Murayama, Japan

In partnership with the Murayama, Japan, we have been very fortunate to send delegates between the two countries. Below are images of the years of Canadian delegates sent to Murayama, Japan.

Taizhou, China

Shortly after the turn of the millennium China reached out to the Western world through their many modern cities in an effort to build partnerships. These partnerships were seen as being one of the first attempts at building relationships with a country long seen as mysterious.

The City of Barrie’s International Relations Committee thought this was an excellent opportunity to create a third international partnership that aligned harmoniously with apolitical goals.

Naturally, our Youth Ambassadors Program led the way and in 2002 we sent our first delegation to experience the unique reality of Taizhou, China. Our hosts treated our youth incredibly well for which we remain extremely grateful. Our delegation was fascinated by the contrasts and complexities in almost every aspect of the Chinese culture!

Barrie hosted a Chinese youth delegation the following summer and we were hopeful that we had established another “home and away” exchange to partner on the alternating years with our existing relationship in Japan.

Unfortunately, a number of international health crises forced the cancellation of the next few efforts, and it was not until 2007 that we were able to send our second delegation. This too was an astounding success but for a series of reasons it was our last delegation.

We remain hopeful that this may be restored at some future date but for now this relationship sits “In Abeyance”.

Zweibrücken, Germany

Please visit the Global Perspectives section for more information.

Harrogate, United Kingdom

We are working with our Harrogate partners to provide academic, artistic, and athletic programs in the near future.

Arras, France

Please stay tuned for more information. The City of Barrie hopes to coordinate our first youth exchange with Arras in 2024!