As Democrats Abroad leaders and members arrived in Tokyo - the home for our annual global meeting for the very first time - our hosts of the local Democrats Abroad Tokyo chapter welcomed us with true hospitality, including small, hand-made welcome gifts to each attendee.
The majority of the morning was spent in preparation for the next day's votes on by-laws, charter amendments and new resolutions. This was last opportunity for members to voice their support, concerns or ask questions about the many issues being tackled at this meeting.
For lunch, we caught up with each other over bento boxes. Bento (弁当 bentō) is a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento holds rice or noodles, fish or meat, with pickled and cooked vegetables, in a box. This was a great opportunity to sample some local cuisine while chatting with fellow volunteers - many of whom haven't seen each other since last year's AGM, or were meeting for the very first time!
Lunch was followed by three valuable training sessions: Amanda Mohar, Democrats Abroad Communications Director, outlined the importance of consistency in our messaging. Inge Kjemtrup Chair, Democrats Abroad United Kingdom, gave an informative presentation on recruiting and managing volunteers. Kat Allikian, Democrats Abroad Regional Vice Chair, Asia Pacific, spoke about how to engage members and volunteers through local events.
Wrapping up the evening, Will Hailer, Senior Advisor to Tom Perez, gave a rousing speech on the importance of Democrats Abroad and American voters around the world.
“Democrats Abroad has a real opportunity to ensure that razor thin margins can be won”
“I know for a fact that we’re going to have a bunch of victories this year, where we’re still waiting to hear about election results that won’t be called until the days after the election. And you’re going to be the ones who are going to be able to tell your volunteers: we were the ones who helped win those elections.”
With that, we quickly moved to a welcome reception hosted by our Democrats Abroad Japan leaders and a "tiny violinists" concert from the local Suzuki school, before dinners across Japan - from conveyor belt sushi to dinners in a Kill Bill setting, we were ready to take on Japanese cuisine!