Building community one JET at a time.

We are pleased to announce the second round grant recipients for our chapter grant program with Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA: JETAA Minnesota and JETAA New England.

JET Alumni Association of Minnesota: Forum for U.S.-Japan Organizations

Program date: February 3, 2019 (TBC)

To create stronger ties between Japan and Minnesota, JETAA Minnesota and the Japan-America Society of Minnesota (JASM) will co-host a one-day forum for local U.S.-Japan organizations to network with each other. The forum will become the first formal opportunity for the representatives of these organizations to meet, and will enable the U.S.-Japan community in Minnesota to exchange ideas for future collaboration and to discuss their respective roles in facilitating grassroots diplomacy between the United States and Japan.

JET Alumni Association of New England: Kimono Workshop and Discussion

Program date: February 16, 2019 (TBC)

To promote a discussion on how Japanese kimonos helped strengthen U.S.-Japan relations by facilitating better understanding about Japan in the United States, JETAA New England will host a kimono workshop for JET alumni and the U.S.-Japan community in Boston. The event will introduce participants to the history and cultural significance of Japanese kimonos and how its appreciation has influenced Western art and global fashion. In addition to a lecture, participants will experience a hands-on workshop where they will learn the intricacies and nuances involved in putting on and wearing a Japanese kimono. This is the first grant JETAA New England has received from Sasakawa USA and USJETAA.

Round One Grantees

 JET Alumni Association of Florida: Career Development Workshop

Program date: September 8, 2018

To support the JET alumni and help them find a career that enable them to utilize their JET experience, the Florida JETAA chapter hosted their inaugural Career Development Workshop at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The event featured panel discussions focusing on the current job market in the U.S. with an emphasis on Florida, the diversity of careers available in U.S.-Japan relations, and sessions on marketing one’s skills for any job. The workshop was followed by a reception co-hosted by the Consulate-General of Japan in Miami. Read more about the Career Development Workshop.

JET Alumni Association of New York: JETS at the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Program date: January 12, 2019

To promote a discussion on Japanese art and U.S.-Japan relations, JETAA New York will host a unique event for JET alumni and the U.S.-Japan community at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The event will begin with docent-historian guided tours of the MET’s Japanese art collection, where attendees will view the Museum’s extensive art collection from the Neolithic to the modern. The tours will be followed by a special moderated discussion with John Carpenter (Curator of Japanese Art at the MET), Britt Littman (Director of the Noguchi Museum in New York), and Yukie Kamiya (Director of the Japan Society Gallery in New York) to hear their views on U.S.-Japan relations in the context of how art and culture can help strengthen and express the United States (U.S.)- Japan relationship and its importance