Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Southlake Sister Cities Resumes Japan Exchange!

Southlake Sister Cities is busy prepping its 2023 Youth Ambassadors for their annual Tome, Japan cultural experience.

The City of Southlake and Tome, Japan, have had close ties since establishing a Sister City partnership in 1991. Since then, the two cities have hosted youth and adult delegations annually to strengthen the Sister Cities’ relationship and learn more about each other’s cultures. The Youth Ambassadors trip to Tome is a competitive community-favorite opportunity for Southlake teens to represent the City abroad.

The youth ambassadors and City-appointed chaperone are immersed in a cultural experience while living with host families and enjoying a wide range of activities planned by the City, schools, and their hosts. Unfortunately, Southlake Sister Cities could not send youth ambassadors to Japan during the last three years due to the pandemic.

The City is thrilled to continue this educational tradition once again. Our youth ambassadors and City chaperone are preparing to take off toward Japan on May 29, 2023. They will spend one week learning all about Japanese culture and visiting historical landmarks.

Here’s what this year’s City chaperone Veronica Lomas had to say about her upcoming trip.

“It is an honor to chaperone the Southlake Youth Ambassadors this year, I’m sure that they will immerse themselves in a cultural and educational experience that they will remember forever!” Veronica serves as the Southlake Deputy City Secretary.

Safe travels, Sister Cities delegates! We can’t wait to hear all about your adventures. Learn more about Southlake Sister Cities and how you can get involved by visiting their website.

 

Visit Japan as a Southlake Sister Cities Youth Ambassador

Serving as an SSC youth ambassador gives Southlake and CISD students a unique opportunity for global friendship, cultural exploration and a life-changing experience. The application deadline for the Japan delegation is Friday, March 1.

SSC youth ambassadors will represent the City of Southlake in one of our two Friendship Cities: Suzhou, Wuzhong District, China, and Tome, Japan. The youth ambassadors and City-appointed chaperones are immersed in a cultural experience while living with host families and enjoying a variety of activities planned by the City, schools and their hosts. In 2018, SSC sent 18 Carroll ISD students on the trips—be sure to check out the videos they made of their experiences in China and Japan!

2019 Youth Ambassadors to Tome, Japan

Trip Dates: June 3 – June 10, 2019
Application Deadline: March 1, 2019
Eligibility: Southlake Sister Cities members ages 13–18

Sister Cities International is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation, one individual, one community at a time.”

For more information about the Southlake Sister Cities Youth Ambassador Program or application process, please contact Katy Hintze.

Sister Cities International Young Artists and Authors Showcase visits Southlake

Sent to us from Milwaukee, WI, the 2016 traveling art exhibit has finally made it’s way to Southlake! The work of 10 young artists is displayed in the lobby of Southlake Town Hall. This year’s theme, “Peace through People,” commemorates the 60th anniversary of Sister Cities International.sistercities2

It celebrates 60 years of global citizen action and impact. The featured artwork includes artists from across the globe. Russia, China, and Japan are represented, as well as several states, including one young artist from Houston, TX. The exhibit will remain on display until Wednesday, January 27th, when it will be sent to San Diego, CA for it’s next stop.

sistercities3The exhibit is sponsored by Southlake Sister Cities. For more information about Southlake Sister Cities, please visit: www.southlakesistercities.org.