On 6 August, we attended a special reception organised by Penrith City Council to commemorate the Bicentenary of Penrith, which has sister city relationships with Fujieda city (Shizuoka prefecture) and Hakusan city (Ishikawa prefecture). Last year marked the 30th anniversary with Fujieda and 25th anniversary with Hakusan. Delegates from both cities also attended the reception to celebrate their sister city’s important milestone.
We met one of the volunteers who supported this memorial reception, a former JET participant who worked in Fujieda! We are delighted to know that there are connections between sister city relationships and the JET Program.
On 8 August, the Deputy Mayor of Fujieda City, city councillors and staff came to our office on Martin Place in Sydney. Our Director gave them a briefing on Australian politics, economics and the local government system.
As well, on 12 August, we attended a farewell reception for students from Fujieda. All of them gave the attendees a farewell speech, talking about their stay in Penrith and their future with much wit. We are sure they will support activities between Japan and Australia as well as between Fujieda and Penrith in the years to come.
This month we met many people supporting sister city activities in Penrith. We can see their volunteer spirit supporting healthy sister city activities.