On 5 August, the CLAIR Forum marked the 50th anniversary of the first sister city relationship between Japan and Australia – established in 1963 between the cities of Lismore and Yamatotakada.
The outline of the Forum will be detailed in next month’s newsletter, so instead I would like to introduce you to my brief presentation about sister city relationships between Australia and Japan.
In my presentation, I focused on Japan-Australia sister city activities.
Australia and Japan’s sister cities engaged in student exchange, cultural exchange, sports exchange, and thus developed a successful grass roots relationship over time.
Compared with the activities Japanese sister cities engage in with all of their sister cities, the ratio of educational activities – that is youth exchange – is relatively high with Australian sister cities.
I think this is an excellent feature of the relationship between Australia and Japan.
One of the great benefits sister cities offer is the exchange between young people. The chance to be involved in international activities at an early age will give our future leaders a new perspective and enrich their minds with cross-cultural experience.
For more details, please see: https://www.jlgc.org.au/about-japan/1110-2/
From the 3rd to the 13th of December, eight selected swimmers from the Fukuoka Swimming Association visited NSW, where they participated in joint training sessions with a local school and competed in the 2024-25 Speedo NSW Senior State Age Championships.
