Message

  The Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program, initiated in 1974 by Japan and five Asean countries, marked its 30th Program in October, 2003.  I would like to offer my hearty congratulations on this, the 30^th anniversary of the founding of our friendship.

The ship pulled us together, a sharing of our hearts and minds as we were “sailing over the deep blue sea”. The ship brought us closer to experience first-hand exposure to local life during our homestays in the ports of call of Asean countries and Japan. And the ship planted the seeds to nurture our growing awareness of the needs of the young and underprivileged.

Still, we have a long way to go to develop truly mutual understanding, especially with our new Asean members, given a diversity of cultures, different social structures and the different paths they have taken. Asean is also changing to keep up with different sets of groupings, taking such forms as Asean plus Three, to China, Korea and Japan, ASEM, Asian Europe Meeting and APEC, Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

With full participation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1996, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Union of Myanmar in 1998, and the Kingdom of Cambodia in 1999, our SSEAYP family has extended over to Asean Ten, resulting in a total number of well over 1,100 Japanese and 6,500 Asean ex-pys and more than 200 national leaders.

I would like you to consider once more on what should be our mission for our alumni activities in order for each one of us as well as for our children and grandchildren to live in a peaceful and stable manner in the coming thirty years.

Masahide Morita

Secretary General
SSEAYP International