Message

As Asia’s emerging countries have experienced remarkable development and increased attention as the center of the global economy, the coronavirus pandemic has impacted our lives and accelerated division. To overcome this challenge, we must focus on enhancing domestic economies, develop international relationships and promote private-sector diplomacy through mutual understanding and cooperation.

The city of Sakai is a unique and perfect city for this 2022 JCI Area Conference. Having been exposed to cultural exchange through flourishing international trade during the Middle Ages, this produced a small group of people who formed an independent “free and self-governing city.” Their original ideas and tolerance to foreign cultures even proved to greatly influence the development of the iconic tea ceremony culture. Takaishi City in turn has also become a core city that has developed to become the axis of the Sakai Senboku Rinkai Industrial Zone.

JCI ASPAC SakaiTakaishi will enable each participant, through the proactive sharing of information and ideas and collaboration of multiple cultures, to draw a line of progressive growth to a bright future. JCI members will connect and share moments that will soon be treasured as the starting point of sustainable change and community-building innovations.

As we approach the “New Normal,” we will continue to advance toward the realization of everlasting World Peace and the creation of a safe and secure global community. Through the spirit of “Once in a Lifetime Opportunity” and traditional tea ceremonies, JCI members will build strong partnerships and mutual understanding that will last them a lifetime.

The shapes of the large and small balloons facing each other represent a once-in-a-lifetime encounter while their formation in a circle represents “meeting” and “strong partnership.” The shape of each balloon represents the “tea leaves” of the “green tea town”. And to further symbolize the venue, the color combinations and shapes are also designed to look like the birds of the city. Depending on how you interpret the bird motif in the city, it may look like a dove, a classic symbol for “safety and security” and “permanent world peace.”