A GROUP of students from a primary school in Central Province had last Sunday departed for Osaka in Japan where they will attend the World Trade Expo and also visit some schools before returning to the country.
The trip was fully funded by the Japanese Government, through its aid arm the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The six students and one teacher from the Sogeri Primary School (SPS) will be in Osaka for a total of 10-days, from July 13-22.
They were led by JICA volunteer Uchiyama Shota, who had been attached with the school since 2023.
The students, three boys and an equal number of girls, were farewelled by their families, teachers and relatives, at the Jackson International Airport in Port Moresby around 8am as they prepared for their departure.
According to a statement released by JICA, the students and their teacher will attend the 2025 World Trade Expo which will be held in Osaka, Japan, as well as visit two elementary schools as part of a cultural learning program.
“Representing PNG on the world front is a team of students and a local teacher from their humble primary school in Sogeri, who never thought they would be experiencing this opportunity of a lifetime like the current World Trade Expo in Japan,” JICA stated.
“The team is led by Mr Uchiyama Shota, a JICA volunteer teacher at the school, who’ve organised the trip through the Osaka Education Board,” it stated.
“Mr Shota, on some occasions, had organised online exchange classes from the classrooms of Sogeri across the seas to certain schools in Japan.
“As such, part of their itinerary in Japan, they will visit two elementary schools to meet their online friends physically and share some classes with them,” the statement read.
JICA, who has been assisting PNG in many areas, said it proudly supports the activities of its volunteers across the country, who continue to foster the strong friendship between Japan and PNG.
JICA said Mr Shota, as a volunteer, had introduced innovative Japanese methods of teaching both to the students as well as in-service training for the teachers at the school.
AloJapan.com