Fourth Annual Fall Workshop

october 22, 2021 - online

On October 22, 2021, CJSCN held its fourth annual Fall Workshop for all California sister city supporters. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still a concern, the event was held virtually once again. All cities with sister city ties in California and Japan were invited to attend. The theme was “Beyond Cultural Exchange: Creative Economic Collaborations.” Approximately 180 people registered, representing 55 California cities and 18 Japanese cities. Several JET Alumni were also present, as well as representatives from more than 10 different businesses. For a third time, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco acted as the main host and emcee for the event, and we are grateful for all the support they provided, as well as the support given by the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles.

The event began with words of welcome from San Francisco Consul General Hiroshi Kawamura, Los Angeles Consul General Akira Muto, and CJSCN Board President Meg Mizutani. We acknowledged our sponsors, and then had an informative presentation from Mr. Anis Uzzaman, Founder & CEO of Pegasus Tech Ventures, which touched on economic trends in Japan and how his company is promoting innovative global economic exchanges.

Following the opening presentations, we went straight into our first breakout session for some basic networking time. After the session, we had a video presentation from Ms. Elizabeth Costello, President of the Naoko Mitsui Shirane Foundation in San Antonio, TX. She shared a story of how a sister city relationship with Japan became a vehicle for successful economic collaborations in her state. Next came the event’s three featured presentations. First was an inspiring overview of the economic opportunities that have been fostered between Crescent City/Del Norte County and Rikuzentakata thanks to Seaquake Brewing, Rumiano Cheese, and the Kamome Foundation. Second, we heard from Mr. Tatsuki Tomita about an exciting new initiative called Japantenna, a pop-up store project in San Francisco Japantown that will feature goods from a rotating selection of Japanese locales. Third, CJSCN Board Member Bryan Takeda gave a presentation on the event’s theme of “creative economic collaborations,” wherein he showcased how we might reimagine what economic collaborations look like for sister city relationships, and provided examples of current efforts to connect sister cities and economics.

The main presentations were followed by a second, longer breakout session where participants could discuss the ideas that had been brought up so far, and what kind of economic collaborations their sister city organizations have managed, if any. The event wrapped up with a short message from Mr. Steve Okamoto, whose city of Foster City, CA, has just become the 109th, and newest, California-Japan sister city relationship after signing documents with Inagi City in Japan in August 2021.

CJSCN would like to once again express our deep gratitude to the fantastic consulate staff from San Francisco and Los Angeles who made the Zoom event possible; to our fabulous sponsors for sharing your time and knowledge with us; and to all of the wonderful sister city volunteers who came to hear the presentations and participate in the discussions, both from California and Japan. We could not have hosted this event without all of your support. We look forward to seeing everyone again at our Spring 2022 event - perhaps in person this time!

comments from participants

• “Thank you for a well orchestrated workshop.”

• “The instructions were clear, program was informative, speakers were interesting, and participants were great.”

LINKS TO PRESENTATIONS & RESOURCES

• Recording of full event on Youtube

• CSJCN presentation slides