SENDAI: Qatar Friendship Fund (QFF) yesterday inaugurated the Sendai Education Centre, a new centre for education in the city of Sendai, Japan. The centre is one of 10 projects initiated by QFF as part of the $100m assistance extended by Qatar to the Japanese people to help communities affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011.
At the outset of the ceremony, Hassen Al Hummaidi handed over the keys of the centre to Japanese officials on behalf of Qatar’s Ambassador to Japan, Yousuf Mohamed Bilal, who is also head of QFF.
The event was attended by Emiko Okuyama, the Mayor of Sendai, in addition to representatives from the Junior Achievement Foundation.
In a statement on this occasion, Ambassador Bilal described Sendai as a dynamic city in Miyagi prefecture, adding that the young population in Sendai and surrounding areas contributes around $700m to the Japanese economy.
“This prefecture was a key contributor to local economy before the earthquake that struck Japan in March of 2011,” he added.
He pointed out that the centre was built with support from Qatar to Japan to encourage those living in this part of the country, stressing that such support was a clear indication of close relations between Qatar and Japan, which date back more than 40 years.
He said students in Sendai center would learn more about the friendship between the two countries, which is based on strong trade links and has expanded to include many other areas such as research and development, culture and sports.
The Centre is part of Elem Project, an experience-based educational programme run by Junior Achievement Japan, Iwaki municipality and Sendai municipality.
The centre is designed to give students in Japan the opportunity to experience life lessons and gain skills that will be crucial to them in the future.
It also aims to spread the spirit of hope for the region which lost 15,884 people from its citizens in the wake of the devastating earthquake that reached 9 on the Richter scale and the tsunami that struck eastern Japan in March 2011, through the initiatives and projects to help Japan to recover economically after the damage amounted to $309bn.
The funding was done through a grant of $1.4m provided by the Qatar Friendship Fund, which was set up in partnership with The Junior Achievement Foundation, Japan, a non-profit organisation working to educate young people about the importance of setting up companies through various educational programs.
QNA
