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An appreciation of diversity and an international perspective are critical issues in today's globalization. With a constant influx of people from around the world, the United States is more diverse than ever, and American educators are aware of the need for global perspectives.

Coordinated by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, the Collaborative Initiatives on Promoting Youth Philanthropy Education is an exciting cross-cultural opportunity for everyone, including YPII. Other organizations are involved too -- Learning to Give (LTG), Japan Youth Volunteers Association (JYVA), Central Community Chest of Japan, United Way's Youth As Resources (YAR), and YMCA. The project's major funders include The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.

We expect this project to address a strong need for youth development. According to the 1998 National Commission on Civil Society in the U.S., "America's youth (under age 21) have shown a startling decline in their knowledge of core social values." Japan, too, is facing many problems related to youth, such as hikikomori (young people who stay home to avoid interaction with others).

Project objectives include:

• Establishing a U.S. - Japan network composed of youth, educators, scholars, and practitioners;
• Gaining a mutual understanding and creating innovative projects through collaborative efforts to (a) conduct research on both countries' youth philanthropy programs, (b) design evaluation methods, and (c) conduct pilot studies;
• Providing ample learning opportunities to educators of schools and youth-service organizations ;
• Ensuring active communication among U.S. and Japanese youth and educators participating in pilot studies via printed materials, the Internet, and joint workshops;
• Making the study results widely available and provide practical suggestions for American and Japanese audience, including policy makers, parents, educators, youth-service leaders, foundations, and corporate officers through conferences, seminars and workshops, print, and the Web.

Visit the website of the Yokohama Primary School in Japan - a school we visited on our recent trip!

See letters from our Japanese friends

See the Japan Trip Blog

Based on the Japanese new public policy to reform school curriculum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that local governments are beginning to request schools to include philanthropy education in their curriculum.