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Board discusses Sakata video exchanges, student visits and a potential joint photographic exhibit
Summary
The board reviewed a September video conference with Sakata, Japan, discussed barriers to resuming student exchanges, proposed classroom video projects and asked members to pursue copies of 31 Sakata videos that are no longer online.
The Delaware City Sister Cities Advisory Board discussed recent outreach with Sakata, Japan, including a September video conference and proposals to reengage student exchanges. Board members said Sakata previously posted 31 videos online that are currently unavailable and asked staff to request copies so Delaware audiences could view student-produced material.
Board members described several potential approaches for renewing exchange activity: restarting the long-standing student trips to Dempsey Middle School, a year-to-year alternating exchange (Sakata visits Delaware one year and Delaware sends delegations in alternating years), and classroom-level video exchanges that would let local Global Scholars students produce promotional videos for Sakata. The board noted a local Japanese exchange student at Buckeye Valley could help with Japanese-language content and recommended that content be primarily in English or include English subtitles.
Participants raised feasibility concerns tied to funding and staff support in Sakata; one board member said Sakata’s municipal finances and population decline have likely constrained the program and that local leaders appear less able to sustain large student delegations. The board also discussed a proposal to bring a Ken Doeman photographic exhibit to Delaware in partnership with Worthington and Dublin; a rough cost estimate mentioned during the meeting was about $50,000, including insurance and transport, and board members said that would require further planning and partner commitments.
Members identified several follow-ups: attempting to recover or obtain copies of Sakata’s student videos (which a board member found had been taken down from YouTube), contacting English-language translator Edmund Fek for insight on what is feasible, checking on the status of existing virtual-exchange activity with June Kawabe, and consulting Gary DeCoker about historical student-exchange organization. The board agreed to revisit these items at its next meeting in April, with staff to report back on any materials recovered or new partner commitments.
No formal votes were recorded on funding or exchange resumption; discussion focused on outreach and feasibility steps that would precede any formal recommendation.
