On the weekend of August 9th-11th, representatives from JETAA Prairies and representatives from all Canadian JETAA chapters, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago as well as country reps from JETAA USA and JETAA International converged to Vancouver to attend the 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC.

On the first night, MOFA hosted a reception on campus to welcome all of the delegates with speeches given by the Deputy Consul General Satomi Okagaki on behalf of the of the Consulate General of Japan in Vancouver, JETAA Canada representative Alena Seinboold, and JETAABC President Danielle Markewicz. The delegates mingled while light food and refreshments were served. There were a mix of old faces with new faces.

The next day, the chapter reps held their annual presentations regarding their respective chapter’s activities. The delegates also exchanged ideas about their success stories and challenges that each chapter faces. It was a great reminder that no matter how large a chapter is: each chapter faces the same challenges as a smaller chapter.

After the delegates finished their agenda for the day, the delegates travelled to Downtown Vancouver to a local Japanese restaurant for a dinner hosted by CLAIR. Afterward, a few of the delegates enjoyed some sightseeing.

On the last day, the delegates voted that the next host city for the national conference is Halifax. Later, the delegates brainstormed about creating more inter-chapter events. One of the potential ideas conjured up is having a fantasy sumo league tournament where alumni predict who would win in the sumo tournament circuit and the winner of the fantasy league gets awarded a physical trophy.

In a more casual setting, the delegates enjoyed a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Downtown Vancouver on the Saturday night. On the Sunday afternoon, the delegates toured the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre where they were holding a festival consisting of local Japanese/Japanese-Canadian merchants and artisans. The delegates toured the facility and learned about the struggles of Japanese immigrants in Canada.

JETAA Prairies would like to give its sincerest thanks to MOFA, CLAIR, JETAA BC, and Simon Fraser University for hosting the 2024 JETAA Canada National Conference. In addition, JETAA Prairies would like to thank all the delegates who attended. See you all next year!