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With an eye toward the future
of global peace, and a deep passion for contributing to a better
world for young educators, the Aurora Japanese Language Scholarship
Foundation was established in 1998 as a non-profit 501 (c) (3)
organization (ID#31-1639219) by Dr. Akiko Agishi who serves as
its President.
JLSF SCHOLARSHIPS: The primary goal of the scholarships are to
assist United States citizens, who are Japanese language teachers
or graduate students of Japanese language education, to experience
living in Japan and further their understanding of the Japanese
language, improve their teaching abilities, and enrich their
appreciation of Japanese culture. All their future students
will share in the benefits realized from these scholarships.
AURORA CHALLENGE GRANT: awarded to a US citizen who resides in
California and has a unique dream, in any field of endeavor,
which is related to Japanese culture and which would never be
realized without traveling to Japan. The award goes to
an individual with a creative dream or challenge that if fulfilled,
would contribute to global goodwill and intercultural appreciation.
By awarding this grant, the Aurora Foundation hopes to help the
winner enhance their pursuit of their truest, most heartfelt
dream by providing them with the opportunity for a once in a
lifetime experience. Through this experience, and by furthering
the pursuit of their dream projects, the recipients continue
to gain and share a better understanding of Japan.
HIGH SCHOOL SPEECH CONTEST: To encourage the younger generation,
the Aurora Foundation holds a speech contest for non-native Japanese
speaking high school students in the United States, in assocation
with the National Council fo Japanese Language Teachers and the
Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles. The winner is invited
to take part in the Japanese speech contest held every summer
in Tokyo.
The Aurora Foundation has bestowed
scholarships and grants to 32 recipients within the last decade.
In 2008, the Aurora Japanese
Language Scholarship Foundation celebrated its 10th Anniversary.
To celebrate this commemorative milestone, world renowned artist
and Aurora Foundation Honorary Co-Chair, Masashi Sada, returned
to Los Angeles to perform in the 10th Anniversary Aurora Benefit
Concert. A special Panel Discussion and Symposium was also held,
to enhance the Scholarship and Grant programs and explore was
to improve Japanese language and culture education in the United
States.
The Aurora Foundation holds several
fundraising events throughout the year. These events include
the Japanese Film Screening and the Charity Golf Classic in the
spring, and the Award Dinner and Benefit Concert in the fall.
Net proceeds from the benefit events fund the Aurora Japanese
Language Scholarship, the Aurora Challenge Grant, the Aurora
Speech Contest, and the Aurora Endowment Fund.
It is the Aurora Foundation's
goal that the learning experience attained by the scholarship
and grant recipients will positively affect the mainstream USA
and will enhance goodwill between the USA and Japan.
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Aurora Japanese Language Scholarship Foundation
