Chapter Initiative - Partnerships

🤝 Expanding Our Global Network - OkiJALT Partnership Strategy

Okinawa JALT is reaching out across Japan and the Asia-Pacific region to build new connections, revive existing relationships, and open doors for our members through a structured strategic partnership expansion.

Strong relationships with peer organizations are essential for growing our visibility, sharing resources, and creating richer opportunities. President Norman Fewell has proposed a comprehensive partnership strategy that targets local chapters, national SIGs, and international TESOL affiliates.

Renewing Existing Agreements

These current partnerships will be reactivated and strengthened with new Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs):

🤝 Hokkaido JALT Chapter
🌏 KOTESOL - Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter (and potentially national)
🎭 PIE SIG (Performance in Education Special Interest Group)

New JALT Partnerships Targeted

Pursuing formal cooperation agreements with additional JALT chapters and SIGs across Japan:

📍 Chapters: Tokyo, Kyushu, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and more
🔬 SIGs: CALL SIG, Global Issues SIG, Teacher Education SIG, Pragmatics SIG, TBLT SIG, and others

Asia-Pacific Expansion

Building new regional ties beyond Japan:

🇰🇷 Additional KOTESOL chapters beyond Gwangju-Jeonnam
🇹🇼 ETA-ROC (English Teachers Association of Taiwan) and its local chapters
🇲🇾 MELTA (Malaysia English Language Teaching Association) chapters and SIGs
🌏 Other Asia-Pacific TESOL affiliates and regional branches

How Partnerships Work

Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) define the scope of each partnership - covering speaker exchanges, joint events, co-hosted webinars, and reciprocal promotion.

A new Partnerships Committee will support the Affiliations & Partnerships Chair in identifying, negotiating, and maintaining all organizational ties.

Timeline

All existing MOUs renewed within 60 days of approval
At least 3 new formal partnerships secured by end of 2026
All active partners featured prominently at Global Summit 2026 in October

This is an exciting moment for Okinawa JALT. A wider network means more speakers, more events, more cross-cultural exchange, and a louder voice for language education in the Ryukyu Islands.

🌺 Okinawa JALT · okijalt@gmail.com · okijalt.org

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