UNI, UNI-LCJ win Japanese award for UNI World Congress

Publicado: 14 Diciembre 2011
Google translate: 













newsImage

 The Japan National Tourism Organization has awarded UNI Global Union and UNI's Liaison Council of Japan (UNI-LCJ) a top national prize for holding an outstanding international convention and promoting international visits to the country. The prize was awarded in recognition of the 3rd UNI World Congress, held in Nagasaki in November 2010.



UNI and the UNI-LCJ were one of four winning groups selected among more than 2,000 conference organizers who hosted international meetings in Japan in 2010. The UNI World Congress was by far the biggest conference among the winners and had participants from the greatest number of countries.



"We had a brilliant Congress in Nagasaki; we are delighted to have won this top award," said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. "The Congress was a model for local community involvement and for the originality of its themes and presentation. The UNI family are proud to be Nagasaki ambassadors."



UNI is maintaining its strong ties with Nagasaki. The UNI head office in Nyon, Switzerland has hosted an annual visit of the Nagasaki Peace Messengers, Japanese students who take the call for nuclear disarmament around the world.



Bro. Ochiai, Chair of the UNI-LCJ accepted the award today in Japan.



The awards ceremony was followed by a panel discussion entitled, “Toward the successful attraction and hosting of international conventions by making use of local specialties.” Bro. Ochiai was one of the panelists, sharing the experience of the UNI-LCJ and offering suggestions.



“Nagasaki was chosen for us to spotlight the importance of a peaceful society and the global campaign against nuclear weapons. Our strong message-- Nagasaki should be the last city to suffer the effects of an atomic bomb—was delivered to every region of the world by the Congress delegates and through our global union network.” he said.



The concept was to turn the whole city into the Congress venue. More than 1500 international participants stayed in at more than 30 hotels and took streetcars to the conference venue, the Gymnasium, during the period. This offered an opportunity to get to know the local citizens. They explored the small town of Nagasaki, discovered something new, experienced Japanese culture and were welcomed by local union members and residents. It created an unforgettable impression of Nagasaki and Japan that overseas participants enjoyed immensely.



Bro. Ochiai also said that the challenges of holding such a big international event in a local city could be overcome by good preparations and coordination.



“For example, we trained young union members as volunteers for the past 5 years and they did a really great job. For the young generation, it was a very meaningful and valuable experience to witness the UNI Global Union movement.”