New West youth interested in taking part in a youth friendship initiative with students in Moriguchi, Japan must sign up today.
Youth aged 12 to 18 are invited to register for a one-hour session taking place on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m., at which time they’ll connect with students from New Westminster’s sister city in Moriguchi, as well as a few high school students in Mexico.
The deadline to register is at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4 (today), and students must be available for a 30-minute orientation session on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5 p.m.
“Currently a large group of students from Moriguchi, Japan have registered,” New West resident Karen Baker-MacGrotty said in an email to the Record. “All students are looking forward to meeting the students of NWSS and Royal City online.”
Baker-MacGrotty, a longtime New West resident, was recently appointed to the Japan-Canada Chamber of Commerce as a director and chair of international relations. One of her initiatives aims to connect youth in Moriguchi and New Westminster through online moderated conversation sessions.
“My goal is to inspire friendship between our two sister cities and countries, despite the prolonged pandemic,” she said. “And my long term objective is to inspire a community of young global citizenry through education initiatives.”
Because international travel has been very restricted for the last two years, Baker-MacGrotty believes the online activity is a great way for local youths to make friends with their peers in a different country. The session will be conducted mainly in English, with some Japanese and Spanish.
Participation in the event requires parental/guardian support. To register, go to www.tinyurl.com/MoriguchiNewWestYouth.
Baker-MacGrotty said all participants will receive a certificate of completion for volunteerism, community service and global citizenship, which can be used for resumes, scholarship and post-secondary applications.
“I am a firm believer there are intangible benefits of young people expanding their scope and interests internationally,” she said.
Baker-MacGrotty (who speaks Japanese) and her husband David will host the Zoom session, with assistance from professional facilitator from the Japan Canada Chamber of Commerce.
New Westminster became the first city in Canada to have a sister city in Japan when it commenced the sister city relationship with Moriguchi in 1963.
