Presidents Message
President’s Report 2021
Greetings and Welcome to the Alberta Japan Twinned Municipalities Association A/JTMA website.
A/JTMA was formed in 1992 as a coffee meeting of eight of the twinned municipalities of the Alberta Hokkaido Twinning relationships. The Mayors of the twinned municipalities met to share their twinning experiences and activities. This soon grew and evolved to what has been happening the last few years as an annual conference and AGM. Municipalities twinned with Honshu were included. Different municipalities celebrating significant twinning anniversaries often hosted the annual AGM showcasing their communities to visitors from their respective Japanese twinned municipalities as well as the other twinned municipalities.
The objectives of A/JTMA are:
1. To develop and promote friendship and goodwill between citizens of their Alberta/Japan twinned municipalities and citizens in Japan and their surrounding areas.
2. To work in conjunction with the Federal and Provincial Ministries of International and Intergovernmental Relations, the office of the Consul-General of Japan, and other organizations already promoting Japanese culture.
3. To provide advice and assistance to existing twinned Alberta municipalities and Alberta municipalities contemplating a twinning relationship.
4. To promote informational and cultural exchanges between groups, service clubs, schools, civic organizations. businesses and individuals of all ages, interests and abilities in the twinned communities.
5. To explore economic and tourism opportunities as a result of the friendly relations between the twinned communities.
6. To promote an understanding and appreciation between the twinned communities for Canadian and Japanese culture.
7. To develop and implement a means of fundraising to support the Association’s objectives.
A/JTMA has been a gathering and sharing of sister town relationships with their rewards and disappointments. Over the years, we have been fortunate to have many dedicated volunteers. The present executive has continued with that premise of dedication and support.
They are:
President Dr Roy Kariatsumari Vice President Joe Strojwas Secretary Jayne Pettifor Treasurer Walter Preugschas 2021/2022 Conference Chair Joe Strojwas
As in any organization the strength lies in volunteers who are willing to offer their time and expertise. Presently, we have managed well with virtual meetings, resulting in the travel aspect being greatly reduced. However, the physical face to face meetings are always optimal. Thank you to all those members who have worked with passion in the past and are continuing to do so. I would like to encourage you all to please offer your assistance to make the A/JTMA even stronger. I look forward to seeing you all virtually as well in person soon.
Respectfully submitted
Dr Roy Kariatsumari
President A/JTMA