The 5 key components of World Campus International

WCJ-Diversity

Diversity

Diverse Group of Participants

One of the many uniqueness of “World Campus – Japan” program is its diverse participants. The program has 30 - 40 participants representing 10-20 countries, with various cultures, religions, and value systems, and they will live and learn together through structured environment. During the program, you will be constantly surrounded by not only the Japanese locals but also the multi-national, multi-cultural group of people to share each others’ opinions.

In the past, the people from the following countries participated in “World Campus – Japan” program.

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chille, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, UK, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, India, Singapore, Colombia, Poland, Romania, Israel, Czech Republic.

WCJ Hands-on Education

Hands-on Education

Your learning in “World Campus – Japan” program goes beyond that of a traditional education or an exchange program.

During our unique community-based education curriculum, you effectively learn a variety of aspects of Japanese society and the world through organized experiences, seminars, discussions and interactions with community activists, business and political leaders.

Some of the topics in the past programs:

  • International Business
  • Peace and Conflict Resolution
  • Modern Japanese Culture(ANIME, etc.)
  • Environment
  • Community Revitalization
  • Japanese Metropolitan Living
  • World Religions
WCJ Host families

Host Families

By staying with Local Japanese Host Families 100% of the time, participants gain real cultural learning on grass-roots level.

Host Family Selection Process

In each partner city, we work in very close coordination with a local planning committee made up of a variety of representatives from the local government and businesses as well as community organizations. Host families are found and selected by that local committee with the oversight of our General Manager located in Japan. Most host families have prior hosting experience and all are selected based on having the proper motivation to engage with our participants and can provide a safe and appropriate home.

Alone or with Roommates?

You will most likely be hosted alone due to the high number of families who want to host World Campus Japan participants and due to space sometimes being a limited commodity in Japan. However, occasionally you might have a roommate from you class and sometimes families will coordinate with one another in the evenings or on weekends for you and your host family to meet with other participants and their families for socializing.

Spending Time with your Host Family

Part of what makes this experience so powerful and unique is that you get to experience Japanese communities through a variety of different host families that may have different values, perceptions and view points than you. This offers a fantastic learning opportunity if you approach each family with an open mind, flexible attitude and excitement to get to know each other. Spend plenty of time together and take advantage of this once in a life time opportunity.

Curfew

Our curfew is designed to protect and meet the expectations of our host families and community partners, as well as to ensure your safety and that the good reputation of World Campus Japan continues for years to come. Since host families are an important source of our cultural experience, a strictly enforced curfew has been established. This curfew applies if you go out and are not with a member of your host family and not in a World Campus Japan activity. If you are in violation of the curfew you may be dismissed from the program. More information on curfew times will be given during our Orientation.

Food and Allergies

Please keep in mind that a very important component of travel to a different country, culture or region is trying new food that is a regular part of the local cuisine. You will most likely really enjoy some dishes and not care for others. Please know that many host families will try their best to accommodate you knowing that you may not be accustomed to their food. However, this should not be expected and out of respect to for your local hosts, you will be asked to push your comfort zone at times by eating some food that you might not prefer. Families will be informed ahead of time of any particular food allergies or restrictions due to religious or medical reasons.

WCJ Community Contribution

Community Contribution

First of all, it's important to know that our brand of learning is nontraditional because we maximize the resources of the class and the uniqueness of the local community where the learning takes place. So no grades, papers or homework. We rather have you connecting with your host families and learning about Japanese culture than doing homework after the days activities are done. In addition to the fun activities that you will do with your host families, there will be other visits arranged during the day in each community that allows you to better understand the uniqueness of a particular host community.

The settings for learning on our tour will vary from schools, to government and community facilities to business campuses. These outings enhance your understanding of the local culture, meet the needs of the communities, as well as promote mutual cultural understanding in fun and practical ways. Examples range from interacting with school children to learn about the Japanese education system and inspire the kids to think more about other cultures, to meeting and having discussions about environmental issues with young executives at ExxonMobil, to learning about Buddhism at a UNESCO World Heritage Site temple or just checking out super modern Shibuya in the heart of Tokyo.

The World Campus International staff and participants as well as community partners will all help to facilitate the learning as we combine knowledge sharing and hands-on learning through guest speakers, facilitators and hands-on learning in the community setting. At the end of the program you will receive a certificate of completion.

Take a look at the WCI blog (www.worldcampusblog.org) page to see what past classes have done!

WCJ Thank you event

Arigato Event

Thank-you Event

With guidance from your staff, your class will produce a "Thank you Event" that is designed to share our diverse cultures and thank the community for hosting our class by using music and art expression in a presentation for the citizens of each community.

The event will include music, occasional guest performances from the local community as well as songs, dances and cultural presentations from your class.

When you arrive for orientation, we will spend time discussing, developing and practicing for this weekly event and how we can use culture, music, movement, and multimedia to communicate when the spoken word isn't enough. Everyone will also be trained in event management.

We will have some prepared Japanese and international songs and movement that you will be trained in for the event that will help to further our efforts to connect with the local community. In addition, we will use some materials that participants bring that represent their cultures. Opportunities will also exist for assisting with the technical component of the event. Everyone is required to participate in this event as it takes a lot of coordination and teamwork to be successful. Specific roles will be determined during each orientation period.

During the enrollment process, you will receive guidance about potential international costumes, music or possibly instruments to bring.

Components: Vocals, Movement, National Costumes, Theatrics, Multimedia, Instrumental Music, Technical Support