Success StoryJapanese Girls Day Celebration Series



Japanese Girls Day Celebration Series

Author: Rachel Guidugli

Planning Unit: 4-H Central Operations

Major Program: Leadership

Outcome: Initial Outcome

 

 

4-H Japanese Girls’ Day Virtual Celebration Series 

February & March 2021 

The 4-H Japanese Girls’ Day Virtual Celebration Series was a joint program between the States’ 4-H International Exchange Programs, Western Michigan University Soga Japan Center, Michigan 4-H, and Kentucky 4-H. The encouragement to host this cultural awareness experiences was expressed through participants of the 2020 4-H Virtual Children’s Day Celebration hosted by the Michigan and Kentucky 4-H Programs. In addition to prior participant desire to gain more understanding of the Japanese culture, the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption of face-to-face international programming was a factor in developing and implementing this series.

Planning Committee:

The series was planned and implemented by a youth-adult committee. The committee had two program area experts from Japan, four youth development professionals, and four youth members. In addition to the planning committee, two Japanese young adults assisted in making the content shared during sessions as well as a former 4-H international program alumni who is living and working in Japan. Results from the evaluation of those who served on the planning committee:

Youth Committee Member Impact

  1. This was a good experience, I got to see what goes into planning an event like this. I participated in Children’s Day and it was interesting to be on the other side of the event this time.
  2. It was interesting to see how different people present in different ways, it helped me come up with ways to teach in the future.
  3. I felt validated by my adult counterpart for my session.
  4. I loved working on the planning team, I was able to bring my own piece to the group puzzle.
  5. I enjoyed seeing our hard work pay off and our ideas come alive.

Adult Committee Member Impact

  1. My program has not done virtual outreach until this experience, this gave me great ideas for how to continue cultural awareness programs in the virtual environment.
  2. This gave me a chance to connect with the youth audience. Before this experience I focused on program administration. This gave me a chance to share my culture with others.
  3. Through this experience I learned how to encourage youth voice and work in an equal partnership.
  4. The partnership between the four organizations enhanced the quality of experience we were able to provide.
  5. I was blown away by the eagerness of learning about other cultures by the program participants. The expression of their desire reinforces the need for more cultural awareness opportunities and validates the work of 4-H global, cultural and international education programs.
  6. 4-H is all about shining a light on youth voice, and this program was a great example of that at work. It was wonderful to see the teens empowered to share their ideas, teach much of the content, and grow through the process.

 

Participant Engagement:

There were 197 families, including 295 youth and 181 adults, registered to participate. Thirty states were represented among the registered participants. The series had four sessions; average participation was over 200 individuals per session. To extend learning participants were encouraged to engage through between-session challenges, 99 individuals participated in this portion of the experience.

Program Design:

Each session focused on a different aspect of Japanese culture and explored the traditional Hinamatsuri Celebration. Sessions were geared toward all age groups with interactive activities and opportunities to share:

  1. Session 1: Introduction to Japanese Culture, What It’s Like to Live in Japan, and Japanese Girls’ Day Traditions (Hinamatsuri)
  2. Session 2: Japanese Girls’ Day Traditions: Songs & Origami
  3. Session 3: Japanese Girls’ Day Traditions: Food
  4. Session 4: Extend Your Knowledge: Live Q & A Session with 4-H Alumni Living and Working in Japan, Furoshiki Fabric Wrapping and Haiku Writing  

The committee wanted participants to extend their learning outside of the live sessions so between-session challenges that either reviewed previous information or prepped participants for the next session were created:

  1. Challenge 1: Before session 1 introduce yourself and your family!
  2. Challenge 2: Learn to say “head, heart, hands, health” in Japanese. Research and write the words in Kanji. Post a photo!
  3. Challenge 3: Use your new skills and create your own origami doll display for Hinamatsuri! Post a photo!
  4. Challenge 4: Share your finished product of your Usuyaki tamago, Eatable Hina Dolls or share what you enjoyed about the demonstration!

Program Outcomes: 

Through an in-program evaluation of participants:

  1. 94.11% learned about Japanese lifestyles
  2. 96% gained new knowledge about Japan and its culture
  3. 86.3% learned to appreciate their own culture through learning about another culture
  4. 96.1% learned about Japanese cultural etiquette
  5. 78.4% shared things they learned through this experience with others
  6. 66.7% Japanese language
  7. 94.1% experienced how Japanese people value children’s health and happiness
  8. 72.5% were interested in hosting an exchange student in the future
  9. 65% were interested in traveling as an exchange student in the future
  10. 94.1% are likely to participate in a cultural experience like this in the future

 

Through the after-program evaluation:

  1. 100% agreed that this experience helped them appreciate other cultures and given them the courage to encourage others to do so as well.
  2. 100% are likely to recommend this type of 4-H program to others

What did you share with others about your experience in the 4-H Japanese Girls’ Day Celebration?

  1. How to make eatable Hina Dolls.
  2. We wished happy Hinamatsuri to our Japanese friends and talked about dolls and chirashi-zushi.
  3. I shared the Japanese words I learned.
  4. Origami, cooking with others again, talked about Girls’ Day and other special Japanese days
  5. Radio Taiso
  6. Cooking and writing Haiku
  7. The food!
  8. I shared about the customs I learned about.
  9. The song about Girls’ Day and origami pieces.

 

What surprised you most about the Japanese culture from what you learned during this experience?

  1. The longevity of the traditions.
  2. It is very similar to other cultures I know about.
  3. The holidays!
  4. The difference between daily life and celebrations
  5. They have a lot of packaged food.
  6. How they write words.
  7. Japanese Girls’ Day is also known as Peach Day
  8. The youth are into much of the same things that Americans are.
  9. I was surprised by the exactness and detail that was spent on all the preparations for the celebration.
  10. The exercise was surprising to me.
  11. Tradition is serious. All things are beautiful.

 

What was the most interesting things you learned from this experience?

  1. How rich the Japanese culture is.
  2. Hinamatsuri is interesting.
  3. The dolls
  4. All the different traditions in the one celebration
  5. How to make food
  6. Te means hands and arms
  7. That is took approximately two hours to put on a Kimono.
  8. There is much to be learned from other cultures. Families in different countries have different ways and traditions for promoting happiness and good fortune.
  9. Learning about the clothing worn on Girls’ Day

 

What was the most enjoyable about this experience?

  1. Learning new things!
  2. All the sessions were great, I enjoyed learning from the young adults living in Japan and individuals who are Japanese, I enjoyed the sushi making.
  3. Interacting with others
  4. I learned so much each time, I liked the program’s set-up.
  5. Cooking
  6. Food
  7. Being able to learn from someone who live in Japan.
  8. Learning language and Japanese words
  9. Radio Taiso
  10. Origami Dolls

 

Was there anything in the Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about?

  1. Other festivals
  2. Japanese people are very respectful, I would like to learn more about their school and home—respecting elders, family, property.
  3. Honestly, everything!
  4. Homelife and family traditions.
  5. I would like to learn about Japanese culture as a whole!
  6. The language
  7. What old customs do they still follow?
  8. Japanese music and art
  9. More origami
  10. More word practice

 

Why do you think it is important for young people to participate in culture education experiences?

  1. We live in an interconnected world.
  2. It’s a small world and we need to be able to appreciate all cultures and differences.
  3. I think its very important due to the fact that we should all make an effort to understand others.
  4. Cultural understanding creates friendships for life. Conflicts less likely with those that you have interacted with in the past.
  5. It helps them to be more inclusive of others.
  6. To broaden their world viewpoint
  7. Learning experiences
  8. To learn about others
  9. Youth need to learn about the customs and ‘curiosities’ of other cultures so that they can learn to appreciate and respect them.
  10. We are the future. As individuals, we become a part of everyone we meet; every culture we experience.  Every culture we learn about helps us to connect with and understand other people around the world. The more that we understand, the better we become at solving common world problems together.
  11. We need to learn about others so we don’t misunderstand.









Stories by Rachel Guidugli


4-H Social Media

4-H Social Media

about 3 years ago by Rachel Guidugli

... Read More


Transitioning Skills Learned Through Virtual 4-H Programming

Transitioning Skills Learned Through Virtual 4-H Programming

about 3 years ago by Rachel Guidugli

Out-of-school-time programs are critical assets to promote positive development and, as such, should... Read More


Stories by 4-H Central Operations


4-H Social Media

4-H Social Media

about 3 years ago by Rachel Guidugli

... Read More


Transitioning Skills Learned Through Virtual 4-H Programming

Transitioning Skills Learned Through Virtual 4-H Programming

about 3 years ago by Rachel Guidugli

Out-of-school-time programs are critical assets to promote positive development and, as such, should... Read More


Stories by Leadership


An International Virtual Experience

An International Virtual Experience

about 3 years ago by Jennifer Cole

According to the U.S. Department of Education International Strategy Report (2012-2016), in order fo... Read More


4-H Teen Council

4-H Teen Council

about 3 years ago by Anne Stephens

4-H Teen CouncilThe teen leadership component of the 4-H program is very important for building and ... Read More