Anzu
fujino

For as long as Anzu can remember, she was fascinated by news and other TV programs about world issues - well before her friends were interested in such things! She was especially impressed by Japanese people’s dedication to helping people in conflict areas, and she dreamed of being like them. It was in 11th grade that this dream crystalized for Anzu. In summer, she visited Cebu Island in the Philippines as part of a group of volunteers to help disadvantaged children. She served a meal, played together, and taught sings and dances for them. This was her first time seeing what was happening in the world today with her own eyes, not as just statistics or news stories. Witnessing that poverty in developing countries is the result of various entangled histories, she realized that it is not something that can be solved by a simple process. The same is true of the issues of international conflict. Inspired by this experience, she came to believe that there is no choice but to change the world's basic structure in order to solve world issues. 

 

Having been accepted into the top girl school of Japan, Anzu is an ambitious student who strives to make the most of her educational opportunities. Her strongest subjects are both World and Japanese history, which provide both lessons to be remembered and tragic errors to be avoided. Learning these lessons is invaluable to building a more peaceful world, and Anzu’s perspective growing up in Japan, the only country to experience nuclear warfare, gives her a greater sense of urgency. As war turns human death into just number, Anzu believes the solution lies in putting each others’ humanity front-and-center in all decisions, organizations, and interactions. To contribute to achieving a more peaceful world, Anzu hopes to better understand the recurring causes of war and the ingredients to building sustained peace.　Now she is in the process of creating a platform, the Bridge Dialogues, for peace-seeking youth to create the next generation without force.

 

Besides her passion for peace and conflict resolution, Anzu enjoys taking on leadership roles in and outside of the classroom. In the dance club of  school, she was in charge of the piece for the metropolitan competition, and led her club to win the award. Her pastimes are playing the piano (she’s been doing it for 13 years!) and listening to music, whose power she believes as a bridge connecting the world regardless of nation and religion.