A Conversation with Author Clara Kumagai

Join us for this special online event hosted by JETAA BC and JETAA Ottawa where we get a chance to talk to author Clara Kumagai. Kumagai has feet in Canada, Japan, and Ireland and has written a number of short stories for the Banshee Press and Stinging Fly. In 2023, she published her first YA novel Catfish Rolling. We will dive into what inspired her to explore space and time through the main character (永空).

Click here to listen to Clara’s quick summary of what her new book is all about. It will make you interested in picking up a copy of the book yourself at your local bookstore! 

Whether you are a fan of Kumagai and new to her stories, we hope that you can join us for an interactive evening (or day) of words and imagination. 

Date: Saturday, April 13th

Time: 11 am PDT / 2pm EDT / 7 pm GMT

Location: Online

RVSP:  Zoom

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Let’s Visit the Sugar Shack!

Image of maple taffy. Event on March 9th, 2024, at 9am.

シュガーシャックに行こうよ!🍁🥞🍳🥣🥓🥐
Come join us for a visit to the Vanier Sugar Shack before sugar season ends!

Date: Saturday, March 9th, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM
Where: Vanier Sugar Shack
Meet at: Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre Parking Lot

Let’s go for a visit to North America’s Only Urban Sugar Shack!
We’ll meet at the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre public parking lot and then head on foot to the sugar shack, where we’ll line up for breakfast. Then we’ll walk around the site to see some sugaring off.

Please note, participants must cover their own costs.

If you would like to join us, please fill out this Google Form!

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2024 JETAA Canada Representative Election

A message from Colleen Cheung, Elections Officer for the Canada country representative election this year:

The call for platforms for the JETAA Canada’s Country Representative has begun and we’re looking for interested candidates! The Canada country representative (CR) is the primary point of contact to Canada’s various chapters, and represents our country at the JETAA-International level, as required. Please see the attached PDF for further details on the Canada Rep’s responsibilities. Platforms are due Thursday, February 15, 2024!

Candidates are asked to submit a platform that states the following:

    • Experience with JETAA
    • Vision for future of JETAA chapters in Canada
    • Action plan for year ahead and ideas to strengthen JETAA Canada

All platforms should be submitted directly to Colleen, the Elections Officer, at 2024jetaacanadaelections「at」gmail「dot」com. The platform should not exceed 2 pages long.

The schedule of the 2024 election is as follows:

    •  Elections Officer calls for platforms: January 10, 2024
    •  Candidate platforms due: Feb 15, 2024
    •  Platforms collected and sent to chapters: Feb 20, 2024
    •  Chapter Voting closes: Mar 26, 2024
    •  Elections  Officer publishes results: Apr 1, 2024
NOTE: Cut-off time will be 11:59 pm Pacific Time on the days noted above.
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AGM 2023 and Incoming Executive

On December 9, we held our Annual General Meeting (minutes available here). Thanks to everyone who attended! We enjoyed sushi and snacks and democracy. Our chapter remains in good fiscal health and we’re excited to welcome a new exec member.

photo of sushi at the meeting

Please welcome our 2024 executive committee:

President Yeti Mallavi Treasurer Caitlan Wilson
Vice-President Shuaib Syed Secretary Anna Rayner-Grignon
Social media Zoe Maple Newsletter Editor Erica Long
Webmaster Joshua Rose

photo of new executive personnel - casual

Incoming executive at the Change-over Meeting on January 27

At the AGM, beyond our election, we also discussed the prior year – check out our 2023 Retrospective – and made some major announcements regarding Natsu Matsuri and Japanese classes.

Regarding Natsu Matsuri, many of you are already aware that this summer’s event was our Sunset Edition. This amazing event has outgrown our chapter’s capacity to organize and to fund, and so we have passed the baton to our community partners. Keep your eyes peeled for coming announcements on the future of the event!

Regarding Japanese classes, we were sad to announce that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cut funding for the program worldwide. We were able to secure interim funding from CLAIR for this year. We are currently exploring alternative funding options, including grants and fundraising. We welcome any suggestions or contacts you may have.

Presentation from our outgoing president

Outgoing President Shuaib Syed was proud to show off the Ambassador’s Award for promoting Canada-Japan relations, which was awarded to JETAA Ottawa in August.

President shows award

Message from our incoming president

Happy Year of the Dragon, everyone! My name is Yeti Mallavi. I was formerly the vice-president and am now president. I’m excited to start this new role, try new events, and support our community in a variety of ways. If you have any events you would like to promote, as always, please feel free to share with exec@jetaaottawa.ca.

Douzo yoroshiku onegaimasu.

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Japanese Movie Weekend [FREE] Nov 3-5

JETAA Ottawa and The Japan Foundation, Toronto are very happy to welcome you to the free online screening of “The Restaurant in the Sky“. The movie will have japanese dialogue with english subtitles.

This online film screening is available for free from Friday, November 3, 5:59 PM (ET) to Sunday, November 5, 11:59PM (ET). After watching, please share your comments about the film in our short questionnaire.

Access your Free movie screening HERE!


ストーリー

今日も食卓に、明るい声が響く。ここは道南・せたな町。海が見える牧場で酪農を営む亘
理は、 妻のこと絵、一人娘の潮莉とのしあわせな家族 3 人暮らし。自然に寄り添った食
を追求する仲間たちに囲まれ、厳しくも美しい大地で楽しい日々を送っている。亘理の夢
は、自分の牧場の牛乳で、この地でしか食べられないチーズを作ること。でも師匠のチー
ズ職人・大谷にはまだ追いつけず、落ち込んだり奮起したりの繰り返しだ。ある時、札幌
から訪れた有名シェフ・朝田に自分たちの食材を激賞され、亘理は一つのアイデアを思い
つく。それは、せたなの おいしいもの を広く届けるため、一日限定のレストランを開く
ことだった。だが、納得ゆくチーズが完成せず思い悩んでいたある日、突然大谷が倒れ……。


STORY
Wataru lives happily with his wife, Kotoe, and daughter , Shiori, in Setana, Hokkaido. He runs a cheese factory and raises cattle on a ranch with a view of the ocean that he inherited from his father. His cheese-making skills are still mediocre, so he is constantly getting scolded by his strict master. But Wataru enjoys a good life with a group of like -minded friends that are always there for each other.
Then Kanbe, a young shepherd from Tokyo, joins their circle, and the friends find pleasure in “good food” that they produce themselves and share with one another. Then one day, a chef from a famous restaurant in Sapporo, who is attracted by their food, pays them a visit.

They are ecstatic that their products are made even more delicious by this chef, and together they start planning a one -day-only restaurant to spread their joy to other people.


Live and Teach in Japan: Deadline Nov 14, 2023

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme seeks to enhance internationalisation and enhance foreign language education at the local level through the fostering of ties between Japanese youth and foreign youth alike.


Organizers

The Japan Foundation is Japan’s only Institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs and aspires to the role of catalyst for international exchanges throughout the world.

JETAA Ottawa was founded in 1991 and is one of 52 JETAA chapters in 17 countries with over 60,000 members. Our main mission is to promote Canada-Japan relations within the Canadian societal landscape.


Our Friends

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