Program

There will be three special commemorative periods during the year:

1. Opening of the year in January/February;
2. 30th anniversary of the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation on 16 June 1976; and
3. Closing events in October/November.

Australian and Japanese groups and organisations are invited to participate in the year by organising events and exchanges that celebrate the bilateral relationship. Many events and activities are planned for the year, and we continue to invite organisers of such events to seek endorsement as official Year of Exchange events. Endorsement gives organisations the opportunity to be part of a broader bilateral celebration and may draw greater attention to their events. It may be useful in attracting counterpart organisations and audiences with the other country. Endorsement enables organisations to use the YOE logo and to appear on the official program of events. Examples of possible events are as follows:

• Sister city/sister state exchanges
• Visual and performing arts events
• Indigenous culture presentations
• Educational tours, school visits, teacher exchanges
• English-Japanese language training opportunities
• Academic collaborations; conferences
• Tourism promotions
• Sporting events, training camps;
• Science and technology exhibits and collaborations;
• Government talks
• Parks and gardens - exchanges, dedications, tree-planting
• Literary events - Author tours, book readings, joint publications
• Historical document reproduction, digitisation, archive
• Library exchanges, collaborations, collections
• Trade promotion - exporters networking, trade fairs
• Food and wine promotion
• Professional (services) and business exchanges, delegations and workshops
• Media exchanges and visits

In general, DFAT and the Australian Embassy in Tokyo are responsible for endorsing events showcasing Australia in Japan and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will have responsibility for endorsing those showcasing Japan in Australia. Where events or exchanges do not fall into either of these categories, for instance in the case of Australia-Japan collaborative events in either country, or student or other exchanges, organisations may approach either DFAT or MFA.

However, individuals and organisations in Australia contemplating exclusively Japanese cultural events in Australia should contact the Embassy of Japan in Canberra or the Japanese Consulates.

• Endorsement Guidelines
• Download Application Form (Word, 228kB)