About SWYAA

(2)Participating Countries

As of March 2025, 27 countries are registered as full members, 8 countries as associate members, and including those who have not yet officially registered, there is a network of a total of 67 countries around the world that are involved in various social contribution activities.

(4)Our Common Tasks

• Organize activities, locally and internationally, which would lead to social contribution, volunteer initiatives, and development initiatives;
• Strengthen the network of members in the home country;
• Enhance information exchange among members in the home country and the SWYAA International member countries;
• Communicate with, and make periodic reports to, the Embassy of Japan;
• Provide a means of communication for the former participating youth (ex-PYs) and present participating youth (PYs) of the SWY program;
• Support future participants of the SWY program; and,
• Keep and maintain up-to-date information of alumni members.

(5)Details of Activities

(a) SWY News
This is an in-house paper/digital newsletter published in English, focusing specifically on the post-program activities of the SWY program and its succeeding programs. SWY News is filled with articles on details of post-program activities in various countries, a report of the SWYAA Ex-PY Conference proceedings, and the latest news of ex-PYs from all over the world. Thus far, 27 issues have been published.

(b) SWYAA Global Assembly (GA)
International Reunion, which was held at a port of call on the SWY program route, was reformed into SWYAA Global Assembly from 2007. Any active SWYAA is given an opportunity to hold an annual Global Assembly, which is not merely an international reunion for the ex-PYs, but also a forum to discuss about post-program activities and how to promote social contribution activities locally and internationally. Conference for Post-Program Activities is an opportunity for the participants to understand about the activities taking place in different countries, and also to share the outcomes.

• The 1st GA – Athens, Greece (September 5 to 9, 2007)
• The 2nd GA – Tokyo, Japan (August 21 to 24, 2008)
• The 3rd GA – Brisbane, Australia (September 2 to 6, 2009)
• The 4th GA – Cairo, Egypt (October 9 to 12, 2010)
• The 5th GA – Mexico City, Mexico (September 28 to October 2, 2011)
• The 6th GA – Bahrain (October 4 to 8, 2012)
• The 7th GA – Lima, Peru (August 29 to September 2, 2013)
• The 8th GA – Istanbul, Turkey (August 30 to September 3, 2014)
• The 9th GA – Nadi, Fiji (August 12 to 16, 2015)
• The 10th GA – Delhi, India (September 20 to 24, 2016)
• The 11th GA– Dubai, UAE (November 5 to 8, 2017)
• The 12th GA– Tonga (November 19 to 23, 2018)
• The 13th GA– Russia (August 31 to September 5, 2019)
• GAs from 2020 to 2022 were postponed because of COVID-19.
• The 14th GA- Oman (November 4 to 9, 2023)
• The 15th GA- Sweden (August 3 to 7, 2024)

(c) SWY Forest
The SWY Forest project was launched as one of the post-program activities to commemorate the 20th SWY program, and the original logo was solicited from ex-PYs, T-shirts were produced and sold, and all proceeds except for production costs were allocated to reforestation activities around the world. So far, SWY Forest has been implemented in Bali, Indonesia (2008), Iwate Prefecture, Japan (2013), and Guadalajara, Spain (2023).

(d) Ship for World Youth Alumni Association Tokyo Conference (Ex-PY Conference)
This conference is sponsored by the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and is attended by SWYAA representatives. The purpose of this conference is to exchange information on the development of post-program activities, as well as the structure and depth of each country’s SWYAA, which provide the foundation for such activities. An additional objective of the conference is to have discussions to develop an international network of holistic ties between each country and the IYEO in Japan. Basically, participants discuss how the SWYAA network can be used in activities for the betterment of society, future directions of post program activities, and how ex-PYs can contribute to the programs.
To date, the results of past conferences include: the development of a homestay network; recommendation to have ex-PYs as advisors on the SWY program; development of a preparatory manual for PYs prior to the program or the handbook for National Leaders; development of a promotional kit to introduce the SWY program; setting up rules for the use of mailing list; and writing down a guideline which SWYAA members can use to conduct pre-departure orientation session for the new participants of the coming SWY program. The “Global Photo Contests” were organized four times starting from 2004 to promote cultural exchange and to strengthen the alumni network locally and globally. In 2005, a logo contest was launched to decide the common logo for SWYAA. In 2006, Handbook for Cultural Understanding was revised into a digital form to be uploaded on the website, and an official video of SWY program (10 minutes version) was created which can be used for promotion of the program. In 2007, in order to commemorate the 20th anniversary of SWY in 2008, it was agreed to work on collecting history of each SWY batch on the website (SWY History on Website), SWY Calendar, implement Charity Lunch, and contribute to the environment by planting “SWY Forest” in various countries. In 2008, as part of the international relief activities, IYEO began its cooperation with the project in Kenya (humanitarian support to the Internally Displaced Persons) and the educational assistance project in Sri Lanka (One More Child Goes to School Project). From 2009 to 2010, it was agreed to compile a material for cross-cultural understanding education, and to jointly work on a project under the name “Homestay + 1” where homestay recipients are encouraged to organize volunteer activity so that the visitor can experience something extra (“plus one” experience). Also, movement to collect information on former participants with prominent background or to collect testimonials about the meaning of the SWY program started.
In 2016, a Joint Statement was issued by the 32 member countries representatives, concluding with their determination to pursue the following common projects:

• “SWYAA Natural Disaster Relief” – to offer immediate and ongoing relief to areas affected by natural disaster.
• “Educate for Tomorrow” – to facilitate local projects that will deliver quality education and increase opportunities for children in challenging environments.
• “SWY Forest” – an environmental initiative to support the sustainable development of SWY Forests.
• “Blood Donation Week”- to promote awareness and encourage organization of an annual SWYAA blood donation week.
• “Opportunities Without Discrimination” – to take part in an international social media campaign to promote social inclusion and diversity on SWY Day.
• “Homestay + 1” – to accommodate ex-PYs who wish to perform social contribution activities when they visit other SWY countries.
• Participants from 11 countries gathered at the 2019 meeting to discuss the creation of an official SWY logo, revision of the procedure for selecting the host country of the SWYAA Global Assembly, and ways to increase engagement of the participating youth immediately after their participation in the program.

(6)Conferment of Decorations

The following people received decorations representing their Alumni Associations in recognition of their long-standing commitment and achievements.
· Mr. Ravi Chopra, President of Ship for World Youth Alumni Association India (SWYAA), received the Decoration of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, in November 2022.
・Mr Francis Deve, SWY11 NL, and Former President of SWYAA – Solomon Islands, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Spring Conferment of Japanese Decorations. He contributed to promoting youth exchange and friendship between Japan and Solomon Islands.