First Online Meeting of Twin City Café
On Saturday, July 4, 2026, the first online meeting of Twin City Café, an initiative designed to promote citizen-level exchange between the cities of Kagoshima and Naples, was held with 49 participants. Some participants on the Naples side joined as a group from a hotel lobby. Alessandra welcomed the participants and expressed her hope that student and citizen exchanges between the two cities would develop further. The MC, Ms. Kanako Nakajo, then explained the history and background of exchanges between the two cities and outlined the overall flow of the event.
1. Kagoshima-Naples Sister-City Exchange Platform
(1) Mr. Aniya explained that, after returning to Kagoshima, he had been working to establish a sister-city exchange platform in order to deepen communication between citizens of the two cities. The Japanese and Italian organizers and participants then introduced themselves in turn and spoke about their interest in cultural exchange and mutual visits. Throughout the meeting, participants shared a desire to revitalize the friendship between the two cities at the citizen level.
(2) The meeting also introduced the Napolshima initiative as an English-language exchange forum connecting Naples and Kagoshima. It was emphasized that Twin City Café is not a place for competing in English proficiency, but rather a place for exchanging cultures and ideas through English. Possible future activities were explained, including cooking classes, theme-based dialogues, cultural presentations, and student and citizen exchanges.
2. Video Introductions to Kagoshima and Naples
(1) A promotional video introducing Kagoshima was shown, presenting Kagoshima's nature, history, famous places, and notable figures, together with a humorous dance performed by high school students.
(2) The attractions of the Bay of Naples and Capri were also introduced through video. Participants received explanations about local landmarks and scenery and learned about the richness of Naples' history, culture, and natural environment.
3. Cultural Exchange Game for Learning About Each City
(1) In the latter half of the meeting, participants took part in a joint game using Mentimeter to enjoy learning about each other's cities. Led by Francesco and Claudia, participants used their mobile phones to enter and share keywords that they associated with Naples and Kagoshima. Keywords associated with Naples included pizza, Maradona, Nutella, gelato, and opera. Those associated with Kagoshima included Sakurajima, shochu, and the sea. Through this activity, participants confirmed that Italy and Japan share many common points, including food culture and a strong sense of pride in their local communities.
(2) Through this joint game, participants reaffirmed the importance of citizens communicating the appeal of their own cities in their own words. It was also discussed that the exchange has the potential to go beyond cultural exchange and, in the future, lead to cooperation in tourism, food, local products, and business.
(3) As areas for future cooperation between the two cities, participants proposed student exchanges, cultural events, online cooking classes, language learning, and continued citizen dialogue. Alessandra expressed a positive attitude toward holding an event introducing Italian cuisine as the first online cooking class.