DoDEA partners with MOFA, plants SEEDs of friendship

American and Japanese students listen to a guest speaker during the Student Educational Exchange and Dialogue (SEED) project at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sept. 10, 2023. Throughout the two-day event, teams of students collaborated and competed for five distinguished awards which were announced during the closing ceremony. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler)

A Yokota Middle School student holds a certificate of completion during the Student Educational Exchange and Dialogue (SEED) project at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sept. 10, 2023. SEED is a two-day event where students partake in educational activities designed to foster diverse perspectives, promote mutual understanding, bridge language barriers, and form deeper cross-cultural connections. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler)

DoDEA partners with MOFA, plants SEEDs of friendship

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jesse Friedel, Fifth Air Force deputy commander, congratulates a team of students for winning the “Best Character” award at the Student Educational Exchange and Dialogue (SEED) project at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sept. 10, 2023. SEED is a project meant to bring American and Japanese students together to participate in educational and cultural exchange activities at Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific schools located on U.S. military installations in Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler)

DoDEA partners with MOFA, plants SEEDs of friendship

Published Sept. 12, 2023
By Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --

Dr. Jacqueline Ferguson, Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific superintendent, poses for a photo with two students who just received certificates of completion during the Student Educational Exchange and Dialogue (SEED) project at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Sept. 10, 2023. Yokota High School hosted the first of seven SEED events slated for the 2023-2024 school year. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Spencer Tobler)

Yokota High School, in conjunction with the Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted the Student Educational Exchange and Dialogue project, Sept. 9-10, to give American and Japanese students a unique opportunity to interact with and learn alongside one another.

SEED is a two-day event where students partake in educational activities designed to foster diverse perspectives, promote mutual understanding, bridge language barriers, and form deeper cross-cultural connections.

“Our DoDEA schools, along with our military installation partners, collaborated with the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pair up middle school and high school students from outside the gate to help build positive relationships,” said Dr. Jacqueline Ferguson, DoDEA Pacific superintendent. “This allows kids from both nations to step out of their comfort zones and learn more about each other’s cultures.”

Yokota High School was the first of seven stops for the education specialists on their tour of U.S. military installations in Japan during the 2023-24 school year.

Mr. Sugiura Masatoshi, Status of U.S. Forces Agreement director for the Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hopes the students will forever cherish the bonds they created throughout the event.

“The SEED project will bloom into beautiful flowers of friendship, legacy, and trust between our two nations,” said Masatoshi. “For world peace and security, I believe we have to pursue relationships beyond our national boundaries.”