New Westminster in British Columbia and Moriguchi City in Osaka Prefecture became the first sister cities between Japan and Canada in 1963. With the 60th anniversary approaching in 2023, the third installment of the highly popular "Japan-Canada Youth Online Exchange Meeting" was held on Saturday, October 15, 2022.
This time, students from New Westminster High School and Douglas College from New Westminster City, and students from Osaka International High School from Moriguchi City participated, providing an opportunity to further strengthen the ties between the two cities.
A total of 35 young people aged 13 to 22 participated, engaging in exchanges in both English and Japanese across four topics in small breakout rooms. Participants commented that it was a great opportunity, as they rarely have the chance to make friends with or speak with young people from Canada while living in Japan.
Canadian-born, trilingual singer Sarah Lee joined us as a special guest. She joined us in breakout rooms to communicate directly with participants and answer their questions. She served as a model for acquiring multilingual skills at a communication level and for pursuing one's passions.
Sarah's song "I AM I," for which she wrote the lyrics, was used as a collaboration song for the Japanese TV anime "Yurei Deco," and she spoke in English about the feelings she poured into the song. Participants expressed their admiration for Sarah, who speaks multiple languages and continues to pursue her dreams, and said they wanted to follow her example and try to do what they want to do.
About "I AM I" (Music Natalie):https://natalie.mu/music/pp/yureideco08
"I AM I" on YouTube:https://youtu.be/shwNEB0BQeU
All respondents to the exchange event survey answered "It was fun" or "It was very fun." 47% said, "I want to become more fluent in my second language."
The JC-COC Sister City Exchange Planning Committee plans to make the next exchange event even more enriching and powerful, not just as a simple international exchange, but in line with what young people from Canada and Japan, who are about to become adults, are hoping to experience.
The 4th Youth Online Exchange Meeting is scheduled for February 2023.
Planning: Karen Baker-MacGrotty
Operated by: Mari Kato, Miki Takabayashi
JCCOC Sister City Commemoration Event “Youth Online Session” – 3rd
To commemorate the sister city relationship between New Westminster (BC) and Moriguchi (Osaka) in 2023, we have conducted the third Youth Online Session on October 15th, 2022.
This is a very popular series for many young participants who seek cultural exchange experiences between Canada and Japan. Participants gathered from all across the two countries;
some of them from schools in New Westminster (New Westminster Secondary School, Douglas College) and Moriguchi (Osaka International High School) contributed to representing the bond between the two cities that will last into the future.
Thirty five participants aged 13-22 met and chatted over four curious topics in smaller breakout rooms in English and Japanese during the event. Some of them joining from Japan found it a great opportunity to interact and make friends with people overseas.
We were joined by a special guest; Sarah Lee, a trilingual Canadian singer. The event participants had a chance to directly communicate with or ask some questions to her in a breakout room. Sarah, who has acquired three different languages and has pursued her dream to be a singer, is an inspiring life model to the young participants.
Sarah shared her story she embedded in her song “I AM I”, a song made in a collaboration with a Japanese TV anime “Yurei Deco”. One of the participants told us she was inspired by Sarah and encouraged to make her own dream come true too.
"I AM I" (Ongaku Natalie, Japanese only):https://natalie.mu/music/pp/yureideco08
"I AM I" on YouTube:https://youtu.be/shwNEB0BQeU
All respondents answered “I enjoyed the event.” or “I enjoyed the event very much.” in the post-event feedback. 47% of them want to study a second language harder.
JCCOC Sister City Interaction Committee will continue to offer even-upgraded online youth interaction to meet specific needs and requests from youth in Canada and Japan who are eager to gain meaningful experiences.
The fourth Youth Online Session is tentatively scheduled in February 2023. Stay tuned!
Organizer: Karen Baker-MacGrotty
Facilitators: Mari Kato, Miki Takabayashi
