Atlanta’s Japanese Sister City Offers Fully Funded Exchange for Kids

Atlanta’s 10- and 11-year-old elementary school students can now apply for a chance to travel to Japan for an exchange program this summer.

The Asia Pacific Children’s Convention each year covers the cost for “junior ambassadors” to visit Fukuoka, Atlanta’s Japanese sister city, which is located in the country’s southwest on the island of Kyushu.

Alumni of the program can join Bridge Clubs located throughout the world to help newly minted global citizens continue their peace-building work upon returning home to their communities. Atlanta is home to one such club.

Four junior ambassador slots are available this year, two for boys and two for girls, and the children selected will spend one week in summer camp and another participating in a homestay with a Japanese family. The goal is to “nurture omoiyari (caring, considerate and compassionate) global citizens,” according to a notice on the website of the Japan-America Society of Georgia, which collects applications. One Georgia chaperone is also needed. Applications are due Feb. 9. Learn more here

The children’s convention was spun out of the 1989 Asian-Pacific Exposition, which marked the city’s centennial anniversary. Located just across the strait from South Korea and closer than most of Japan to the Asian mainland, Fukuoka has a reputation for relative openness and is capitalizing on it by attracting expatriates from around the region and the world. Aiming to become a startup and tech hub, the city pioneered an entrepreneur’s visa that was later approved by the Japanese central government and used in other parts of the country.

An unofficial delegation from Atlanta recently met with city leaders during a recent trip to Japan for the Southeast U.S.-Japan Alliance conference.