South African Embassy 20th Anniversary of Freedom School Essay Writing Competition
How do Japanese high school students view South Africa? In celebrating this year’s National Day, the Embassy, through ‘The 20th Anniversary of Freedom School Essay Writing Competition’, invited Japanese high school students in the Tokyo and Chiba areas to express their views on topics such as what South Africa’s 20 years of freedom means to them or to the world. They were given the opportunity to address areas that the youth in Japan and in South Africa can work together for a better future.
The entries received were stimulating and wide-ranging and showed that the students not only researched their topics, but expressed their views eloquently.
At the Embassy’s National Day Reception on 27 April 2015, the first, second and third prize winners were given an opportunity to read their essays. Each of the winning essays are herewith attached.
The first prize winner, Karin Hiramatsu from Tokyo Metropolitan Koishikawa Secondary School, received round trip tickets for two, donated by Qatar Air, including a week-long holiday package in South Africa sponsored by Sun International and Legacy Hotels and Resorts, in conjunction Your Africa and South African Tourism.
The second prize went to Hikaru Ito of Hongo High School. The third prize winner is Kyoko Ishiguro from Konodai Girls High School. The South African Embassy believes that the initiative has contributed to the strengthening of ties between Japan and South Africa at school level as well as to promoting the use of English amongst Japanese youth.
NHK World Coverage Video
Winning essay – Karin Hiramatsu