Sister City Stories

Penrith and Fujieda
- 20years -

2004
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
Click on each to view

Perth and Kagoshima
- 30years -

ASCA Conference 2000 highlights the many
Australia-Japan Sister City links

The annual Australian Sister Cities Association (ASCA) conference, is held to promote and share stories of inspiring and mutually beneficial international links, and is a chance for Australians with interests in sister city relations to gather together and talk of their experiences.

Delegates of the YASCA conference, holding flags of countries with which Australia has sister city relations.

At the event held in Adelaide in October 2000, 300 representatives of sister city committees and other related organisations from all over Australia were in attendance.

Many of the delegates were from regions that were linked to Japanese cities, and many of the display booths were decorated with Japanese paper lanterns, traditional warrior pictures and fans, attesting to the fact that the country with which Australia has the most sister city links is Japan. Looking at the figures from ASCA, Australia has a total of 429 sister links with foreign countries as at March 2000 ? from that number more than one fifth, or 93, are with Japan, followed by 86 with the United States, 51 with the United Kingdom and 30 with China.

A highlight of this year's conference was the "Sister Cities Excellence Awards". Of the 12 cities that were awarded prizes in the 12 categories, 6 of them were for projects with their Japanese counterparts.

Another feature of the conference is the positive and active way in which young people have become involved in the sister city movement. At the same time as the ASCA proceedings, a Young Australian Sister Cities Association (YASCA) conference was held. Seventy 12 ? 25 year olds were selected from Australia-wide to attend, and while deepening their friendships with young people sharing similar interests, they also discussed the significance of the theme of international relations, from a young person's perspective. The results and outcomes of the YASCA workshops were presented at one of the ASCA conference sessions, which impressed delegates greatly with the unique and diverse insights into young people's aims and ideas for improving and nurturing international relations.

Adelaide, the host of the 2000 conference, also has a Japanese sister city, Himeji. Although a fairly conventional relationship in its activities, the two cities place a great importance on the involvement of young people in their link. For example, each year children from Himeji visit Adelaide in Japan's summer holidays, and Adelaide children do the same during our summer break. Each city sends 10 Junior high school students, who participate in homestays. The year 2000 marked the 11th of such trips, which raise the interest and awareness of Australia and Japan with the children who participate, and some Himeji children have gone on to enrol in long-term exchange programs in Adelaide while at senior high and university.

As we commence the 21st century, it is very important to realise the importance of young people's involvement in international relations, and that through the sister city movement we can deepen young people's understanding of those in neighbouring countries.

Some Adelaide students who participated in the Himeji
summer holiday visit, talk of their experiences.

FACT FILE Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture Population: 472,898 International Relations, Himeji City 4-1 Yasuda, Himeji-shi, Hyogo-ken 670-0955 Tel. (0792) 21-2019 Fax (0792) 21-2754 e-mail: kokusai@city.himeji.hyogo.jp http://www.city.himeji.hyogo.jp/english/himeji/index.html

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