2015.01.08
The NRI Student Essay Contest is an essay contest sponsored by the Nomura Research Institute that has been held since 2006.
This year, the 9th contest was held under the theme "The Future Society We Want to Create: Your Dreams and Commitments," and she was awarded the Grand Prize from a total of 883 submissions by university students, international students, and high school students.
In addition, last March, she won an Excellence Award in the essay competition of the "Japan-Taiwan Cultural Exchange Youth Scholarship," and in August, she participated in the "Message of Peace from Chiran Speech Contest" and received an Excellence Award.
The "Japan-Taiwan Cultural Exchange Youth Scholarship" targets junior high, high school, vocational school, and university students, widely soliciting essays and calligraphy works. It was started with the aim of deepening mutual understanding and exchange between Taiwan and Japan, which have deep historical ties, by inviting the Grand Prize and Excellence Award winners on a study trip to Taiwan. The program promotes friendly relations between the new generations of Japan and Taiwan and aims to discover and nurture talent who can be active in Asia and the world.
The "Message of Peace from Chiran Speech Contest" is a speech contest held in Chiran, Minamikyushu City, every year on August 15, the anniversary of the end of the war, since 1990. Under the theme "Let Life Shine Tomorrow," it widely recruits participants from all over the country and sends out messages of peace with the hope for lasting world peace. Over the years, many passionate messages about the meaning of seeking the "sanctity of life" and the "importance of peace" have been delivered.
Comment from Kayo Jonai
In the NRI Student Essay Contest, I organized my thoughts on the discrimination and prejudice I have felt since elementary school and made proposals on understanding inclusive education and what is necessary to realize it in Japan. I was worried that my writing was too emotional to be evaluated as an academic essay, but I am honored that it was recognized as "my commitment." Winning the Grand Prize felt like a dream.
The Peace Speech Contest in Chiran gave me a good opportunity to reflect on myself and give a speech about the "importance of life."
In the Japan-Taiwan Cultural Exchange Youth Scholarship essay contest, I wrote about the past between Japan and Taiwan under the title "Connecting a History of Gratitude." Visiting the Presidential Office Building in Taiwan and Soochow University, as well as the homestay, were valuable experiences.