Hosted by ASIA Center, The Japan Foundation
Application Deadline: July 13, 2015
If you are young professionals or university students, concerned about disaster and education, please read this page and apply!!
What is HANDs! Project?
Hope and Dreams (HANDs) Project is an annual youth exchange program, aiming to nurture a sense of common feeling and coexistence as a community shared by the people of Asia, initiated by The Japan Foundation Asia Center.
As a program, HANDs! promotes dialogue and exchange among youth in Japan and Asian countries in order to deepen mutual understanding. HANDs! also promotes the formation of a network among young leaders, as well as promotes collaborative efforts among them, in the field of intellectual dialogue on disaster education issues.
The intellectual exchange through knowledge and experience sharing between Japan and Asian countries within HANDs! Project will use a “two-ways exchange” method, in which both sides seek to introduce and learn one another’s knowledge and experience. By using this method, we believe a new creativity of knowledge and values will be created, and then by sharing, a sense of common feeling and coexistence will be fostered among the people of Asia especially among youths.
The HANDs! Project will connect youths, from Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and India. These youths, will be given a trip opportunity to learn about disaster education in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand also a chance to have collaboration to create a project for the community in the second year.
Why HANDs! Project now?
The youths are the agents of change that determine what the future will be. In Asia, the wave of young people’s participation in giving social contribution is growing fast in various issue-areas, including disaster as one of the major issues faced in this region. With dreaming on a strong bond of friendships between Japan and Asian countries and hoping on the fast-growing youth participation, The Japan Foundation Asia Center provides opportunities for youths in Japan and Asian countries to learn from each other, to inspire one another and to seek for seeds for collaboration through HANDs! Project.
Therefore, within HANDs!, the youth are not only expected to improve their personal development but also to take action, as symbolized in HANDs!’ logo, small and colourful hands forming a bigger hand. The logo shows how youths from different economic development with different background can study and experience able to work together hand-in-hand, take action in tackling common issues.
What am I going to do within HANDs! Project?
In the first year (2015), the selected participants will have an opportunity to do a study trip for 20 days to Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Japan to learn about disaster education in each country. The first trip, is scheduled to visit Indonesia and Philippines in late September to early October 2015 (date TBC), while the second trip is scheduled to visit Thailand and Japan in February 2016 (date TBC).
For the second year (2016), the selected participants are expected to propose a new project on disaster education to the Japan Foundation Asia Center.
Note: the whole program in HANDs! Project is fully funded by The Japan Foundation, Asia Center
Who can Apply? (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY)
- Applicants have to be:
- a young professional who have great creative skills and/or organizing skills (creative worker, social worker or journalist) with at least one year of working experience or
- an active university or graduate student (who presents student ID).
- Applicants must have records of activities in the field of community building, desirably disaster and education in their home country, such as conducting educational events for school children, helping post-disaster reconstruction, conducting social enterprise, etc. Applicants who worked on other social issues such as supporting children, handicapped & elderly, in deal with LGBT issues, women’s empowerment, and others are also encouraged to apply.
- Applicants who are eager to learn from other countries’ experience of post-disaster recovery and disaster preparedness.
- Applicants must understand and agree to the aims of HANDs.
- Applicants must be bona fide citizens of Indonesia.
- Applicants have to be equal or under 35 years old, as of the date of application (July 13, 2015).
- Applicants must possess the ability to conduct formal conversation in English and a good communication skill.
- Applicants must be in good physical and mental conditions.
To know more and how to apply come to the official website: Klik
