The City of St. Petersburg has announced the selection of this year’s Takamatsu Student Ambassadors as part of its ongoing exchange program with its Sister City, Takamatsu, Japan. This tradition, which began in 1988, involves students swapping cities and living with host families over the summer.
The chosen student ambassadors from St. Petersburg are Rachel Eeten from Osceola Fundamental High School, Jared Jackson from Lakewood High School Center for Advanced Technologies, and Jayda Parkes-Quarrie from St. Petersburg Collegiate High School. They will travel to Takamatsu in early July and attend high school alongside their host family-siblings for two days.
In August, students from Takamatsu will visit St. Petersburg and stay with the families of their respective hosts. The visiting Japanese students will engage in various activities designed to immerse them in local culture during their ten-day stay.
As part of their official duties, St. Pete’s ambassadors will make presentations about their city to Takamatsu Mayor Hideto Ōnishi and the City Council. In return, Japanese students will present to St. Pete Mayor Kenneth T. Welch and other local officials.
The relationship between St. Petersburg and Takamatsu dates back to 1961 when they became among the first cities in Florida and Japan to establish a Sister City partnership. Over the years, numerous exchanges have taken place involving municipal staff, citizen delegations, businesses, youth groups, and more.
SPIFFS (St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society) manages this Sister City program along with organizing the annual International Folk Fair.
For further details about the exchange program or other related activities, interested individuals can visit www.stpete.org/international.
