July 29th, 2020
A meeting was held at the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) on Wednesday July 29 with Mr. Tamotsu Okamoto, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Mr. Hiroaki Isobe, Executive Advisor, with Ambassador Lina Annab and Mr. Talal Masarweh.
During the meeting various areas of cooperation were explored in order to foster people to people exchanges, mainly through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET Program), which is considered one of the largest exchange programs in the world, and also to develop relations between Jordanian and Japanese local governments by establishing sister city relationships.
Following the meeting, Ambassador Annab commented on the meeting: “We had an excellent meeting with CLAIR today. People to people diplomacy is one of the best ways to forge deep friendships and create bridges of peace and understanding among nations. The programs at CLAIR are all geared towards building and providing the environment and tools necessary to cultivate sustainable grassroot relations at all levels”. Chairman Okamoto welcomed the visit of Ambassador Annab and expressed the readiness of CLAIR to support Jordan’s participation in the JET Program and the Embassy’s efforts in its outreach to Japanese local governments.
About CLAIR:
CLAIR is a government-affiliated general incorporated foundation that works to support the internationalization efforts of local governments in Japan through providing training opportunities, fostering people-to-people exchange with the JET Program and other initiatives, supporting multiculturalism, and by carrying out research behalf of local governments etc.
The mission of CLAIR is to offer consistently effective support to our local government stakeholders using the knowhow and extensive international network we have cultivated over the last 27 years.
For more info: www.clair.or.jp/e/index.html
About JET Program:
The JET Program, established in 1987, is one of the largest exchange programs in the world, with over 70,000 people from 75 countries have participated in the program since its creation. Participants are assigned to local government organizations and schools throughout Japan through the following positions: Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs); Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs); Sports Exchange Advisors (SEA).
Its aim is to promote grass-roots international exchange between Japan and other nations and the internationalization in Japan’s local communities by helping to improve foreign language education and developing international exchange at the community level.
For more info: jetprogramme.org/en/