This year, students visited international organizations and historical sites in Poland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland from 4th-13th of January, 2019.

18 students from 9th grade to 11th grade participated this time.
After an 11hour flight from Haneda Airport, the students arrived in the first stop, Krakow, which is the oldest city in Poland. The students were greeted by a local guide and learned simple Polish greetings.

The next day, the tour started.
First of all, the students visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory and learned about the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany.

At the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the students went around two concentration camps with the guidance of Mr. Tsuyoshi Nakatani, the first and only foreign official guide at the museum

The students listened to the stories of Auschwitz. In doing so, they learned how history is presented in Europe and also, how to face Japanese history. Students learned about the tragic history and it caused them to think deeply about the circumstances of what happened.

At the Schindler enamel factory, which was the setting of the movie “Schindler’s List”, the students saw the factory where German businessman Oskar Schindler hid Jews from the massacre by hiring them as employees.
The students could really understand the events that took place under the Nazi occupation.

On the next day, the students moved from Poland to the Netherlands and visited the International Residual Mechanism for the Criminal Court (IRMCT).
The students listened to commentaries in English from the staff, and they visited facilities such as the criminal court which prosecuted crimes from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. They also learned about human rights problems in conflict areas.

In the Netherlands, the students also visited the Mauritshuys Museum and the Amsterdam National Art Gallery.
While listening to a wide range of lectures, on topics such as the basics of viewing art in regard to composition, knowledge of arrangement of works inside the hall, and knowledge of the historical background of the work. The students enjoyed the masterpieces of the Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.

In addition, the students learned about the experiences of the Jewish people and their culture at the Jewish History Museum.
At the house of Anne Frank, a place symbolizing the persecution of the Jews, the students experienced “the importance of living fully even if deprived of freedom.”
In this way, what the students felt while experiencing real places could be taken in more powerfully than simply reading about the events in books.

The last spot on the tour was Switzerland. The students visited four international organizations in Geneva over two days.

On the first day in Switzerland, they visited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
They talked with the Japanese staff about the actual problems dealt with by each institution, the roles / missions undertaken to solve the problems, the qualities needed to work in a global environment, and so on.
Listening to stories from people who are personally working overseas to solve challenging problems was an exciting experience that reached beyond what they would usually get in Japan.

The staff members took questions from the students and provided a lot of additional context and detail the story by addressing those points. These lectures helped students to deepen their understanding of international organizations.
The students were a little unfamiliar with the style of back and forth but it was a good opportunity for them to address issues they had questions about.

On the second day, at the International Red Cross Headquarters, the staff of the International Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Crescent Society (ICFC) explained the history of the organization and the activities it takes part in.

While visiting the museums on the premises, the students learned even more about the story of the International Red Cross.

On the last day in Europe, the students went sightseeing in the old city and enjoyed seeing places such as St. Pierre Cathedral.
They took a commemorative photo at the airport and ended the ten-day European studies tour.

On this trip the students were able to deepen their knowledge by experiencing many things first hand. They left with a lot of new ideas and were more focused on the future and what careers may await them.

Participating students learned about the diverse culture and history of Europe and built an understanding of the relationships with foreign countries. They spent a meaningful time expanding their interests and developing a multifaceted vision of various problems in the world.

After a flight of 13 hours from Haneda to Frankfurt, they arrived in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, as their first place to visit. They spent the next 2 days visiting 4 training sites.

On the first day they visited the International Criminal Court(MICT) and the Japanese Embassy in the Netherlands.
In MICT, students learned about war crimes prosecuted by the court from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in English. They learned the necessity of listening skills and vocabulary skills to understand specialized contents.

In the afternoon, Mr. Mori and Mr. Somoto, clerks at the Embassy, gave students a lecture on the content of their work and the relationship between the Netherlands and Japan and explained its history.

The next day, they looked at the Netherlands from a cultural perspective. They saw Rembrandt and Vermeer’s masterpieces at the Amsterdam National Art Gallery and learned about Jewish customs at the Jewish History Museum before heading out to view some historic cityscapes. In Anne Frank’s house, they felt the importance of not forgetting the importance of enjoying life after witnessing the impact of being denied freedom.

The students felt the atmosphere and the weight of history by identifying with people who breathed in that place at that time.

At the next destination, Geneva in Switzerland, students listened to lectures at four international organizations in two days; the UN High Commission for Human Rights Office (OHCHR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the International Red Cross.

While they gained knowledge of the activities and history of each institution, they learned about the current situations, prospects, and impact on Japanese society such as through declining birth rate and aging population and refugees. At the same time, they realized the importance of active interactions at the interactive lecture. They learned about the qualities needed to work in international organizations.

At the workshop they participated in after the lecture by at the International Red Cross, the ice breaker helped students understand that “the war requires law”. Through activities that classified the contents of international humanitarian law into three beliefs, they deepened their understanding further.

The last country they visited was Poland. After a three hour flight from Switzerland, the students got off the plane in the ancient capital of Krakow, which once prospered as the capital of the Kingdom of Poland. From there they visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum on the next day.

At the last place, the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum, they visited the facilities with the guidance of Mr. Tsuyoshi Nakatani, the first and only foreign official guide at the museum.

While walking through the two camps, the students though deeply about the question asked by Mr. Nakatani, such as “Why did such a tragedy occur in Germany which had such high cultural standards?”.
The tour of Birkenauau drove home the experience they had at Anne Frank’s house and their experiences converged to create a more total picture of the events.

Finally, they visited the Schindler enamel factory, the setting of the movie “Schindler’s List” which was based on the true story of a German businessman who saved many Jews from massacre by the Nazis.

From European Studies this time, each student could feel a “living knowledge”, which they gained from having actual experiences on site and by getting ‘real’ information.

Also, having opportunities to communicate in English in many ways, from daily exchanges to lectures in professional contexts also lead to increasing their motivation to “learn more English to gain deeper communication and knowledge”.

This year, 11 students from 9th grade to 11th grade visited Germany, Poland, and Switzerland for 12 days from January 4th to 15th. They visited Freiburg, where environmental policy is heavily promoted, Auschwitz, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, the UN European headquarters, the International Red Cross, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and various places related to International Labor Organizations.

After 12 hours of flight from Narita and a 3 hour bus ride they arrived at the first destination; Freiberg.
Soon after arrival, they visited the city’s industrial high school, a small hydroelectric power generation plant, and the old town area. During the visit, they took in a lecture about the environmental policy the city is promoting and learned about sustainable urban development.

On the next day, they visited a couple of places in the city by tram based on information from the previous day’s lecture. They wanted to explore the sustainable city with their own eyes. After that, Japanese exchange students going to Freiberg University gave them a tour around the campus. That was the end of the activities in the city.

When they were moved on to Poland by bus and flight, they experienced a border crossing with no inspection as the “Schengen Agreement” has allowed.

On day 5, they visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. The only official foreign tour guide, Tsuyoshi Nakatani, gave a tour of the facility. He explained the history of Auschwitz and the difference in values people at that time had compared to people today. The students could easily understand after listening to him. It was a very shocking experience for the students to learn about such harsh conditions for people in prison while seeing the scale with their own eyes and feeling the environment such as the temperature in the fields.

On the next day, the students visited Poland’s oldest university, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, from where Copernicus and John Paul II graduated. After interaction with local students who are studying Japanese. The students were divided into 4 groups with themes of “human rights,” “diplomacy,” “international exchange”, and “environment”. They gave presentations in English. The students exchanged their own opinions and facts about what Poland is doing for each of the themes and had a debate afterwards.

At the next destination, Geneva, Switzerland, students visited 4 international organizations in two days. On the first day, they participated in a tour of the European headquarters of the United Nations and learned about the history of international cooperation. After the tour, they visited the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At the ILO, 10th graders gave a presentation in English about “The Situations and Challenges of Trade between Japan and the EU “, and 9 graders talked about “Issues relating to Refugees” at the UNHCR. Students were able to receive valuable comments from staff members of both institutions.

On the second day in Geneva, there was a visit to the International Red Cross. After learning about the history and activities of the Red Cross from various exhibitions in the facility, they participated in a 2-hour workshop. Students learned common rules and human rights responsibilities required during times of war, through group work.

The last day, we changed the schedule from climbing Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (due to bad weather), and visited the old town of Geneva. They learned the history of Europe and got a glimpse of its culture through visiting the University of Geneva and Saint-Pierre Cathedral.

After this visit, students looked back on what they felt from this experience and individuals presented their future goals. All of the students felt this experience was very meaningful. They realized that learning from photos and materials and actually experiencing give totally different impressions. This experience proved to be a very valuable tour for every single student who participated. It let them feel the possibility of working in international organizations as a career in the future.

The students first arrived in Paris, France, which they found to be environmentally friendly, and were especially impressed with the bottles-only recycling boxes that were uniquely shape.

The visited the Palace of Versailles and were impressed to learn that they were standing at the site of the Paris Peace Conference. Being there in person improved their understanding about “diplomacy”.

They went to Germany next, and took part in homestays. The students spent the weekend with their host family, and on Monday, the 8th, they went to school with the host students.

In the afternoon they visited a factory that generates electricity heat from incinerated refuse. The students found it interesting, informative, and recognized Germany as an environmentally-advanced country.

At Goethe-Gymnasium, the students attended German classes every day. By using the German phrases that the students had learned that day, they tried communicating with their hosts. One student said he felt motivated to learn German. “I want to study German a lot and talk to my partner more”!

On the third school day, the students delivered presentations in English in front of the Goethe-Gymnasium students. Their topic themes included, the environment, human rights, and diplomacy. Then, the students from Goethe-Gymnasium, who were studying Japanese, gave presentations about the environment, in Japanese. By sharing about the problems that each county has, students from both schools had a good chance to think about what is needed for international cooperation.

In visiting Frankfurt, the students found new discoveries.

They saw that battery charger stations for electric vehicles (EV) were along general roads, unlike in Japan, where they are found only at gas stations. This was proof that EVs are also popular in Germany.

The students also enjoyed walking around the Rüdesheim neighborhood of Frankfurt. They observed that there was no trash in the forest. This made them realize that Germany maintained a high standard toward protecting its environment and are able to enjoy fresh air.

On the last school day (12th), all the students received a certificate from Eit, the vice-principal at Goethe-Gymnasium. The students had good things to say about their host school and country. “By experiencing another culture, I’ve learned the importance of respecting others’ ideas.” “I was very happy that all students of Goethe-Gymnasium welcomed us warmly. I’ve realized that the relationship with each other is very important, not only in Japan, but also in Germany and in the global society.” They learned a lot and were very appreciative from this experience.

On the last day in Germany, the students spent the whole day with their host families, and deepened their relationships.

On the next day, the students said farewell to their host families and returned to Japan.Overall, it was a twelve-day journey, during which they met many people, experienced and learned many things that they could never learn from books or pictures.

Later, when Goethe-Gymnasium students came to Japan, and stayed with Tamagawa Academy students, they became even better friends.