other conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

Watch their winning entry here: JICA – The answer to my senbazuru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y00bfs_mPo

JICA Philippines will be publishing series of videos of the winners’ experiences in Japan in their Facebook page. Catch them on fb.com/jicaphilippines