HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0875.000 2020-2022 OF
Mitchell D.Roth _ x �, Lee E.Lord
Mayor * y Mmta,,-ing Director
�.� Robert H.Command
F M►� Deputy Managing Director
County of Hawaii
Office of the Mayor
25 Aupuni Street,Suite 2603 • Hilo,Hawai'i 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy-Bldg C • Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 ti �
(808)323-4444 • Fax(808)323-4440
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June 27,2022 N �.
The Honorable Maile David
N
and Members of the Hawai'i County Council . A
County of Hawai'i CD µ=
Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
Re: Sister City Annual Report 2021-2022
Dear Chair David and Council Members,
I am submitting this report pursuant to Chapter 2,Article 31, Section 2-166, of the Hawaii County
Code: the County Sister City Protocol Officer shall submit an annual report by July 31 of each year,
covering the previous year's Sister Cities activities from July 1 through June 30.
Despite the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, we had more engagements with
our sister cities last year than we've ever had in the past. Thanks to technology,we were able to
celebrate important anniversary milestones, introduce new programs and maintain communication
with our sister cities.
As we start to emerge from this pandemic and international travel resuming very soon,we anticipate
another busy year. Our sister cities are very eager to visit our islands again and we look forward to
welcoming them back with our warmest aloha.
Mahalo for your continued support and participation in our sister city program.
Submitted respectfully,
06a jj Nqj�)
J Clement
xe utive Assistant to Mayor Mitch Roth
Comm. No. W19
Ref. To: Cl m(✓
County of Hawai'i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. Ref. Rafe J 11 — 5 2m
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CONNECTING TO THE WORLD
HISTORY
The U.S. Sister City Program formally began in 1456 when President Dwight D.
Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people citizen diplomacy initiative. It was
originally a program of the National League of Cities,and Sister Cities International
became a separate corporation in 1967 due to the growth and popularity of the
U.S. program.
Promote friendship,goodwill, and understanding between global communities
by providing opportunities for the residents of Hawaii Island and our sister
cities to experience different cultures through education, and social and
economic interaction.
• provide opportunities for local government, business leaders,and the wider
community to experience and explore other cultures through long-term
community partnerships.
• Promote and develop economic, trade, cultural, educational, technical. social,
and other beneficial exchanges.
• Foster international understanding and the exchange of information.
COUNTY OF HAWA1'I SISTER CITIES
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A WHOLE NEW WORLD
SISTER CITY VIRTUAL CONCERT
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RINI
Hawaii County's first-ewer Sister City Virtual Concert themed
'A Whole New World," premiered on July 30. 2021a on N,3 Lea
TV. The concert showcased mayoral messages and cultural
performances from eight sister cities across the globe,
Represented in the concert were five cities in Japan. two in the
Philippines. and one from Chile. In addition to the individual
cultural performances, there was joint hula to the song 'Sending
Aloha." written and composed by Hilo • .i ` .
musician/songwriter/educator Brandon Nakano, performed by
each respective city.
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This concert was created to remind us of our connections across the world, as we continue to fight
through a pandemic that hos left many of us feefing disconnected and alone." said Mayor Mitch Roth.
'Our Sister City relationships have always been integral to our identity, diversity, and vibrancy here an
flowai'i island. rind we are excited to showcase them in a new and eXCiling way for all to iee. feel, arsd be
inspired.'
The full video of the concert can be viewed on the County's sister city webpage at
www,hayvaiicounty,Sow/sistertities
COUNTY OF HAWAII SISTER CITIES
ANNIVERSARY
Ryt ■rwyO AND
REAFFIRMATION OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN
September It 202 w,, CIw1 ert r
ref atiionsNp between the County of Hawail and Ormoc City,
PfiNWne&
,�. Mayor Mitch Roth and Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez
a i J commemorated the occasion by signing a Reaffirmation of the
Sister City Agreement on October 20,202 1,
The virtual event was attended by government offirials and other
dignitaries and guests from both+n►unicipalitles.
Mdror Gomez.V.tt Msycx Locsirn and tr*(nber. �
or the 4rmor Citw Cotatcll Videoee
of the virtual event can be found on t1w sister city w
wvwww.hawaiic.ounty.gov isisterc ities
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Mxy,jr C,nrr r:gave a tw,O remark Qrrnm City Mayor RichvrL l-,L%me:5iRmng the agreement
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COUNTY OF tfAWtAPI SISTER CITES
ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION
REAFFIRMATION O AGREEMENT
r BETWEEN
00
Mayor Mitch Roth and W >iAMR
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Kumejima Town Mayor +`
,r,....,r Haruo Ota Commemorated ►' V
the 10th anniversary of r
► "` sisterhood between theirLIL— mow
two municipalities through a
Kon,bwaero H5 JaW*se CI3ss sttrderms presente+3
virtual signing of the
srrd nrad the de-cfriprtir�n of Hr„vai'i Cauntys amiY'aRe ;,.,r•�.•r„r�eemen1
to KurmjiffamJapanese. Reaffirmation Agreement on
October 274 2021.
The event was attended by tr
government officials, host c
organization members, and 1 -
J�., other dignitaries from both
Kumejima HS student presented and read tte
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A full video of the event can be
. i. viewed on the sister city
vrebpa6e st.
www.hawaocounnj govtsistercities
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MAW,tav+r.r.Mayux Roth,Gal+d"EFtlYow Lb.Jane ry Jr.xti iKI,1'r ICY' r^�At'yY.I k N f ICUIity..i u•e,(•.r.c
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COUNTY OF HAWAII SISTER CITIES
ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION
REAFFIRMATION
a F # O AGREEMENT
a BETWEEN
I
Mayor Mitch Roth and Mayor
Misamichi Miyawaki pledged to
continue to promote and expand
effective and mutually beneficial
cooperation between the people
of their two cities during a virtual
signing of Reaffirmation
M 1 Agreement on December 3, 2021
"it is on honor to be a part of this
Reaffirmation Ceremony. In our
culture, there is a saying that gores,
'The whole is larger than the sum of
its parts.' Whri± this means is
together we ;i.,c s I I onger, and we
can occ<,.%rnpr t, so much more than
we Can iridividuolly."
Lincoln Ashida
President. Japanese Chamber of
Commerce and Industries of
a Hawai"i.
EVENT
pa�eaan+ "On this 25th anniversary, my wash
- - is that new opporf jnities for
economic exchange between Hawaii
County and Yurihama will continue
to emerge, in addition to the
cultural and educational exchange
804 we have had up until this point.
VIRTUALMEAFFIRMiTIr3W ~— - "� Mitsuaki Kawaguchi
0f SiSTIR C11191
bEtLAA�ITIQN President, Yurihama Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
COUNT'OF HAWAI'I SISTER CITIES
ANNIVERSARY
lRat + CELEBRATION
sR1O AND
REAFFIRMATION OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN
c
Shibukawa City and Hawai'i County residents have
continually endeavored to deepen their mutual
understanding and friendly relations through active
exchange over the past 25 years.
Mayor Mitch Roth and Shibukawa, City Mayor Tsutomo
Takagi commemorated the 25th anniversary of sisterhood Irm
between their two municipalities by pledging to continue +rrn'w+n.*o lawx RJ,r oaf lR MJ�e1' tti9CC[PTa RT.9. T
to propagate feelings of goodwill during a signing of the ., -A"��'" `"°""'��° '""`'
Reaffirmation Agreement on February 17, 2022,
The hybrid virtual and In-person event was attended by
government officials, members of the Japanese
Community Association of Hawai'la Shibukawa City Board
of Education and Shibukawa Ikaho Onsen Tourism
Association, and other dignitaries and guests.
A full video of the event can be viewed on the Sister City
webpage at www.hawaiicounty.gov,fsistercities
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COUNTY OF HAWAI'I SISTER CITIES
COURTESY VISITS TO PHILIPPINE , JAPAN
AND RMI
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V KC Consul tarwa He-le,cons,,CiCVM* VKt Cortwi Ava Ku"kt+Wd.Concu! .,aI 5/+Ct COCISkO GrtM:C @Uu}S.CPnW1 C,tfiera+
4sjbcla Silk.++Mayor Rath.Jane Ctement Ar4o.Mayer Rath Jane Clenxnt. Emilio Hernander.Mavc+r Rath Jane CkrneNl
VileCransulMA w iia
On December 2, 2022, Mayor Roth and sister city protocol officer Jane Clement paid a
courtesy visit to Consul General Emilia Hernandez. He ii the newest diplomat assigned to
Hawaii and will serve as the Consul General of the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu
for the next three years. Mayor Roth and Ms. Clement provided him with information about
the County's two sister cities in the Philippines.
Mayor Roth and Ms_ Clement also met with Consul General Isabela Silk of the Consulate
General of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Honolulu to begin discussions about a
possible sister city relationship with Encwutak Atoll and other Atolls in the Marshall
Islands. The majority of the Marshallese population living in Ocean View is from Enewetak.
The day concluded with a visit to the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu. Mayor Reale
and Ms. Clement met with Consul General Aoki, Vice Consul Kumakura, and Vice Consul
Matsuzawa to provide a status update on Hawai'i County's sister cities in Japan.
COUNTY OF HAWAI'l SISTER CITIES
a ` COMMEMORATION
COUNTY OF HAWAPI
t ♦ F e ;. CITY
Mayor Mitch Roth joined Sister City Cabugao
City, Iloc..os Sur, to commemorate Sakada Day
on December 22. 2021, recognizing and
honoring the pioneering achieyements and
w -w courage of the first Filipino sakadas and their
contributions to the history and development
of Haw'ai'i Island.
The Sakadas or Filipino plantation workers
CHundluwfnberarW#offmrmayorJosh CobangbanglaWa were first brought to Hawaii in 1906 to work
wreath at the Sakada statue atSalomaguePort.Cabugao on the plantations, and the "First Fifteen," as
they were later coined, Megan their work on
Governor David Ige signed House Bill 604 Hawaii Island at the Ola'a Plantation in the
on April 9, 2015, designating December Kea'au area.
20 of every year as "Sakada Day." This
year's celebration was delayed a few days
to coordinate commemoration between
the County and Cabugao City.
A full video of the lei-draping and wreath- '
u�laying ceremony can be viewed on the
.m
sister city webpage at '
www_hawaiicounty.gov/sisterciti,es
Minor Mitth Ruthdrapeda lei un the Sjk:idj Statue in Kvsju
COUNTY OF IAAWAI'l SISTER CITIES
COUNTY OF +®RS
•
wA�r I
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Mavai'i County Boarc of supervisor: cha;rrrsn Members of the Hilo High Scholl Chorus MernberscOItic Nawai'iOshimaFriendship
ThrBrUr 'Lolly' Cook and Mayot ToyO+'>osukt Fulir traveled fir Jamin ir, Junk, of 1996 otic} A1sscKwn-ontwidane;NtAta+Oshiirsato
shcii* hands ahrr %jning thr sister city agreemwris w%itcd O,shxma Island Comm(ln.arMIL 6CYfh anniversmy of;.iterhti*d.
between thew two cities on February 16.1462
u
Hawaii County celebrated its eldest Sister City relationship with
Oshima Town, Japan on February 11, 2022, via a virtual film event
that included dignified representatives from both Cities.
The official establishment of the relationship between the two
cities was signed on February 16. 1962, by then Chairman and �
Executive Officer of the County of Hawaii, Thomas 'Lofty" Cook
in Cishi ma. Japan Member' C I';,. .' :•_..;: ,"Tb-erof CornnV-'!'
IMuSuit'stf Hawai i v,, it co(it v Or mo(ol Off K,-
J"Clrmrni ahrr i. hire mtervMwsf:�r Ihc-
To celebrate this important milestone, Hawaii County and Cshima docranrnwry..
Town compiled interviews of former and current government
officials, organizations. and other individuals to glean stories and
anecdotes about this historic Sister City relationship. The ti
accounts were compiled into a commemorative documentary film
produced by NA Leo TV INLTV)
The commemorative documentary can be viewed an the sister city
webpage at www.hawaiicounty.gov/sistercities
N.aLtoTVp odittkKieren'L4Ajriitlkttx,dlmiregill!llie
docume-Weary f ilrr
COUNTY OF HAWA1'l SISTER CITIES
YOUNG ARTISTS AND AUTHORS SHOWCASE
(YAAS)
- r
4167
The Young Artists and Authors Showcase (YAAS) is an annual art contest that encourages
youth worldwide to express the mission of Sister Cities International through original
artwork, literature, poetry, photography, and mu5ic.
This year's theme is
'Ti ► This is Hawaii County's first year of
participation. invitations were sent
out to all the public high schools on
Hawaii Island, A total of 25
submissions were received and five
were selected as Hawaii County's
Ut a
official entries to the YAAS.
Winners will be announced in August
during the Sister Cities International
Annual Youth Summit,
Artist:Shantacley Arhelger Artist:Dayshalyn Keohuloa
Grade: f 1th Grade Grade: i l th Grade
School: Pahoa High Schaal School: Pahoa High School
�.
4-
Artist-
_Artist•Morgan pierpont Artist,Akjo Xenciphooe Artist:Riph'-15nvartsman
Grade: 1.2th Grade Grade-10th Grade Grade: 10th Grade
School; Ka'u High School Schaal:Pahoa High School School,Homeschool
COUNTY OF HAWAII SISTER CITIES
SISTER CITY DISPLAY CASE AT KOA
The County of Hawai'i in partnership
with the State Department of
Transportation will be installing a
sister city display case inside Gate 11
at the Ellison Onizuka Kona
International Airport at Keahole.
The County will have full responsibility
for the maintenance of the display ease
once it is installed.
,r _ The display case will be built by our
County carpenters. This free-standing
cabinet will be Sft in length, b yS ft in
height. and 1 Yz ft in depth. The cabinet
I r will be made mostly of wood with
-- — plexiglass on the front and sides.
It will contain an informational board
I about our sister cities as well as select
I
T memorabilia that the County has
$ -- — received from the sister cities over the
years,
COUNTY OF HAWAII SISTER CITIES
SENDING ! • AND BEST WIS14ES
O THE NEWLY ELECTED MAYORS
,.-�.. ,fit.
The Philippines and select cities in Japan recently held an election. As a result, our sister cities
in Ormoc City and C.abugao City, Philippines, and sister cities in Kume}irna Town and Surnoto
City, Japan now have a new mayor to lead their respective municipalities. Mayor Roth sent
congratulatory letters to all of them and wished them a successful tenure.
Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez
Orrnoc City, Philippines
1.
Katsunori Uasaki
c ,N sumoto City, Up#n
Mayor Mid." Tobaru .,
Kumejima Town, Okinawa .4 ,
r
Mayor Josh Edward Cobangbang
Cabugao City. Philippines
COUNTY OF HAWAH SISTER CITIES
STUDENT EXCHANGE
PROGRAM rO • A
r-arc« - ✓ 1 n;wrm; sur�' .-.s ., d, ,,y - -v,.
In January 2022. we introduced a new student
exchange program called V-PAL or Virtual
Partners in Acquisition of Language. V-PAL is a
V—PAL `" ,.. school-to-school language exchange program
Vrtua!Danlrrrrti In
between Hawaii County and its sister city
.4cg9,0sndl. 9.1& t """ schools in Japan, the Philippines. and Chile.
The program is non-academic and participation
is voluntary. Participants meet once a month
and choose a topic to discuss.
They talk about similarities and differences in each
other's cultures, traditions, and practices while *�
speaking alternately between their native language
and the foreign language they are trying to learn.
Designed for middle and high school students, the
program aims to provide participants with
opportunities to learn a new language, make new
friends abroad. and engage in cultural exchange.
ray The first two schools to partner and subscribe
to this program are Korkaweana High School in
West Hawaii and Kumejima High School in
Japan. 14 students from both schools have met
every month since January 2022. Staff from
both schools are present at each session to
facilitate the discussions
rOur sister cities in La Serena, Chile and the
Philippines have expressed interest in the
program and we are working on getting them
on board before the end of the year.
COUNTY OF IiAWAI'I SISTER CITIES
REVIEWSTUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM
AN
Here ' s what the students
are shying about the program
IV35L-C Af 0 ?d1t'-:�kIti f, iNr;-r0)#6 e-3Z Mt
VT,4T*Lb1-,k r.Lb`;) ;-CT1 1TWASFUIN
I was so nervous that I could not talk so much. Happy to
interact with students from Hawaii. VERY FUN AND INTERESTING".
IT WAS FUN.BUY I FELT MY ENGLISH SKILLS ARE NOT A5 GOOD AS USED TO BE.
I want to be able to express my
I want to challenge my own writing/typing and reading, thoughts in English,
skills in Japanese_ Particularly my kanji_
I want to make friends abroad.
'�,'iIF���4l��l���, ��'r7s�`�MitT,►�i�l������.���i ! B�!'�
Kumejima high students use English and Konawaena uses Japanese during the
activities. Hope to be able to use English in everyday life.
I want to challenge my Japanese listening comprehension_ I really,really want to
work on my Japanese and be able to speak more of it but I find it very difficult on
my own so I hope through this program I can grow a little more.I also get really
nervous when I have to speak Japanese out loud to other people so l hope to
improve and get less nervous
COUNTY OF I-IAWAI'I SISTER CITIES
FUTURE ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
C Warr MLis.c0m
Hawaii County- Marshall Islands Sister City Agreement
Marshall
Islands Mayor Mitch Roth and the government of the Republic of
Saw ��• `�'' Marshall Islands through Consul General Isabela Silk of the
rte, , Consulate General of Marshall Islands in Honolulu are exploring
`
WWI, a Sister City Relationship Agreement between Hawao'i County and
Wot e, Enewetak, Namo, Ebon, Me tt and Jaluit Islands of the
►,� , �. ► Republic of Marshall Islands.
er,:c ,t�eWa
'�""• a� A resolution to a
2��, � 4• pprowe the creation of such a partnership is being
drafted and will be submitted to the County Council for
consideration after review by the Corporation Counsel.
Err:-
.,
Sister City Goodwill Visit to Japan 5
Mayor Mitch Roth and Sister City Protocol Officer �74 �t � � _ •�'_
Jane Clement will lead a delegation to Japan fora
sister City goodwill visit from July 22 to August 1, = -r
2022. 3 +
The group will meet with the mayors, business andr`'�
industry leaders and other dignitaries in Sumoto City,
Crshima Town.and Shibukawa City-
A meeting with tourism industry leaders is also > ,, •��,�=
plannedin Tokyo. • - .�W'"'
Naga City Student Visit
For many years, our sister city in Nago City,Okinawa has been sending students from area schools to Hawai'i
Island as part of their hornestay program- Now that we are finally emerging from the COVID-14 pandemic and
after a three-year hiatus, Nago City is resuming its student exchange program and will send 12 students to
Hawaii Island in August 2022. Hawaii County is working with the sponsoring organization Hui Okinawa to
find host families for the students and to make sure the group will have the best experience during their visit.
COUNTYOF HAWAII SISTER CITIES