CLAIR NEWS

CLAIR Sydney holds booth at the LGMA National Congress

CLAIR Sydney held a booth at the Exhibition Hall during the Local Government Managers Association National Congress from the 24th to 27th of May.

The theme for this year was “Creating Our Future” which saw 500 participants not only from Australia but from numerous countries around the world. Those who attended were mostly General Managers, Chief Executive Officers and Councillors.

Keynote Speeches, Panel Discussions and subject specific talks on the 3 areas of Culture, Country and Earth were held over the 4 days.

The purpose of the CLAIR Sydney booth was to introduce the local governments in Japan. The many visitors to the booth were delighted to receive brochures and fans, and learn about CLAIR and Japan. Holding a booth at such an event showed great benefit in promoting the organisation and Japan.

Junior Ambassadors from Kawasaki City visit Wollongong

“Kawasaki city’s Junior Ambassadors donate paintings and essays on their visit to Wollongong”

On the 21st of August, 4 Junior Ambassadors from Kawasaki city in Japan visited the city of Wollongong. The Junior Ambassadors won the trip to Wollongong which was sponsored by the Kawasaki Municipality and Kawasaki city Credit Union. Their winning compositions were part of a junior art and essay competition held for 10-12 year old students which received 3,900 entries.

As Junior Ambassadors, the visit to Wollongong served two purposes being the presentation for the composition competition winners from Kawasaki city and the exchange of friendship that took place. Wollongong council’s General Manager, Mr. David Farmer and local students who study Japanese attended the presentation. The Japanese language students treated the Japanese Ambassadors to Japanese songs and a speech in Japanese. In turn, the Japanese Ambassadors performed the traditional Australian song, “Waltzing Matilda.”

This year is the 20th anniversary of the Sister City relationship between Wollongong and Kawasaki. In May this year, the Mayor Mr. Abe Takao along with a delegation from Kawasaki visited Wollongong and participated in the 20th anniversary function where representatives of both cities vowed to continue to carry out good Sister City relations for the next 10 years.

Sister City activities in both cities have continuing support by not only its council and municipality but also from the business community such as the Kawasaki Credit Union. Through the efforts of the Junior Ambassadors and others it is the wish of both cities to further strengthen their relations and cultural understanding into the future.

Nagoya High school students receive a warm welcome in Sydney

On July 28, a welcome reception for high school students from Nagoya City was held at the Customs House in Sydney.

As part of the Nagoya-Sydney Sister City relationship, each year a travel abroad programme is organised for high school students from either city. This year there were 16 students from 8 high schools in Nagoya visiting Sydney. The students were able to experience a home stay and life at a Sydney high school. They also participated in a speech competition during their stay from July 28 to August 11.

The welcome reception was attended by the Consul-General of Japan in Sydney, Mr Nobuhito Hobo, Nagoya-Sydney Sister City Committee members (organisers of the exchange programme) and students from the host school, Chester Hill High School. Speeches were given by a student from Nagoya and a student from Chester Hill High School in each other’s language.

These and other sister city exchanges would not be possible with out the ongoing support of volunteers such as those from the Nagoya-Sydney Sister City Committee. The warm welcome received by the students of Nagoya from the people of Sydney and the sister city committee have no doubt left a lasting expression on the students from Nagoya City.

Students of Bond University visit the CLAIR Sydney office

On July 11, 21 students from Bond University on the Gold Coast visited the CLAIR Sydney office. As the students study subjects related to Japan they were particularly interested in how Japanese organisations operated in Australia.

CLAIR Sydney provided the group an outline of the organisation as well as a presentation on the structure of Local Government in Japan. Following the presentation, the DVD Celebrating 20 years – The JET Programme in perspective was shown as many in the group expressed an interest in the JET Programme.

Lunch was then held in small groups comprised of students and CLAIR staff allowing every one to get to know each other and talk about their interests in Japan.

CLAIR Sydney was delighted to have the opportunity to introduce the JET Programme and Japan to students who are truly interested in the country.

CLAIR Sydney gives special lecture at Macquarie University

At the request of Macquarie University’s Japanese department, CLAIR Sydnry held a special lecture about international exchange and the Japanese local government which targeted first year Japanese modern history students. Macquarie University is located in Sydney’s northwestern suburbs and the students receiving the lecture were from various study areas such as law, economics and international relations.

After the lecture, CLAIR Sydney guests enjoyed a relaxing afternoon tea in the company of professors, graduate students and undergraduate students. Positive questions arose from discussions over a range of topics which varied from the Japanese government to television dramas.

The current amount of students who study Japan related subjects is about 100 first year and 200 second year students. A large proportion of these students wish to work in Japan or businesses that have relations with Japan and often ask their teachers for information. Due to this, CLAIR’s informative visit received good feedback from students who learnt new information about Japan.

Professor Yasuyuki Kitawaki gives a keynote speech at the LGMA International Leading Practices Symposium

On the 29th and 30th of May, the LGMA International Leading Practices Symposium with the theme “The World is Local-LG…No Boundaries” was held on the Gold Coast.

Professor Kitawaki from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies gave his keynote speech on the amalgamation of municipalities and the decentralisation of government in Japan. He was previously the Mayor of Hamamatsu City and once a member of the House of Representatives

At the 4th annual LGMA International Leading Practices Symposium, key topics presented were environmental sustainability, community wellbeing and executive development. There were approximately 70 participants including those from England, America, Canada, New Zealand, Korea and Japan.

LGOTP trainee excited about life Japan.

LGOTP trainee excited about life Japan

On 9th May 2008, we visited this years LGOTP trainee at her council. LGOTP is a 6 to 10 month training program for overseas local government staff.

This year’s participant is Ms Lida Teng from Charles Sturt City Council in South Australia, who will conduct her traineeship at Saitama City Council in Saitama Prefecture.

Lida looked forward to her training at Saitama City and her life in Japan despite her anxieties about going to Japan for the first time and not being able to speak the language.

Lida arrived in Japan on the 18th May to commence her training at Saitama City.

There are 38 participants from 10 countries at 29 municipalities across Japan in this year’s LGOTP. Most participants will conduct their training in the field of general administration and tourism.

The Governor of Nagano Prefecture promotes its ski industry

From the 25th to the 28th May Mr Toshikazu Itakura, Governor of Nagano Prefecture visited Sydney with the Nagano-Niigata Snow Resort Alliance executive committee.

The purpose of the visit was to promote the ski resort destinations of both prefectures to Australian investors.

The delegation held an exhibition booth at the Snow Travel Expo on the 25th
May and attended a Japan Ski promotion seminar conducted by JNTO Sydney on the 26th May. The delegation also met with travel agents in Sydney.

Mr Itakura had the opportunity to meet the Consul-General of Japan in Sydney as well as the Deputy Mayor of Sydney during the 4 days and also made a visit to JETRO.

2007 CLAIR Forum in Darwin: Sustainable Tourism

The annual CLAIR Forum will be held on 3 October this year in Darwin as part of the four day Australian Sister Cities Conference Making the Connection, held from 30 September to 3 October.

Following on from the success of last year's Forum in Townsville, the topic of this year's Forum will be Utilising Local Resources for Sustainable Tourism: Connect, Develop, Invigorate. This topic will allow a variety of leaders from government, business and community sectors to speak about their approach to Sustainable Tourism and the opportunities it offers for the future.

The Forum will be held from 8:30-13:30 at the Darwin Entertainment Centre with morning tea and lunch provided.

We look forward to receiving over 200 guests to what will be a highly constructive and fruitful event.

Nihon no Matsuri (Festivals of Japan in Sydney)

Nippon Taiko Foundation - Fugaku Taiko

Awa Odori Dancers

Saturday 14 October - Darling Harbour

October is festival season in Japan and many traditional festivals celebrate the coming of Autumn. Over 30.000 people came to enjoy the Japanese festivals in Sydney on a very hot Spring day.

Many people were wearing yukata, tradional cotton kimonos worn in Summer, and enjoying the festival atmopsphere and traditional Japanese food.

By the end of the day, when the temperature had cooled down, many people from the audience also joined in the dancing.

CLAIR Forum in Townsville

Dr David Suzuki

CLAIR Sydney and Townsville City Council co-hosted the Grassroots Sustainability: International Lessons conference from October 4-6, 2006.

Keynote speaker Dr David Suzuki gave voice to the need for urgent action and emphasised that our sustainable future is in the hands of grassroots activity by local governments, rather than relying on our national leaders.

Expert international and local speakers detailed some of the practical solutions that we, as individuals and communities, can introduce to help ensure our sustainable future. Councils from Australia and Japan presented case studies of their innovative policies, sharing their experience and providing sustainable solutions for the future.

On the third day, delegates were able to inspect water and industry facilities in and around Townsville, including the world-leading water recycling plant on Magnetic Island , which has been developed with a combination of Australian and Japanese technology and expertise.

CLAIR Sydney Celebrates 10 Years!

Chairman of CLAIR Tokyo - Mr Takahiro Kiuchi

On October 7 CLAIR Sydney commemorated its 10th anniversary with a cocktail reception at the The Westin Hotel, Sydney. Over 200 guests from Japan, Korea and Singapore, together with local government officials from Australia, representatives from Japan-related businesses and JET Alumni members were in attendance. Guests were welcomed by a kimono-clad MC, Taiko drum performance and a Japanese sake ceremony ( kagami-wari ) while enjoying Japanese canape's and sushi specially prepared on location by professional sushi chefs.

CLAIR Sydney has played an active role in strengthening the relations between local authorities in Japan and the Oceania region through its multitude of international exchange programmes, grassroots affiliations and local government research projects. CLAIR will continue to assist in forging stronger, more diverse relationships between local authorities in Australia, NZ and Japan, in years to come.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all those individuals and organizations involved with CLAIR for your ongoing support and cooperation.