The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has announced the recipients of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Global Leaders Program 2022.

The JICA Office in Samoa announced the recipients of its upskilling program on Thursday and the various universities in Japan that they will attend to do their study programs. 

Jun Ho Gregory Kim will do a masters program studying public health at the St Luke's International University; Gracia Monalisa Une is undertaking a masters program studying life science innovation (biomolecular engineering) at the Tsukuba University; and Gafatasi Sua will do a bachelors program in international management at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.

As for the fourth recipient of the scholarship, Bhavana Sanele Taavili is in the masters program for regional development studies at Tokyo University and will focus on the Clean Cities Program. 

They then congratulated the recipients and their parents of this year’s JICA Scholarship Program where the SDGs Program currently provides support for bachelors, masters and doctoral studies, whereas clean cities exclusively provides Masters Studies.

Family and friends attended the scholarship award ceremony on Thursday, in support of the awardees and the beginning of their journey to study in Japan.

A total of 15 Samoan nationals have been awarded scholarships under the SDGs program since 2016 as well as the Clean Cities Program.

Ms. Sanele Taavili is the first Samoan to be awarded the scholarship since it was implemented earlier this year.

The SDGs Program and the Clean Cities Program are specifically designed for the leaders of the Pacific Island countries (PIC) for human resource capacity development.

Through each program, the recipients will be able to understand Japanese society, learn about common interests and work towards common goals. Each program has an internship component to enrich each participant’s academic and personal experience. 

SDGs Clean Cities are part of JICA's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Pacific Island Countries and are implemented under the Knowledge Co-Creation Program (KCCP) long-term training.

JICA then took the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the Government of Samoa, through the Public Service Commission (P.S.C.) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (M.F.A.T.) for their cooperation and continuous support to JICA K.C.C.P. trainings.

Participants have to contribute to the development of their country, engage actively in policy formulation and the implementation of social and economic development policies upon completion of their studies and their return to their country. The participants are trained to be future leaders so they can help shape the future of their country and its development.