Torfaen business owner, Debbie Gliniany, has earned herself a place in the final line-up of The Mpower National Business Awards. These are awards that celebrate parents throughout the UK who manage the difficult task of juggling business with family life.

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GlobalWelsh has launched a new City Hub in Tokyo to help Welsh people in and around the city to connect with like-minded people. GlobalWelsh Tokyo’s host, Sarah Louisa Birchley, was born and raised in Cwmbran and has been living and working in Tokyo for the past 18 years.

She is a professor of entrepreneurship at Toyo Gakuen University. Her role is to make it easier for people to uncover business and career opportunities locally, globally and around the world via GlobalWelsh’s growing global community and initiatives.

Trade, export or relocate to Tokyo

The new City Hub will also act as an on-the-ground intermediary for Welsh businesses and individuals in Wales, and among Welsh people around the world, who are looking to trade, export or relocate to Tokyo.

Growing up in Cwmbran

Sarah went to North Road Primary School and Croesyceilog School. Her mum lives in Llanyrafon and her brother lives in Greenmeadow. Whenever she is back in Wales she’s happy to visit schools and businesses to talk about Japan or answer any questions.

If you’re heading to Japan for the Rugby World Cup contact Sarah for tips and advice. She also runs her own small business that helps companies working internationally. Visit takeyouglobal.com

“Passionate my roots”

She said: “Despite being overseas for so long, I remain passionate about my roots back in Wales and over time I have increasingly felt the need to connect and give back somehow. I am certain that there are hundreds of others in Tokyo, and around the world, who feel the same.

“GlobalWelsh exists to help us; to enable us to build meaningful connections, share knowledge, create opportunities, and drive investment and business back to Wales. I am excited to start building the GlobalWelsh community here in Tokyo and about the opportunities this will bring.”

Following the launch of GlobalWelsh London in February, this is the second City Hub to launch this year, Walter May, CEO at GlobalWelsh, said:

“Tokyo is one of the world’s most vibrant cities, both economically and culturally, and exactly the kind of place that Wales should have an active presence. That’s exactly what we’re committed to achieving via our GlobalWelsh City Hubs and it’s thanks to the passion and drive of people like Sarah that we’re able to do this.”

Find out more

Visit globalwelsh.com/tokyo for more information. GlobalWelsh currently has community members in 44 countries around the world including, Australia, USA, UAE, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, Somalia, Serbia, Nigeria, Argentina, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Hong Kong, India and Japan.

Last August Jess Adkins was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The Cwmbran High School pupil returned to class earlier this year and is still undergoing treatment.

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Take a look at the first newspaper to cover Cwmbran. In 1953- four years after Cwmbran was designated a New Town- and the Cwmbran New Town Advertiser & Gazette this newspaper was launched with a cover price of ‘one penny’. But this first edition was given away for free.

The edition features some wonderful statements like:

Cwmbran- a miniature London

Like a giant conjuring trick Wales’ only new post-war town at Cwmbran, Monmouthshire is emerging from a blanket of rural beauty.

The paper tells us that the town grew under Cwmbran Development Corporation and ‘throbs and bustles with the machine-gun like precision of the Army’. The corporation was led by Major General T.W Rees ‘who made his name in the epic Tobruk and Burma’ battles . Yes, this is where the area of the town centre called General Rees Square comes from.

The paper was found by Sarah Sweeney who was sorting through her late grandad’s belongings. Thanks for sharing Sarah.