- 6/15/2023
On May 24, 2023, Mayor of Maui Country Mr. Richard Bissen, and the first lady Isabella Ka’ihikapulani, Deidre Tegarden, Executive Director of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center, Maui, and Lila Fujimoto Lawrence, Communications and Public Affairs Officer for the County of Maui, visited Hiroshima University of Economics. Maui County has a Sister City relationship with Fukuyama City in Hiroshima Prefecture. The Maui delegation participated in the Fukuyama Flower Festival commemorating the 15th anniversary of its Sister City relationship with Fukuyama City. Mayor Bissen and his party visited Hiroshima University of Economics because of the university’s student exchange agreement in 2019 with Maui College and for their relations with the Kodokan (Human Resource Development Institute) and their Hiroshima/Hawai’i Cultural Exchange Project student activities held in Maui.
First, President Yuko Ishida graciously thanked Mayor Bissen for Maui’s support in Kodokan Project activities in Maui. Mayor Bissen replied by saying, "The Project’s concept and results are excellent!" He added, "We should cherish the history of Hiroshima and Hawai’i and pass it on to the next generation by getting the youth involved..."
Thereafter, the Mayor was invited to listen to students describing their activities in Maui in English. After listening to the talk about their experiences and their understanding of Hawaiian culture, Mayor Bissen commented on the importance of the student’s activities by saying, "These students are very passionate in what they do and this is wonderful!"
Professor Takahiro Yamamoto, one of the coordinators of the Hawai’i project, commented by saying, "With the visit of Mayor Bissen to the university, I have high expectations for further development of the activities of the Hiroshima/Hawai’i Cultural Exchange Project and relations with Maui College."
