"Arigatou"
one word to summarize
yet another amazing journey
The 2nd Ideas Exchange
Ceremony for Chiba Kun Ambassadors at the Chiba Prefectural
Office.
The
Chiba Kun Ambassadors had its last and final gathering of the year,
capping off the year with a presentation event and ideas exchange
session recently. This is my third year being a small ambassador in a
foreign land and each single year, I am blessed with an amazing team
members, getting the chance to explore the beautiful prefecture and also
meeting new people throughout the journey.
It
is something I am very thankful for, especially to the International
Division staffs who have always given their best in the interest of the
Ambassadors, and also to all the Chiba Kun Ambassadors for their amazing
company. You guys rocks!
The name tag for all
Ambassadors, written with our names and country in
katakana.
Chiba Kun taking a photo with one of his Ambassadors lol!
So, what we did we do at the final event?
All
the Ambassadors were divided into several groups according to their
respective countries and we we given a task to plan an itinerary for
visitors from our country who happen to visit Chiba prefecture. In the
same presentation, we also did a simple introduction about our country,
the characteristics of travelers and what the visitors from our country
look for when they are on a vacation.
We took the opportunity to also point out a few things which can be
improved to make Chiba prefecture an even better place and
tourist-friendly, especially to the foreign tourists.
First award - "Appreciation
Award" for a selected members of the Ambassadors.
Mr Ishikawa Tooru, the
Director of Chiba Prefecture General Planning Department International
Affairs Division.
It
was unfortunate that my partner, Ros could not make it to the
presentation event, so I represented the Malaysian team. Well, to be
honest my slides were done on the eleventh hour. And by that, I mean it
literally. It was done at eleven p.m., a day before the submission
dateline hahaha!
More
than two years have passed since I made a presentation. The last time
was during my university research presentation back in 2012. So, you can
imagine my anxiety when I stepped up once my turn was called. I think I
did quite well, considering the amount of practice I did beforehand
(which was by the way, close to zero lol!).
The
result - China team finished as the first runner-up and the grand prize
went to the South Korean team. I thought they gave a very informative
and interesting presentation, and the girls certainly deserved their
prize, which happened to be Chiba Kun soft toys!
Prize number two - "Most
Article Written Award", which won me two pairs of Chiba Kun special
edition neckties.
As
for the remaining three prizes, they were the "Appreciation Award" for
the Ambassadors who has significantly contributed to the project, the
"Most Article Written Award" and the "Best Article Award". I thought I
could win one of the awards. And so, the winners were announced.
Along
with Gina (the Philippines), Rochelle, and Gina (both from the US), I
was among the four who was awards the "Appreciation Award". Then for the
next two awards, it went to...
Yes, Malaysia kinda made a clean sweep there :)
The third and biggest award - "Best Article Award".
My article on the amazing autumn foliage in Yoro Keikoku was the article that was picked for this award.
Well,
I was certainly delighted to be picked and it gives the feeling of
satisfaction for the effort put in throughout the year. Winning this
awards was not the main intention I decided to be part of this project,
because more important thing is to let people outside there to know more
about what Chiba has to offer. And I guess this project has certainly
played a big part in attracting more foreign tourists to the prefecture.
So, what are you waiting for? Time to book your flight and get yourself to Chiba!
Arigatou!
All of us gave the staffs a
surprise by presenting a hand-made card, written with our messages for
them.
Finally, one last final
group photo! I will cerytainly miss this people a lot!
P/S:
Just for your information, Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea are
both located in Chiba. That I believe is another big reason for you to
visit Chiba, isn't it?
Below are the slides used during my presentation for team Malaysia.
Below are the slides used during my presentation for team Malaysia.
