The JETAA USA National Conference (NatCon) was held in Miami from August 7 to 9, hosted by the JETAA Florida chapter. This year’s theme was “Local Leaders, Global Minds: Advancing US-Japan Ties One Community at a Time.” Returning to the full 2 ½ day format used up until the pandemic, the weekend was packed with sessions on strengthening chapter operations, building partnerships, and sharing information on issues, activities, and opportunities across the country.
The conference kicked off on Friday morning with a great keynote by Liz Brailsford talking with Jessyca Livingston & Shanti Shoji about how chapter leaders can strengthen their chapters and their support for US-Japan relations.
This was followed by sessions on resources to enhance chapter programming and member engagement, US-Japan sister relationships and KenJETkai, and three panels on building partnerships with Japanese businesses, consulates & embassies, and Japan America Societies.
Saturday morning started off with the USJETAA Breakfast & Learn session, talking about the role played and services provided by the US JET alumni’s national nonprofit organization, and how they fit with the all-volunteer JETAA USA community.
This was followed by CLAIR updates from JLGC New York on Grant-in-Aid and other topics, and brief presentations by the Country Representatives attending from Canada, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago. Then, each US chapter gave a 5-minute presentation on the theme of “3-2-1 Connect”, covering 3 things the chapter is proud of, 2 challenges or areas for improvement, and 1 opportunity for collaboration or support.
There was a video message from the alumni on Guam, which is in the process of becoming the 20th American chapter, updates from JETAA-I, and a video presentation on chapter bylaws from the Pacific Northwest chapter. The rest of the afternoon was given over to two rounds of breakout sessions on a variety of topics concerning chapter operations and activities. The first round was by role (leadership, finance, etc), and the second by topic (burnout, USJETAA database, etc).
Sunday morning started with updates from the three US Country Reps, talking about what they’ve been doing since taking office in April. Then it was announced that Lea Reuter won the Matthew Gillam Award for Dedicated Service for all her work on behalf of the Alaska chapter.
The conference finished with a parliamentary session, where proposed amendments to the JETAA USA Bylaws were discussed and voted on (passing unanimously), followed by a JET40 brainstorming session in breakout groups, to think up ways to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the JET Program in 2027.
Along with the conference itself, many participants devoted themselves to folding paper cranes for a project spearheaded by Shuaib Syed, the Canada Country Rep, to create a hanging arrangement with 1,000 cranes to be sent to Tokyo as part of the JET40 celebrations. NatCon participants alone produced over 600 cranes.
This marked the first time ever for the Florida chapter to host a national conference, and everyone attending appeared to be very happy with the results. CLAIR would like to thank everybody who helped organize and execute the conference, as well as all those who gave their time and energy to participate in some way and make it a productive and enjoyable experience, from the many speakers to all the chapter and country representatives.