JETAA Canada Conference Summary Report

2012 JETAA Canada Conference Summary Report for JETAABC

Prepared by Megumi Johns & Kim McNelly, JETAABC

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

Contents 1

OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

2

PARTICIPANTS .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

3

SUMMARY OF KEY SESSIONS .................................................................................................................................... 5

4

3.1

CONSULATE GENERAL OF JAPAN, CALGARY ............................................................................................. 5

3.2

CLAIR, JAPAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CENTRE, NEW YORK .............................................................. 5

3.2.1

Funding & Activities ..................................................................................................................................... 5

3.2.2

Overview of JETAA USA Projects ............................................................................................................ 6

3.3

MUNICIPAL TWINNING RELATIONSHIPS ................................................................................................... 6

3.4

CHAPTER REPORTS ............................................................................................................................................... 8

3.4.1

Toronto ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

3.4.2

Quebec/Atlantic.............................................................................................................................................. 8

3.4.3

Ottawa ................................................................................................................................................................. 9

3.4.4

Manitoba/Saskatchewan ............................................................................................................................ 9

3.4.5

BC/Yukon ........................................................................................................................................................... 9

3.4.6

Southern Alberta ............................................................................................................................................ 9

3.5

NATIONAL ACTION PLAN BRAINSTORMING ......................................................................................... 10

3.6

JET PROGRAM UPDATES .................................................................................................................................. 12

3.7

BYLAWS DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................ 13

3.8

PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATIONS ............................................................................................................... 14

3.9

SERVICES FOR RETURNING JETS................................................................................................................. 15

CLOSING REMARKS ..................................................................................................................................................... 15

2

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

1 OVERVIEW The 2012 JETAA Canada Conference was held in Calgary, June 8-10 and was hosted by JETAA Southern Alberta. Delegates from JETAA Atlantic/Quebec, Toronto, Ottawa, Manitoba/Saskatchewan, and BC/Yukon, staff from CLAIR, and Japanese consulate staff participated in a weekend of sharing, learning, and brainstorming. This year's keynote presentation focused on sister cities and strengthening relationships between Canadian and Japanese communities.

2 PARTICIPANTS 2.1 JETAA1

Greg Joughin, JETAA Canada Kim McNelly, JETAABC/Yukon Megumi Johns, JETAABC/Yukon Carrie Fischer, JETAA Southern Alberta Jennifer Kennedy, JETAA Southern Alberta John Nguyen, JETAA Southern Alberta Troy McTavish, JETAA Southern Alberta Lina Perez, JETAA Southern Alberta Rigor Maglaya, JETAA Manitoba/Saskatchewan 1

JETAA Northern Alberta did not send a delegate and was therefore unrepresented at the conference.

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2012 JETAA Canada Conference

Jamiena Shah, JETAA Toronto Nadine Bukhman, JETAA Toronto Alex Svetlovsky, JETAA Ottawa Lisa Mallin, JETAA Ottawa Melissa Dubuc, JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Nha-Thy Vo, JETAA Quebec/Atlantic Stephanie White, JET Programme Coordinator, Embassy of Japan, Ottawa Erynne Sjoblom, Alberta/Japan Twinned Municipalities Association (Keynote speaker) 2.2 Consulate General of Japan, Calgary

Susumu Fukuda, Consul General Naoki Sasahara, Consul of Information and Cultural Affairs Robin Verrall, JET Coordinator 2.3 CLAIR , Japan Local Government Centre, New York

Hotaka Kawasaki, Counsellor, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Kaneshi Satoko, Assistant Director, Okinawa Prefecture Matthew Gillam, Senior Researcher

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2012 JETAA Canada Conference

3 SUMMARY OF KEY SESSIONS Presentations and workshops over the course of the conference focused on sharing information, ideas, and experiences for supporting the JET Program and departing participants and for creating a strong and supportive network of alumni. Collaborative discussions started JETAA Canada on the path to exploring new ideas for the national action plan and updating the bylaws.

3.1 CONSULATE GENERAL OF JAPAN, CALGARY

Priorities of JETAA: 1. Support of new JETs  Interviews, info sessions, orientations/training  Would like to see JETAA reaching out to furthest reaches of provinces 2. Involvement with local Canadian-Japanese communities 3.2 CLAIR, JAPAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT CENTRE, NEW YORK 3.2.1 Funding & Activities

No major funding changes from last year (see detailed packet of funding info) Think about terminology of events for alums and CLAIR, respectively Must give notice/get approval to hold CLAIR funded events in March.

Contact Kaneshi-san, CLAIR New York. Costs of food/drink for appropriate events should be shared Suggestions for future JETAA activities: CLAIR wants to raise awareness in local (Japanese) governments about how JETAA is serving them specifically.

Getting involved with local JapaneseCanadian communities Promoting local Japanese products, especially Tohoku products to 5

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

demonstrate direct benefit to local Japanese governments.

Contact CLAIR NY, Chamber of Commerce, or business associations for info on promoting potential tourism products, Keep in touch with our local JET placement governmental offices (ie. City halls) so Mayors see the function and value of JETAA. Sending CLAIR pictures and information about our events so they can show local governments what we are doing of direct benefit to them.

Be cultural ambassadors who receive/welcome Japanese dignitaries who visit BC (contact our consulate about being informed).

3.2.2 Overview of JETAA USA Projects 

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9 chapters raised around $87,000 for Tohoku relief efforts (other chapters raised money separately; JETAA-NY qualified as a non-profit and organized/led the project).

Adoption of a set of national bylaws, good to look at for our own bylaw ratifications: http://www.jetaausa.com/about-2/jetaa-usa-governance/ New bylaws include a National Board of Advisors, 2-year term of service, support body for Country Representatives and chapters.

3.3 MUNICIPAL TWINNING RELATIONSHIPS

Erynne Sjoblom, Executive Visionary, Alberta/Japan Twinned Municipalities Association (A/JTMA) erynne.sjoblom@gmail.com 

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“Twinning” vs. “Sister Cities”… pretty much the same thing, include official signing of an agreement of friendship and planned activities between the two municipalities which is passed by both town councils CLAIR has a list of sister relationships between Japanese and Canadian municipalities and can help us in setting up new ones 6

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

Ways to help set up/maintain/support Twinnings: Make bilingual information about twin cities readily available Potential activities: ePals, classroom exchanges, governmental official exchanges, language learning, hire a Japanese ALT/CIR, homestays Support for Japanese immigrants Host exchange students Keep in touch with your Board of Education BC-specific information:  Vancouver-Yokohama sister city relationship, but possibly easier to smaller surrounding communities  North Vancouver-Chiba City twinning strong  Get involved with Japanese immigration associations?  Individual JETS get/stay in contact with JET area government?  Existing BC organizations: B.C. Twinning Website has BC-ASIA Twinning Toolkit (80 p.)

work with

https://trade.britishcolumbia.ca/Connect/Twinning/Pages/Twinning.aspx

The Canada-Japanese Society of British Columbia http://canadajapansociety.bc.ca/home.html

(seems business-oriented, good to contact for networking events?)

How to get more information about Sister Cities/Twinnings:  Ask CLAIR: NY (has list of all Canadian-Japanese paired cities)  Contact City Hall/Mayor‟s office about Sister City Relationship history and activities (or try Sister Cities International website)

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2012 JETAA Canada Conference

3.4 CHAPTER REPORTS

3.4.1 Toronto

Many events and collaboration with community Japanese organizations o Board member participates in quarterly meetings of heads of Canada-Japan organizations  conversation partnerings  J-Walking Tour of Japanese areas of interest in downtown Toronto  Chapter bylaws work, including defining subchapters and creating “Community Coordinator” position (previous Chair will hold it) to help facilitate increased collaboration with other organizations   Question for us—Do we want to revise some of our officers‟ titles?

I.e., “Social Chair””??“ to reflect CLAIR‟s expectations for events? 

3.4.2 Quebec/Atlantic 

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Language classes o May-late July, for alums and departing JETs: 6 hours/week, class includes cultural aspects o Fall-winter, JLPT focus Organized family-inclusive event at a film festival to include older alums 8

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

3.4.3 Ottawa 

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3.4.4 

Maintaining connections with JETs in Japan  Letter-to-self written at newbie orientation, mailed to them around Christmas with a letter from an alum, stickers, etc.

Sushi and wine networking event at Art Gallery, $10 tickets Newsletter includes articles by current Ottawa JETs Natsu matsuri o Taiko, martial art presentations, bon odori o Getting people to come out to events: offer free food! o Gave away 375+ “JETAA dogs” (think JapanDog), hot dogs with Japanese flavorings, at a summer Japanese festival. Team of 25 volunteers.

BANNER to advertise group—free with deal from vistaprint.ca, ask Ottawa for their design if we‟re interested (in GoogleDocs) Manitoba/Saskatchewan

Building alum network and website

3.4.5 BC/Yukon  

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Changing Tides fundraiser and PhoTohoku Sempai List - matches departing JETs with a JETAABC alum who lived within 100km of the town they are going to, in order to give the departing JET details and local knowledge about the area they are going to.

Assorted cultural/awareness-raising events (taiko, obi-weaving, Dragonboating, etc.), professional workshops (volunteering with Japanese organizations, etc.), and Japanese classes

3.4.6 Southern Alberta 

Japanese goods garage sale (alums‟ stuff) and BBQ, in park o Attracted families, recruited new board member

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2012 JETAA Canada Conference

3.5 NATIONAL ACTION PLAN BRAINSTORMING

1. National website  All present chapters interested, can come on board as their contracts expire  Looking into myhosting (Canadian-based VPS hosting), $18.95/month ($14/month in the first year), so only a few dollars per chapter, includes phone tech support 2. National/International Database of JET alums  Chapters interested but concerned about where data would be stored  Each chapter would still maintain individual membership lists that could be synced with the national/international list.  Looking into two options: SalesForce and SugarCRM, Ottawa (Alex) will look into details and make a demo database for our perusal.  Might be a good way of finding out about returning JETs before November; we can ask AJET to solicit departing JETs to sign up.

3. Becoming a Non-Profit Corporation (NPC) in Canada  NPCs are NOT the same as charities. NPCs report every year, but charities are required to perform very strict reports which are essentially impossible for us.  Costs-> ~$200 to file then $30/year for paperwork, can apply for funds w/CLAIR  Advantages of NPCs: o Legal protection (corporation responsible, not individuals) available for special discounts, grants (w/extensive reporting), etc.  Some chapters looking into individually becoming national NPCs because the process is streamlined and easier than in their own provinces.  JETAA-Ottawa currently waiting to hear back about application on provincial NPO status.

4. National JETAA newsletter/magazine?  Chapters want to help increase awareness about what we‟re doing  Can contribute to jetwit.com (world-wide readership)  CLAIR: New York will forward info about our events to Japanese municipalities if we send them our newsletter 10

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

5. Japanese classes—garnering interest and maintaining momentum?  Emphasize value, not cost (I.e., “An equivalent course would cost $____.”)  Instead of holding a cheque, ask for cash. Students get $10 back at each class they attend.  Funding through MOFA vs. Not funding through MOFA  *no non-alums allowed  *can open up classes to general public (up numbers)  *need evaluations (not necessarily JLPT), i.e., “test” at beginning and end of course 6. How can we easily promote Japanese municipalities in our provinces?  Adapt existing events, such as making a networking event with sushi and sake have Tohoku sake  Contact consulate or CLAIR about how to import local Japanese products  Connect with departing JETs/AJET, help them set up sister city relationships?

7. Competitive Project/Essay  Chapters are interested in putting together a lesson plan for Canadian ALTs. The subject of the lesson would be for students to write an essay or create a project with the theme of “Why I like Studying About Canada” or “Why JET is important,” etc.  The ALT will submit the essays/projects (scans/images? To whom?), and the winning student/class will get a Canada-specific prize (Canadian flag, stickers, maple-syrup sweets, etc).  The word can be spread through departing JETs and getting in touch with AJET To be discussed during the next skype chat:  Thoughts about taking the Sempai List national 11

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

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3.6

National Web-hosting/JETAA List Competitive Project How bigger chapters can help smaller ones (ex. how to create a successful budget)

JET PROGRAM UPDATES

Stephanie White, JET Coordinator, Embassy of Japan, Ottawa  Canadian applications to the JET program increased this year (all other countries decreased)…. Why? o 620 applicants heard about JET through alums o Alums‟ presence in media (fundraising for Tohoku) o Increased use of social media  New JET Programme slogan: “Live, Work, and Learn in Japan” Contact Stephanie for brochures, advertisements, etc.

What can JET Coordinators do to help JETAA Chapters?  Help advertise events  Contact current JETs  Bridge communication between Embassy and JETAA  Inform JETAA of returning JETs  Help answer questions about MOFA funding  Keep JETAA informed about changes to program What can we do to help JET Coordinators?  CC them in e-mails about local events and national e-mails  Add Stephanie to mailing list??  Stay active on JET website forums  Share resources with other chapters (ex. pre-departure handbooks)  Link to www.jetprogramme.ca on our chapter website  “Like” and re-tweet events  Make national JETAA database and keep it up to date 12

2012 JETAA Canada Conference

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Tell them about successful events and send photos Tell them what we want on the alumni section of the (above) website  Calendar which would have events of all chapters?  JETAA and JET Canada to share a calendar or be hosted on same site?

3.7 BYLAWS DISCUSSION 

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Voted to change the time zone to “pacific” rather than “eastern”.

Voted to remove all references to “yahoo.dot” Need to add a charter/purpose of JETAA Canada What to do if no one wants to be Canada Rep?

Options:  Have the rep increase their term to 2 years. The more preferred option was to have the chapter in charge of the national conference take over some of the role for a while. Need to specify duties of Canada Rep. Need to discuss what happens if you need to remove a CNR.  Think about splitting the bylaws into two documents: elections guidelines and bylaws Moving forward:  Will be splitting the bylaws into sections and have each treated separately for changes and voting.  Each chapter will have a color code and every change must be documented.  Voted on having a 45 day window to review changes.  Chapters need to notify Greg that they have read the changes and or feedback.  Since reaching unanimity is difficult it was decided that only a 2/3 majority of active chapters is needed to ratify changes to the bylaws (with current numbers, 5 chapters required to pass changes).

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2012 JETAA Canada Conference

 

Greg will communicate timelines to the chapters during the next chat.

Next chat scheduled for Wednesday July 4th.

3.8 PRE-DEPARTURE ORIENTATIONS

Interesting ideas other chapters have implemented:  Send out survey to departing JETs before planning conference. Find out „hot topics‟ of what they‟d especially like to learn about. If possible, cater to their skills and needs—i.e., “How to Teach/Make Lesson Plans” VS. “How JET is different from other teaching experiences.”  At End of “How to Teach” PDO Day, departing JETs teach a short lesson for other JETs and alums, who give feedback  Japanese classes for departing JETs, mid-May through departure o include cultural workshops such as omiyage, etc.  Send Canadian omiyage package to JETs who sign up for alum list? o Can they sign up for the alum list if they aren‟t alums yet?! ..newsletter list, maybe? Membership VS. Newsletter list??  What to pack VS. What not to pack workshop (2 regions, warm and cold) o Another chapter has all attending alums bring in “Good-to-pack” and “Bad-to-pack” items  Invite parents of departing JETs, maybe have a special session for them where they can ask alums questions, have their anxiety soothed by someone who was there. o Parents of JET alums speaking to parents of departing JETs even better  Mock class at PDO in which departing JETs are students of relatively obscure foreign language (NOT Japanese, French, Chinese)  Idea: Canada-wide PDO booklet?? o departure area changes things slightly, although sharing materials is good

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2012 JETAA Canada Conference

3.9 SERVICES FOR RETURNING JETS

Interesting ideas other chapters have implemented:  Pub night shortly after departure—„chat up‟ returning JETs, feel out their career interests. FOLLOW UP WITH a “Sushi and Sake networking event” with $10 tabe-nomi-hodai. Sell tickets to people in professions that returning JETs are interested in.  Formal welcome-back at embassy COMBINED with resume-building workshop  Resume-building workshop specific to returning JETs and their different fields, felt-out through surveys  Need to consider ways to reach/locate returnees who don‟t officially belong to our chapters (moved from elsewhere or returned at a later date).

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CLOSING REMARKS  Who is hosting the next Canada Conference? o CLAIR needs to know by Feb. o Greg will chat with geographically-logical chapters (heading East with Man-Sask likely out of the running due to low board member numbers, so Northern Alberta, Ottawa, and Quebec-Atlantic will be consulted as candidates).  For conference continuity and to help out smaller chapters put on the conference, perhaps starting a Google or Word Doc like “Helpful Hints if You‟re Putting on The Canada Conference”? …can include feedback from current conference.  Previous hosts will help guide a new hostchapter through many of the difficulties, but this can be an evolving supplementary guide.  Money issues to not be included.  Next Chapter Skype Chat: Wednesday, June 27th, 6PM Pacific Time 15