Supporting Cultural Education: JAPANBITE Partners with Japanese Language Week

At JAPANBITE, we believe in the power of cultural exchange to bring people closer together. This year, we were honored to partner with Japanese Language Week (JLW) , a student-led initiative in New Zealand, to inspire young learners to explore the Japanese language and culture.

Japanese Language Week is a unique program designed by students for students. Led by year 12 student Aaron Huang and his peers, JLW provided primary school students from diverse cultural backgrounds with a week-long immersive experience in Japanese language and traditions. Through interactive activities, the event aimed to foster an appreciation for Japanese culture while making learning fun and engaging.

JAPANBITE contributed by providing our snack boxes as prizes for JLW activities. These snack boxes, filled with authentic Japanese treats, served as both a reward and a cultural experience, perfectly aligning with the mission of the event. In addition to supporting student participation, this collaboration allowed JAPANBITE to introduce the joy of Japanese snacks to a broader audience.

In collaboration with Our Lady Star of the Sea School’s cultural week, JLW hosted an event on May 23rd, 2024, which included

• Teaching basic Japanese vocabulary through interactive games
• Sharing traditional children's games, such as Hasami Shogi and Daruma-san ga koronda.

Partnering with JLW was a natural fit for JAPANBITE. As Aaron eloquently put it, “Incorporating high-quality Japanese snack boxes as prizes for JLW serves as a compelling incentive for student participation, infusing excitement into our activities amongst students.” We were delighted to see our snack boxes not only serve as prizes but also as a means of introducing students to Japanese culture in a tangible and enjoyable way.

After forming a partnership and successfully hosting the event, we had the opportunity to interview Aaron. He shared the obstacles they overcame and the key factors that led to the event’s success.

Aaron shared, “Trying to get JLW off the ground was not an easy journey. For one, we contacted many businesses in hopes of collaborating with them for JLW. However, the vast majority of these requests were ignored or rejected, so with each passing day, I was quite nervous that the event wasn’t going to garner any support despite what I was trying to promote with JLW. Luckily, we were able to get the right support from JAPANBITE who saw our vision. We were able to make wagashi a unique aspect of JLW, using it to deliver experiential learning about traditions through the curated boxes. This is definitely one of the biggest achievements of the event as we were able to partner up with a business that believed in us whilst also adding a unique spin through food.”

Aaron also acknowledged difficulties in securing schools to host the event, which ultimately limited the scale of JLW. He noted, “It was difficult to try to get schools on board with the idea of hosting JLW, which led to the establishment of the event being on a far smaller scale than we had hoped.”

However, Aaron emphasized the importance of starting small, saying, “I’m proud of the fact that JLW was able to get a start with Our Lady Star of the Sea School because this is the first step to growing JLW into something bigger and running a full week of events across schools in the community.”

Aaron’s reflections show the perseverance and vision that made JLW possible. With this strong foundation, JLW is set to grow, inspiring more students and communities in the future.

Through our partnership, JAPANBITE was prominently featured on JLW promotional materials, reaching students and parents from the school involved. This exposure helped us connect with new audiences while contributing to a meaningful cause. More importantly, seeing the excitement and joy on the faces of the young participants was a deeply rewarding experience for our team.

We are incredibly grateful to Aaron and the JLW team for inviting us to be part of this inspiring initiative. Supporting cultural education is at the heart of JAPANBITE’s mission, and we look forward to more opportunities to partner with schools and communities worldwide.

If you’d like to learn more about our snack boxes or explore a partnership with us, please feel free to contact us. Together, we can create more opportunities for cultural exchange and learning.

Japanese Language Week

https://japaneselanguageweek.godaddysites.com/