The fourth installment of the "Online Youth Exchange Meeting," a continuing event organized by the Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce's "Sister City Project," was held on February 18, 2023 (February 19, Japan time). The "Online Youth Exchange Meeting," which connects young people from Japan and Canada online to deepen exchanges in English and Japanese as part of the "Sister City Project," was first held in February 2022, and this was the fourth meeting. This time, we asked the student leaders of Club KC, an official club at Osaka Gakuin University, to help with attracting participants and promotion, making this event a collaborative effort between Japan and Canada.
Nearly 50 young people aged 13 to 22 participated, exchanging opinions with peers from across the ocean on five topics prepared by Club KC. Although it was initially scheduled for an hour and a half, when the scheduled end time arrived, it was clear that many still wanted to talk and were reluctant to leave, so we spontaneously extended the talk time by two more sessions. It was extended by 30 minutes, but 90% of the participants stayed until the end, making it a wonderful exchange event where they still had so much more to say.
According to a post-event survey, participants from 60% said they "want to become more fluent in English," and participants from 85% said they "would like to participate again," indicating that it was a very stimulating and meaningful exchange event for young people.
Canada and Japan have many sister cities. The oldest sister city relationship between Japan and Canada, between New Westminster and Moriguchi (Osaka), is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Following that, Vancouver and Yokohama will celebrate their 60th anniversary next year. The Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce plans to continue holding events that connect young people from both countries and revitalize the bonds of friendship.
Planning and Management: Mari Kato, Miki Takabayashi
Supervised by: Karen Baker-MacGrotty
Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce organized the 4th Youth Online Session under the Sister City Initiative on February 18th 2023. The event was greatly supported by the official student club of Osaka Gakuin University, Club KC, who collaborated in planning and promotion.
We had nearly fifty young participants aged 13~22 both from Canada and Japan who talked about five interesting topics to discuss the differences and similarities between the two countries. The topics prepared by Club KC members were all what young people would be curious about. The event was extended by another 30 minutes as many wished to have two more chats, and over 80% of them stayed until the very end.
60% of respondents of the post-event survey answered that they now “want to study Japanese more”, and 85% “want to join again.” The feedback tells that the session was meaningful and exciting to many young people who participated in the event.
Among all other sister cities between Canada and Japan, New Westminster (BC) and Moriguchi (Osaka) mark the 60th anniversary of their sister city relationship this year, followed by Vancouver (BC) and Yokohama (Kanagawa) which will celebrate their 60th anniversary next year. JCCOC will continue to plan events and projects to strengthen the friendship tie between the two countries in the future.
Supervisor: Karen Baker-MacGrotty
Organizer/Facilitators: Mari Kato, Miki Takabayashi
