Western Australia’s City of Belmont’s Sister City Program has won two national awards for its relations with Adachi in Japan. The Australian Sister Cities Association (ASCA) recently awarded Belmont with the Category One Community Involvement Award and the Category Eleven Single Project Award.
The awards were presented at the ASCA national conference hosted by Victoria’s La Trobe City Council in September.
The Community Involvement Award was presented for the Adachi Park project. This award is presented for the project that stimulated the widest possible community involvement during the year under review.
Adachi Park, located on Great Eastern Highway opposite Abernethy Road, was officially opened in August 2004 to mark the 20th anniversary of Belmont’s Sister City relationship with the Japanese City of Adachi. The park combines the cultures of both nations and includes three gatehouses, a teahouse, boardwalk and plants reminiscent of a Japanese garden but more suited to the fierce Australian climate.
Adachi Park attracted the judges’ votes due to its location and exposure, which continues to remind community members of their Sister City links.
Belmont won the Single Project Award for the launch of a 20th anniversary book detailing the relationship between Belmont and Adachi. This was found to be the most outstanding and imaginative project of the year, furthering the development of the local Sister Cities program in the community.
This project provided an opportunity for the community to learn about the book, the Sister City relationship and the significance of the park.
Forty-two entries from 16 Australian cities were submitted for the ASCA 2005 Awards. The objective of ASCA is to provide an umbrella of support and to promote affiliations between countries.
ASCA also aims to provide a forum for cultural, economic and educational interchange between communities and to encourage friendship, cooperation and understanding to improve peaceful coexistence worldwide.
