2/17/2007 - Francisco Cazal, AFS President, Completes Successful Visit to Japan, February 2007
Mr. Francisco Cazal, President of AFS International has completed a visit to Japan to promote AFS programs and the AFS mission of creating a more just and peaceful world. He visited government and private agencies whose commitment to AFS have provided young people the opportunity to become responsible global citizens. A priority for Mr. Cazal was to acknowledge the contributions of AFS Japan’s Kyoto Chapter on their 50th anniversary and of Ms. Yasuko Araki, a 2006 Galatti Award winner and the founder of the AFS Kyoto Chapter. The AFS Kyoto Chapter is the oldest chapter in the western Japan region and the only chapter run by volunteer college students, most under 22 years of age. The Galatti Award established in 1983 and named after AFS founder Stephen Galatti, honors AFS community volunteers whose commitment and exceptional dedication have advanced the mission and goals of AFS at the grass-root level. It is the most prestigious commendation granted by the AFS International Board of Trustees.
Yasuko Araki has dedicated 49 years to AFS in Japan and has worked tirelessly to build up the chapter and its volunteer base. “Ms. Yasuko Araki stands out among the thousands of volunteers that keep AFS going strong, and give the gift of intercultural understanding to people all over the world,” Tachi said, “our Galatti Award winners not only serve as an example to the rest of the AFS network because of the outstanding quality of their service to AFS; they serve most significantly as a symbol of the shared culture of the AFS worldwide family.”
Upon receiving the Galatti Award Ms. Araki remarked, “I’m very honored to receive such a prestigious award, but I have only put in practice simple principles of asking college students to join this incredible organization as volunteers and entrusted them to do their work. In that respect, I am not the only one to deserve this award, but all the volunteers here today have also earned this honor. The award ceremony was followed by a panel discussion in which participants discussed their AFS experience. The guest panelist was Ms. Chieko Shiozaki, an AFS participant from Japan to the U.S. (1968-1969) and a professor at Matsuyama Shinonome College. The anniversary celebrations concluded with a dinner attended by more than 100 guests.
Mr. Cazal traveled to Hiroshima on February 11 to participate in a forum organized by the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, who was also an AFS participant from Japan to the U.S (1959-1960). The forum’s theme was “Hiroshima, 21st Century – Peace and Student Exchanges” and Mr. Cazal addressed the audience on the importance of intercultural student exchanges in promoting peace and understanding among people. Yuzo Takada, AFS International Trustee, accompanied Tachi and provided expert assistance in interpreting his messages to the Japanese audience. He spent that evening as a dinner guest of Mayor Akiba along with Ole Danbolt Mjos, the Chairman of the Nobel Peace Committee.
While in Japan, he also met with high ranking officials from the Board of Education in Kyoto and with the CEOs of Odyssey Communications Inc. and the Kamenori Foundation, both AFS sponsors who have provided substantial scholarship funds.
Mr. Cazal’s visit Japan generated increased interest and support for AFS as the organization continues to promote peace and intercultural understanding. AFS Japan is one of the AFS network’s largest Partner.
In the photo: Yuzo Takada (AFS INT Trustee), Tachi and Mayor Akiba at the forum
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