Good Will to All

In my almost two-year tenure at Sister Cities International, I've experienced amazing good will. The good will came from our volunteer members across the US and globally, good will from our board and leadership groups, and good will from peer institutions. It's been...inspiring. In the same period, I've seen abject poverty and extravagant riches. All of this demonstrates the dramatic reach of the sister cities movement.

I've witnessed people opening their home to strangers, we've sent delegations to deliver art supplies to children with HIV/AIDS, devised a program to provided the most simple and vital of needs: clean water, and talked candidly with high school students about their life and future in their war-torn country. Each interaction has been revealing, personal, and reflective. This is the power of citizen exchanges.

I invite readers to provide their experiences from the past year. Share the power and impact of your citizen and community diplomacy.

Choice of Words: War & Ideas

The election is over. The presidential transition has started. No matter one's political leaning change is coming. The level of uncertainty in the world is great. With all this as the backdrop, I'm stuck with a reoccurring theme that I can't dismiss.

There was a great deal of ink spilled and pontificating about language and words during the campaign. Yet, there is a phrase in vogue use by some administration leaders that strikes me as fantastically misdirected. It is well documented that the current administration tuned and fine tuned of America's messaging for 8 years with great rigidity. Through formal and informal channels, press secretaries and bloggers alike have maneuvered around the words and language of our international message. But I am stunned that the phrase "war of ideas," a staggering choice of words repeated by the diplomatic arm of our government, continues to enjoy such active and regular use. Words matter. This phrase signals an aggressive state of being that isn't helping our posture in the global audience. I'm hopeful some shifting winds will blow soon and a new set of buzz words will take root in place of this unfortunate phraseology.

Global Listening: It's all that it's cracked up to be

I spent the better part of this morning at a briefing on the Brookings Institution's latest report regarding public diplomacy - Voices of America: U.S. Public Diplomacy for the 21st Century. The author and a number of commentators at the briefing gave an overview of the findings and their agreeable opinions about what the report details. In short, the report calls for a new quasi-government (or NGO) to lead in public diplomacy efforts for the U.S. The new entity would work collaboratively with Dept. of State, Dept of Defense, and other government agencies, but be more flexible and innovative than the traditional bureaucratic government institution. The report itself is well written and draws a knowledgeable range of opinion, facts, and previously reported conclusion but points toward a specific way forward.

This report, and it's timing, will give inside-the-beltway-types plenty to chew on for the new few months as the Obama Administration sets up shop. What was striking to me was less about the report and whether I agree or disagree with the findings (which I was duly quizzed afterward by colleagues and associates), but rather a comment that was made a number of times by the panelists: "We need to listen more." The "we" meaning the U.S. It was noted that our public diplomacy instruments have focused on telling others around the world (or in some instances broadcasting) what we stand for and what they should do, rather than having a conversation, which involves both talking and listening. I agree, however, a fundamental piece of the puzzle is missing: what are we doing after we listen. It seems to me, this has been the bigger problem. We, (I'm using the royal "we" of course), need to listen, absorb, and then respond based on that new information and feedback. This is hard work. Much more complicated and nuanced and it means we need to be willing to bend, adjust, or even recalibrate our positions to reach a collaborative working state. I see this dance being performed by our volunteer leaders constantly in sister city partnerships. I've experienced this even in our own work on international projects with fellow NGOs who are already working on a common goal (whether it is a grant, project or event.) Public diplomacy and international relationships are a series of dynamic dialogues. We need to listen and then do something with what we've heard.

To twist that old saying about trees: If the diplomacy falls on deaf ears - did the diplomacy happen?

Sister Schools featured in International Education Week

By Guest Blogger: Erica Sewell, Youth & Education Program Manager for Sister Cities International

Every November the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Education team up to celebrate International Education Week. As manger of Sister Cities Youth Department this is a very exciting week for me because it speaks to the core of the department - promoting international education and exchanges. This week is about learning something new about other cultures without actually traveling to another country.

This year Sister Cities International was invited to speak at the kick off event for International Education Week on November 17 at the U.S. Department of Education. The topic of the event was school-to-school partnerships and we highlighted our Sister Schools program. This program is a perfect fit because it focuses on pairing schools in the United States with a school overseas to encourage collaborative projects between classes. The program allows schools to connect with a school in another country without international travel by getting youth engaged, interested in global issues, and by adding an international component to the curriculum. Not only were colleagues Jim Doumas and Jennelle Root able to present on Sister Cities and our Sister Schools program but so were several students. Students at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago and their Sister School at Ben M’Sik High School in Casablanca, Morocco were able to share their experiences about their exchanges via audio and video conferencing. Faculty and staff from Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, DC and their partner school Lycee Jean Jaures in Montreuil, France also participated—again recognizing another form of a school partnership.

The highlight of the presentation was hearing from the students and listening to the things that they learned and what surprised them. A common theme was how wrong their prior conceptions were, how their host families made them feel right at home and how warmly they were welcomed when they arrived in Casablanca. The impact and life changing effect can best be summed up as a student from Morocco put it, “the 2008 Sister Cities youth conference were the best days of my life!”

A totally unexpected common theme was squirrels. Sometimes it is the little things that you take for granted, such as frequently seeing squirrels that remind you of the first time you traveled abroad, the life lessons you learned, and how you were amazed by something that was second nature to others. The first time I studied abroad I was in London and I can still remember how great I thought their telephone booths were. Yes, I still have the pictures of me standing next to one. I am sure the locals were wondering why I never went inside the booth but to me that was something new and exciting! Every time I travel I discover something new and that is what international education is all about. So what are you waiting for? Encourage your school to form a Sister Schools relationship. Life is truly a journey and not a destination.

Cincinnati Goes to China, Part III

Guest Blogger: Carla Walker, Sister Cities International Board Member and Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Cincinnati

Welcome to Liuzhou (Cincinnati’s Sister City)
We were welcomed at the airport by several city officials and staff of the Foreign Affiars Office and lots of alumni from our exchanges. They presented the Mayor with flowers.
Liuzhou and Cincinnati is recognizing its 20th year of friendship. During that time, there have been more than 50 exchanges and several awards by SCI including the Youth Exchange Award, the Technology Award and the SCI 50th Anniversary special Merit Award.

First stop was Longtan Park for a preview of the friendship garden Cincinnati and Liuzhou Parks Department have worked on for over a year. When we arrived, we could see Park staff busily adding finishing touches for Friday’s official ribbon cutting. The garden has two pavilions, one for each city and they are connected by a replica of Cincinnati’s Roebling Suspension bridge. Each pavilion includes artwork designed by Jan Brown Checco, a Cincinnati artist.

Cincinnati’s Pavilion
After the tour, a small delegation met with City officials. Mayor Mallory spoke for the Cincinnati representatives of the meeting which included the President Pro-Temp of Council, Park Board Director and Staff, Sister Cities representatives, alumni from Library , Medical, Educational and Arts exchanges as well as Park Board Foundation Board Members. We were greeted by the Local Secretary of the Party who stood in for the Mayor, the Liuzhou Vice Mayor, members of the Sister City organization and the leadership of the Foreign Affairs Office. The 30 minute official meeting was an opportunity to hear about industry, culture and anecdotes of Liuzhou. For instance, the person who lit the torch for the Olympics is from Liuzhou.

Cincinnati Goes to China, Part II

Guest Blogger: Carla Walker, Sister Cities International Board Member and Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Cincinnati

The Great Wall
The only thing on the agenda for Sunday was to see, feel, walk and take in the Great Wall. We visited two areas. One was called the Lakeside Great Wall Reserve and the second was the Mutianyu section, which means “valley to the sky.” I can only say that I was not prepared and don’t think I could have prepared myself for the experience.

We drove through villages and country side to reach both areas but only enough time to catch a glimpse of rural life. There were dirt roads in most places but the villages were teaming with people. We whizzed by a bride and groom with firecrackers popping. I’m told fireworks are always a part of the ceremony here – partying at receptions must be a universal concept.
The surprise of Lakeside was that it included a park and recreation area just underneath a portion of the Wall. It was a great teaser for Mutianyu. Visitors could access the wooden walkways along the mountain ridges below some of the Wall section. The passage is officially named “winding around mountain plank road” and there is one section that is suspended in the air by just a few beams. It wiggled beneath my feet. I’m not a big fan of heights – or wooden footbridges – but it was incredibly relaxing to be on the side of a mountain with a lake below you and some part of the Great Wall above you. The water is dammed but even the dam is part of the show because you can walk underneath the trickling falls.

When we walked back to the car, we celebrated with fireworks. We then drove through the countryside to the next stop.

Mutianyu
Mutianyu deserved its own entry. It is said to be the most beautiful and scenic portions of the Wall and was the transfer ceremony site for the 2008 Olympic Games. The structure stands out against a landscape of maple trees. In the background you can see rocky mountains. Unlike other sections of the Wall, Mutianyu was constructed on the outer side of the cliff (a defense strategy), is buttressed on both sides and includes trenches on the outer sides. In its beauty you can still see the design for battle and fortification.

We took a chair lift up to the Wall. You cans see so much of the structure from the chair. We walked and hiked from garrison to garrison and came upon what I think is the best enhancement of this ancient landmark – a makeshift bar. Yes, a place for refreshment and libation. Along Mutianyu, you will find locals who have set up shop with water, sodas, candy and Chinese beer. We bought a beer and climbed up the inside of one of the garrisons. When we reached the top, we opened our beers and toasted the occasion while taking in the view from the top. I can see how a person would want to visit there for hours. It was peaceful, not crowded with tourists and surprisingly accommodating.

Hard to top that feeling but we did add to it. There are a few options for getting down – ropeway, railway, chairlift….and toboggan. The adventurer in me headed for the toboggan. I just had to remember to push for speed and pull back to brake. And, no pictures. I got the hang of it pretty quick and discovered my speed demon side. I even discovered how much of a multi-tasker I am as I zoomed down the slope taking pictures.

Ad: European Town Seeks Sister for Twinning

The reports of the death of European town twinning (aka sister cities) have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, town twinning is thriving.

I was a guest at the launch of a new website last week: www.twinning.org, which is a terrific example of the work happening in Europe. The site is a verison of our "Cities Seeking Cities" database but flashier! For the American cities who see a quick opportunity, its focus is Europe-Europe or Europe-South not transatlantic (at the moment). I found it a terrific signal that the European Union supported Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in this effort. A special nod to Patrizio Fiorilli, their web-brain behind the endeavor, who made it very accessible, simple navigation, AND it's available in more than 20 languages. (I'd challenge someone to find another website with this type of language depth that can be instantly translated into so many languages. Email me if you find one.)

The website is hosted by the CEMR - the mothership for national organizations that oversee town twinning in each country. Did you know there are over 17,000 sister cities within Europe and Europe outward?

Check out their new website - it's a great addition to the sister city movement.

Cultural Diplomacy – Aspen Institute-style

The Aspen Institute took on an ambitious project this fall. (I’m sure this is how a number of their program descriptions could start…) The inaugural Aspen Cultural Diplomacy Forum was a concept that came to life this past weekend. The institute’s ambition (apologies to Walter Isaacson and his eloquent welcoming letter in the program for which I’m abbreviating) was to focus on cultural dynamics in times of conflict, to examine past and current practices, to debate policies affecting culture and to look at mobilization of resources in media, arts, culture, and technology. No small task in 2½ days. The format was varied by design to allow speakers and the audience to engage, concur, disagree, and contemplate.

I was pleased Sister Cities International was invited and able to present our story. In addition to participating in the forum, I was a speaker on a panel titled, “Strengthening Cultural Diplomacy.” It was moderated by Elliot Gerson Executive Vice President for Policy and Public programs and International Partnerships for the Aspen Institute. My coconspirator on the panel was Sharon Memis, director of the British Council USA. We had the dubious task being the last panel of the forum and right after lunch but with all of the ideas presented, it became a terrific moment to share the sister cities model.

Below you’ll find a snapshot of my comments to on the panel. (One caveat, it’s not a word for word transcript per se, but a firm mix of my prepared remarks, responses to questions, and what I actually remember saying.)

Gerson: We’ve heard from so many different organizations so far during this forum. Yours is yet another intersection for our participants to think about - tell us about Sister Cities International.

Madden: Thank you Elliot, I want to thank the Aspen Institute for including Sister Cities International in this forum and hosting this event. We’ve had a spirited discussion. My brief overview is really for those of you who don’t know about our road signs. Undoubtedly, as you drive throughout Europe or the United States, you’ll see these signs "Sister City of Columbus, Ohio" and so on. In Europe it's known as town twinning. But what do we really do? We are a cultural understanding organization, and in the broadest terms, we are about world peace and life-changing experiences. The first, admittedly, as been rather elusive for us especially the past few years but the latter comes second nature. We have 700 U.S. cities partnered with nearly 2,300 cities abroad in 135 countries. It’s a global network that grown from a simple idea that President Eisenhower had in 1956 – get the diplomats and bureaucrats out of the way and have ordinary citizens travel abroad to experience other cultures – walk the streets, visit the sites, eat the food – and have them come to the United States to experience American culture and they’ll find that we have more in common than we have different. The best ambassadors of our culture and society are our citizens.

We work in four areas: arts and culture, humanitarian assistance, sustainable and economic development and youth and education. The work by our city members are short- and long-term projects, exchanges and public programs – so like one of our speakers mentioned yesterday we are an organization with a role in both external cultural understanding and internal cultural awareness. So you’ll see all types of sister city projects from clean water programs and professional and technical exchanges to bringing a youth choir from South Africa and film or food festivals in the U.S.

I think the power of our network resides with two strengths: First, these are long-term relationships between the communities. We liken them to marriage. The people in the cities really get to know each other, build relationships, have a sense of the other community’s needs and strengths which allows the projects to take a much longer view. The work is two-way not just U.S. outward. Second, it’s the partnership model we use. We are the poster child for public-private partnership with citizens partnering with local government. To get our work done our local programs work with mayors, local government, business, academia, nonprofit and social organizations depending on the project or exchange.

Gerson: We don’t really think about the role of cities in diplomacy. It sounds like your organization sees a role for cities. Tell us more about this concept.

Madden: We’ve heard a great deal at the forum so far about institutional cultural diplomacy – very top-down thinking. Let me make a case for a more bottom-up. Since our beginning we’ve been using the word citizen diplomat to describe our work but more recently I’ve started to describe it as Community Diplomacy. We are a grassroots organization. Citizens are the engine that makes our work happen but the role of communities and cities is changing. What we see at Sister Cities International is a growing power and influence of cities and mayors. Half of the world’s population lives in cities – this is a relatively new phenomenon. Half of those cities are populations under 500,000 – so they aren’t just the megacities. The migration patterns aren’t changing – more people are going to be living in cities. This is an important trend. We are here talking about Culture in Conflict/Culture on the Move – culture and conflict manifest themselves at the local community level and mayors and local government have a tremendous influence on how that culture is treated. Look at war-torn or regions of conflict…it’s cities that provide survival for local citizen and with that, they are responsible for the local culture and traditions. In the U.S. we’ve seen a growing influence of mayors. When our country opted out of Kyoto, the mayors got together and developed a climate protection agreement. I think there are nearly 1,000 mayors in the U.S. who have signed on to it. We’ve seen this in local arts funding as well. At the national level it’s well documented that the U.S. does not have a support system like European countries for the arts, but mayors having been adding funding. They see the value of arts in their communities. If the federal government won’t act, the mayors said, we will. Equally important to note, is mayor are much more accountable to their constituents than national elected officials. So their response, often, is in direct response to citizen needs and interests.

Additionally, I think it’s important to draw youth into this conversation. We heard this morning about the aging of Spain and Japan’s populations but I believe the statistic is 75% of the population of the Middle East is under 30 years old and in a few years almost 60% of individuals living in slums are 18 or under. These are statistics that can’t be ignored if we want culture to flourish. How do we engage youth in this dialogue?

Gerson: We heard a lot of opinions here in the past few days [Laughing.] But is there something that hasn’t been said that you think we should think about in the mix of this event? What’s missing?

Madden: We aren’t going to bomb or invade our way into a new positive world opinion of America. We need all kinds of cultural diplomacy to accomplish this. But, what we haven’t heard is about the positive legacy of the George W. Bush administration. Many of you know that our strategic engagement with the world is known as the three Ds: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development. The last D is one that we don’t hear about or see in front page headlines. In the last 8 years the Bush Administration has doubled the overall funding of aid globally. It has quadrupled aid funding to Africa. This is tremendous. You’ve probably heard of the President’s Malaria Initiative and the AIDS program. The AIDS funding alone is staggering – the most money in world history ever committed to stop the spread of a single disease. Sadly, this is overshadowed by other foreign policy decisions, some of which has been raised earlier in the forum, but my hope for the Obama administration is they not only build on this, but consider reorganizing our Ds – I’d suggest to the transition team: Diplomacy, Development, and Defense.

With the exception of Q&A, this concluded my remarks. Following my comments, Sharon Memis offered an overview of the British Council’s programs and her wisdom to the forum participants. She shared some terrific insight about working strategically especially in partnerships, the value of evaluation, and the idea of working at arms-length from government. The panel was then opened up to Q&A and audience comments.

All in all, it was a tremendous first step to get the key actors in the room. Global voices were heard. Opinions were debated and discussed. A wide variety of approaches were presented and, I think, we saw the richness and the complexity of cultural diplomacy. We are at the beginning of the beginning.

Power of a Partner

A small team of sister cities staff spent most of November 7 at a Partnership Conference hosted by USAID. The 300+ participants (which included international NGOs, community organizations, faith-based organizations, and a variety of representatives from USAID offices) came from across the U.S. and the globe to discuss how nonprofits can partner with each other and with USAID. It was, in large part, an effort to demystify USAID and how to access the agency. It was a good mix of speakers and presentations. As part of the program I had the opportunity to present the Sister Cities story and offer a sneak peek at our Community Connector web portal.

Community Connector is a project of Sister Cities International, made possible with seed funding from USAID, to donors and recipients of aid and expertise. We are taking our twinning of cities model and applying it virtually - to connect those with need with those with resources. I should note that Community Connector (or C2 as we call it) is not about donations and fundraising, per se. This is about “stuff” – medical or office supplies, books, clothing, educational materials, etc. We hope donor individuals and organizations will be able to deliver the exact goods, services, or expertise to the community in need. We are starting with Africa, and specifically in South Africa as a pilot country.

On a panel later in the day, I joined representatives from the US Chamber of Commerce, Marriott International, U.S. Department of State to talk about public-private partnerships how it can work (the ideal…) and how it does work (they are hard work). It was a good moment to show how local programs partner with Rotary on exchanges and projects and how Sister Cities International partners with other national organizations on programs.

All in all, there was a positive response to Sister Cities International and C2 at our booth and in conversation, which bodes well for our new project. The curious minds in the room were thinking about how to start working with local sister city programs. It always impresses me how quickly people see a connection with their work and sister cities. I’m hopeful our efforts will draw interest from organizations and individuals who may become a new class of citizen diplomats for local programs.

Cincinnati Goes to China

Guest Blogger: Carla Walker, Sister Cities International Board Member and Chief of Staff for the Mayor of Cincinnati

On November 6, a delegation of forty travelers from Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, embarked on "The Gardener's Emissary Trip to China." Organized by the Cincinnati Park Board and sponsored by Cincinnati Magazine, the trip highlight is the visit to Liuzhou, China -- one of seven Cincinnati, Ohio Sister Cities. Led by Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, the delegation is scheduled to participate in ceremonies opening the Friendship Park in Liuzhou (a joint project by the Park Departments of Cincinnati and Liuzhou) and celebrate 20 years of a Sister City relations.

First stop -- Beijing!
I thrive in a city atmosphere and was ready to take in everything while in Beijing. Unfortunately, my intake was limited due to extreme jet lag combined with absolute exhaustion from working 7 days a week for the last month.

We arrived Friday evening at Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 -- built for the 2008 Olympics. I was met by one of my best friends who lives here with her family. She had arranged a dinner party for me to meet some of her friends.

I'm not that swift in the kitchen so I watched as Annie, the cook, prepared an egg dish, chicken with cashews and the most amazing green beans I've ever tasted. I dined with neighbors from Tanzania, Germany, and even some Ohioans (Cincinnati and Toledo). I shared news about Cincinnati, our Sister City network and talked about the election. I learned how they met, where they had traveled and their suggestions of best places to eat. It was the perfect ending to my first evening.

That is until I learned my friend (who is a spa fanatic like myself) scheduled a late evening spa appointment for me at Bodhi Sense. A pedicure, back massage and ninety minutes later...then it was the perfect ending to my first evening.

Day 2 - Beijing
Today was really cold and grey -- or I thought it was grey. I couldn't tell if it was overcast or if what I was seeing was the infamous pollution that is a constant companion in the story of Beijing. What ever it was, it didn't stop us or anyone else.

There are more than 17 million residents here with more than 2 million cars. Under a new policy, cars are allowed on roads on different days depending on the last digit of their license.

After running errands, we explored a market. Stepping through the doorway, I was hit with shoes, socks, purses, belts, silk nightshirts, pashminas, hats, paintings, jewelry....anything you want, it's there. I'm a shopper. It's what I do. However, the hundreds of back-to-back mini-stalls with merchandise oozing from every corner was dizzying even to me. These markets are everywhere and if you can bargain, you can have a lot of fun.

We ate at Old Beijing -- one of the places discussed last night where there are only locals. Next to us were five older gentlemen and a woman. They spoke no English but we managed to communicate and toast each other a few times. They graciously showed me another way to hold my chopsticks.

Temple of Heaven was our next stop. The temple, completely made of wood, has had some major renovation and touch ups on a few occasions. What an active and vibrant place. There were groups and crowds gathered in different areas. Some sang the national anthem. Some offered their version of opera. Some played cards or hackeysac. Some were having tea and a snack. All I could do was walk around in absolute awe and soak up the energy of that ancient, ornate, brightly colored beautiful structure.

Coming Next: The Great Wall and Shanghai

Sister Cities at UN Habitat's World Urban Forum

Guest Blogger: Jim Doumas, Executive Vice President, Sister Cities International

I write today at the conclusion of the fourth session of the UN Habitat's World Urban Forum (WUF 4) in Nanjing, China. The theme of the forum was “Harmonious Urbanization” and how to integrate social, economic and environmental sustainable development into urban planning. If WUF 4 did nothing else, it certainly reinforced the fact that the world is at a tipping point particularly as it comes to the environment. Rapid urbanization is exacerbating a carbon gas crisis that threatens our very near future. The climate catastrophes that we have been reading about are no longer in the “future” but rather in our immediate future if we do not find a way to answer key issues associated with rapid urbanization. This coupled with the issues of poverty, homelessness and other negatives associated with rapid urbanization were the fodder assigned to the delegate discussions.

WUF 4 was attended by representatives from every country in the world which demonstrates the issue’s importance as a global crisis. Also, the eco-environment protection theme was accentuated in Nanjing as each day the air pollution of the city suffocated the delegates on our way to and from the forum. China has almost half its population (nearly 590 million people) living in urban communities and estimates suggest that this number will continue to increase by 10 million a year as we proceed deeper into the 21st century. Large population drifts from rural to urban areas are occurring everywhere on the planet and in many instances quality of life is not necessarily improving. In Uganda, Africa, for example, urbanization has not led to the end of poverty. Issues regarding homelessness and the lack of adequate land use are exacerbating the population surge.

Representing Sister Cities International, I had the opportunity to discuss our community in two seminar presentations. The first was a discussion on the importance of and how to engage private citizens in urban sustainable development with Duane Kissick from AECOM International, as well as an overview of the upcoming Global Mayors Forum in China next fall. The second presentation was a panel discussion regarding comprehensive planning on urban development with the International Centre for Sustainable Cities of Canada and the International Mayors Communication Centre of China.

How can Sister Cities International become more a part of the solution? In every session I attended as well as the two sessions that I presented in, there were many solutions discussed ranging from the need to implement broad sweeping social justice changes to existing laws, to technological and sustainable development programs that ensure adequate protection of our earth’s eco-system. Regardless of the idea discussed, in each case, the underlying theme for successful completion of a solution required the unilateral support of entire communities, governments, businesses, local nongovernmental organizations, and grassroots leaders.

Sister Cities International and its grassroots network are uniquely positioned to bring all of these players to the table. Our community has also proven, through the existence of successful sustainable development projects, a proven track record. Our conduit for peace, mutual respect, and understanding is an important piece of the puzzle as a change generator for urban sustainable development.

At a world forum focused on quality of life issues and our planet’s survival over the next decade, it was a pleasure to introduce and highlight our community to attendees as a viable source to facilitate many of the ideas that were brought to the table.

Reflecting on the Future

Today's a big day for the future. Irrespective of what side of the political aisle you sit on, the future of America's foreign policy and impact across the globe will be decided. This may seem like an overstatement, but quite frankly it's not. This business of "America's role in the world" is serious. In recent days, I've read punditry about how during the Clintonian 90s the world was bothered by America's hubris - yet, they (aka "the rest of the world") really have a problem with the past 8 years of America's engagement with the world. In another breath I'm reading about the impact of U.S.'s dramatic increase in funding for international development under this administration. In Africa alone it's quadrupled, which has some parts of the continent buzzing. Hypocritical? Yea probably, but it does demonstrate the value America - and Americans - bring to the world.

War, peace, aid, terrorism, diplomacy, global partnerships: the to-do list abroad is long for the next President. Every Presidential election is important. But, with so many massive issues to grapple with, this one feels like the country is looking at the future just a bit more closely.

Mission-driven in Crisis

By Guest Blogger: Michael Hyatt, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sister Cities International

Getting ready to go for two weeks in South Africa in the middle of the worst financial times since the “Great Depression” is beginning to seem quite challenging. Having looked forward to the Partnership and Peace Tour for over a year, I now wonder about the consequences of being away. However it appears the entire world is affected by this crisis and I’m anxious to see how we handle it.

In Egypt last year I was able to meet local, state and national officials who recognize the need for world peace in settings one can only dream about. On one occasion we visited with the Governor of Aswan over coffee late at night floating on the Nile. Our military backgrounds gave us a common base for our discussions while we talked about the need for peace and their efforts to locate a sister city relationship (One objective achieved: Aswan is now partnered with Sonoma, CA.).

Having been to South Africa before, I’m looking forward to meeting officials and bringing our message to them. Now more than ever, the need for Sister Cities International is evident. Trying times in the world brings the need for unity in order to find the solution. Governments are now working together to bring the markets back to an orderly fashion, yet my sister city friends from Swaziland have contacted me and asked me to bring information, policies and strategies from Fort Worth to help them. I’ll be meeting with the United States Ambassador, local officials and members of the Swaziland Parliament to let them know what we are doing that will ultimately help them.

Times aren’t easy but neither is our mission. I know the efforts we expend on these trips will be repaid many times.

The Unwitting Citizen Diplomat

You’d be stunned at the number of organizations who commit their livelihood to world peace. It’s amazing to me with all these smart people thinking, talking, writing, meeting, strategizing about world peace, you’d think we would have figured it out by now. That said, I’ll leave the big brains to their work and raise one side of peace movement you don’t hear enough about: citizen diplomats.

What’s a citizen diplomat, you ask? (You aren’t alone.) It’s not one thing, it’s many things (this is the problem.) Simply put, it is average citizens who find a way to connect us to the rest of the world and connect the world us. Anyone can qualify. You don’t need to be a Rhodes scholar or a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department. You need to be curious about other people, places, and cultures. Note: I said you don’t need to be an expert–just be open to the journey. So what does that mean – here’s a few ideas of things you can do:

--Surf the internet for global news about countries you’ve never heard of or don’t know where they are (…but don’t do this until you finish reading my blog)
--Volunteer for the German beer festival (or just attend and try the beer!)
--Hold a book club meeting in your house to discuss a book with an international bent
--Speak a foreign language
--Host a foreign exchange student
--Get a passport
--Encourage a college student to study abroad
--Attend a world music concert
--Go to a lecture about a different culture
--Speak at your local elementary school about a country you’ve been to
--Patron a local company owned or run by immigrants
--Take a vacation abroad

This last one is worth an experience...on a recent ride from the airport to my hotel. I was the only passenger in a shuttle van and I had the Chatty Cathy driver. His bio: your very average Midwestern, polite man in his upper 70s. We talked sports, politics, the economy, and vacations (it was a long ride). This man has been a retired police officer for more than 20 years. His voice energized as he told about his favorite vacations, a notable cruise to Alaska was a highlight. I mentioned traveling to Belfast and Northern Ireland if he hadn’t been yet. He paused, glanced at me and proceeded to rattle off an armload of countries he and his wife had visited on vacations—and they weren’t your usual American in Paris moment. The safari in Kenya was memorable, the boat ride in China was fun, and so on and so on. He also told me how be brags about his trips to his friends he meets every morning at McDonalds to yak (his word not mine.)

What a great citizen diplomat he was and he didn’t even know it. I’m not sure why I tagged him as a typical American uninterested in the world. Just another reminder, there is no single profile of these quiet peace workers. We come in all shapes, sizes, colors, educational backgrounds, quirks, and opinions. I can’t think of a better citizen diplomat to send abroad, but the best part: he was having a ball with life. What else can you ask for?

Interested in learning more about citizen diplomacy? Visit our website, www.sister-cities.org or www.uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org.

Pride in Peace

I spent last week in Belfast, Northern Ireland preparing for the 2009 Sister Cities International Conference. What a place and what a story. With half Irish blood, I thought I had a fairly good understanding of “The Troubles” (as they are so eloquently called there.) Understanding The Troubles and talking to people who experienced The Troubles are two different animals. Ten years after the Good Friday Agreement it is stunning how many symbols of the violence remain in and around Belfast— such as peace walls, murals, and country flags in fronts yards. This surprised me. The outward expression seemed dated based on how wonderful I had heard things were going.

In part, it is important to remember and reflect on where you’ve been as a society and where you want to go. This manifests itself in visual icons fro some. No one was asking another person to give up who they are or their cultural heritage. But, what was striking, was the dialogue around where Northern Ireland is now. Everyone I spoke to perked up when they spoke about the status of the negotiated peace. “That’s behind us… did you see all the construction in downtown Belfast?” “We have changed our school and youth service structure. Before you could grown up, get a job, and live your life without ever meeting someone from the “other side,” I don’t think that exists now.”

As you dig more, of course like any citizen, people have frustrations with the national government. For example, the Executive (the First Minister/Deputy First Minister offices and agencies) hadn’t met in months and it was holding up important funding legislation. I thought to myself, that sounds very familiar.

But what told the story in a more striking fashion was the nonverbal communication – everyone smiled, stood more upright, looked me determinedly in the eyes. There was a sense that they had weathered the storm and the wind was at their back.

Symbol of Peace

Someone recently asked me about peace poles. A Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth,” usually in a different language on each side. The message is referred to as a peace prayer. There are more than 200,000 peace poles on every continent. The Peace Pole Project was started in Japan by The World Peace Prayer Society in 1955, shortly after World War II, by Masahisa Goi.

Are they still relevant? Absolutely! Read about Rockford (IL) Sister Cities Peace Garden, which was dedicated on September 21 this year with a peace pole.

(Historical sources: Wikipedia and the World Peace Prayer Society.)

Taking Action on the International Day of Peace

As we approach September 21 -- the International Day of Peace, individuals and organizations are working feverishly toward world peace around the world. I came across a nice opinion peace by Kurt Pinette of The Clock in Portsmouth, NH - read the story.

Not sure what you can do for the International Day of Peace? I've got a simple idea - how about a pinwheel? Pinwheels for Peace is a fantastic global project organized that takes a childhood symbol and uses it to remind us of our need to work toward world peace. Do you remember how to make a pinwheel? Read more about the project. Maybe a school in your community is participating in their campaign.


Question of the Day: What will you do to advance world peace on September 21?

Breaking the Cycle of Violence - Light at the End of a Dark Tunnel

By Guest Blogger: Erica Sewell, Youth & Education Program Manager for Sister Cities International

We live in a society where acts of violence have become all too common. Watching the evening news has become a never ending horror movie. Person A was murdered and in retaliation Person B was murdered. The cycle of violence has become a tit for tat. When I look at all the violent acts that have been committed one always stands out not because it was unbelievably gruesome but because it offers a glimpse of hope. In October of 2006 Charles Carl Roberts IV walked into an Amish one room school house in Nickel Mine, PA and took the life of ten young girls before taking his own. The killings at the Amish schoolhouse were horrendous and the question of why and how could someone take the lives of these innocent young girls haunted me. What has been surprising (and to many incomprehensible) has been the Amish community’s reaction to the shootings. The Amish community did not speak of retaliation or of suing the Roberts family but rather embraced the widow of the killer by inviting her to the funerals. Even the grandfather of one of the slain girls was urging people to forgive Charles Roberts.

What lessons can the world learn from the Amish community’s act of forgiveness? The Amish community’s reaction was very powerful because their words illustrated how a cycle of violence can be broken by the act of forgiveness. There is Buddhist saying that “words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” To me this means that words are like a double-edged sword; they can either incite violence or advocate for peace. The Amish community’s reaction to the shootings provides me with hope and proves that acts of revenge are not the only option in the face of adversity or violence. For me that was a very powerful life lesson.

Question of the Day: How else do you think we can stop the cycle of violence?

Blog Posts from 2007

Blogs Postings from 2007 - REPOSTED
In an effort to consolidate a couple of different blog sources. I'm reposting all my postings from 2007 in this post. Scroll away!

'Tis the Season - 12/22/07

Sister Cities International welcomes your year-end contribution. Whether you believe we help shape world peace or you are an avid support of the power of exchange to change a young person's view on the world - you can give today.

Why We Do What We Do - 12/17/07

Sister Cities International launched an online video and giving campaign today. This is not just for believers in our movement but we welcome converts as well. Take a look.

Future Partnership & Peace Tours Announced - 11/16/08

With our Egypt trip beginning to fade and give-way to the realities of office life, Sister Cities International is proud to announce to Partnership & Peace travel programs for 2008.

In mid-March we will take a delegation to Israel and Jordan. In November 2008 we will take a group to South Africa. As with our previous tours, the number of people per trip will be limited to ensure the best experience from a travel and program perspective. If you have any interest in either tour, visit our Partnership & Peace travel program webpage.

Exhausted But Home - 11/3/07

The return trip isn't exactly like hopping the shuttle from DC to NYC, but the Cairo-New York City trip provided some time to reflect on the 10-day journey. Anticipating the questions from friends and family about the trip, I've decided on my one piece of advice: experience Egypt. This isn't a country living off its ancient greatness, but a rich, living culture and welcoming people with a heritage that happens to date back to the beginning of civilization.

Shopping: Egyptian-style - 11/2/07

It's not exactly death by shopping, but our delegation got a much needed break this afternoon in anticipation of our return to the States. This group of savvy citizen diplomats descended on the Khan El-Khalili bazaar prepared for some serious haggling with the vendors, craftsmen, and shop owners.

Business Interests - 11/1/07

(Find Cairo - Learn About Business in Egypt)

This afternoon we met with the American Chamber of Commerce Egypt. This session offered participants an insight into the commerce and business trends in Egypt as well as opportunities for investment in Egypt and Egyptian businesses interested in America.

"Wow Moment" on the Mediterranean - 10/31/07

(Find Alexandria - Learn About Alexandria)

We made it north to Alexandria, the birthplace of knowledge and the home of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the city known as the Pearl of the Mediterranean. This morning we soaked in the stunning new Alexandria Library. A facility with ancient legacy, this new building gracefully rises from the edge of the Mediterranean in the shape of a sun. The architectural elements are elegant, utilitarian, and distinct. The building if cleverly connected to the Alexandria University through a bridge of knowledge that starts on campus, moves through the library grounds and ends cantilevered over the sea boulevard with a stunning panoramic view of the Mediterranean and the city coastline. This is Egypt's gift of to the world.

After a tour of the building, we met with one of the librarians for a Q&A that covered everything from collections to educational outreach and financial support. This was followed by a power lunch with presentations by:
• Sahar Hamouda (Deputy Director of the Alexandria & Mediterranean Research Center at the library)
• Mohiba Abdel-Salam (Member of the Alexandria-Baltimore Sister Cities committee)
• Justin Siberell (Director of the U.S. State Department's American Center Alexandria)
• Ambassador Ali Maher (Director, Institute for Peace Studies at the library)
A terrific line up that led our group to engage the speakers in a fruitful Q&A session and some potential partnerships for local sister city programs.

The Smile That Says It All - 10/30/07

(Find Aswan - Learn About Aswan)

During our time in Aswan I was struck by the disposition of its people. Our guide told us to look for the Aswan smile. No matter the job or the situation, the Aswan people are known for the warm hearts, friendly personality, and kind gestures. Even the brief time we spent in Aswan, I witnessed it and felt it from children playfully skipping down the street to shop owners. Aswan is the gem of southern Egypt.

The Next Egyptian Sister City? - 10/30/

(Find Aswan - Learn About Aswan)

Our Nile River cruise concluded this evening with a heartfelt presentation by the Governor of Aswan Samir Youssef outlined the current cultural, business, political situation in Aswan. He took questions from the group that ranged from city infrastructure to his philosophy on citizen diplomacy.

He finished by asking for consideration and assistance in finding a sister city for Aswan. He thinks this partnership would be remarkable for the city and for the U.S.

Celebrating 25 Years of Sister Cities in Egypt - 10/27/07

(Find Luxor - Learn About Luxor)

Our delegation took some time this evening to honor our strongest relationship in Egypt: Baltimore-Luxor. Hosted by the chair of the Luxor sister city committee at his hotel, we enjoyed a light reception with traditional Egyptian music and good friends from Luxor. Sister Cities representatives from Baltimore were on hand for the celebration, including Renee Samuels from the Mayor's office in Baltimore and Abdelwahab Elabd the head of the Baltimore-Alexandria Sister Cities committee.

The Governor of Luxor was to join us at the reception but was delayed in transit from Cairo, but to our surprise he sought our delegation out later in the evening at the grandiose Luxor Temple where he shared is feelings on the sister city relationship and a photo opp.

Good Morning, Moses -10/27/07

Day one on the Nile river cruise portion of the trip ? No less than a half dozen folks shared the same impression this morning as one woke up on the Nile: It's stunningly peaceful and Biblical in vision. Breathtaking.

After absorbing a few days of the enormity of the ancient Egyptian monuments, temples, and tombs, it is a stunning glide down the river. The scope, scale, and impact of the ancient Egyptian people are truly astonishing. History books don't do it justice.

When Do We Rest? - 10/26/07

(Find Cairo - Learn About Cairo)

Whoa - I'm already looking for a moment to catch my breath. We hit the ground yesterday afternoon with a city tour on the way to the hotel from the airport followed by some time to adjust to the time zone (read: nap), then we were off to an event hosted by the American Embassy in Cairo where we met a snapshot of Cairo's educational, business, political, and cultural leaders. Ambassador Riccardone had high praise for the impact citizen exchanges has on their diplomatic work. Much appreciation to Haynes Mahoney (Cultural Attache to the Embassy) who hosted and event at his home.

Today was a step back in time visiting Giza and the pyramids. This is when my lack of ancient history started to shine. This is a good moment to note our Abercrombie & Kent Guides and Egyptologists: Walid El Batouty and Mohamed Osama. We can already tell these guys are pros.

Who Goes to Egypt? - 10/25/07

I thought it might be of interest for blog followers to know who exactly signed up for our trip. In my mind it's a perfect example of sister cities' membership: we have two elected officials, a few business executives, a handful of teachers, and a group of community activists. Read the names and cities represented on this trip.

New York Introduction - 10/24/07

Today the journey began in New York's JFK airport. Jenny Oliver, our Islamic Partnership Initiative Program Manager, and I met 42 fellow travelers for the 2007 Partnership & Peace Tour to Egypt. The agenda is full with highlights including two stops in Cairo as well as visits to Luxor, Aswan, and Alexandria.

I can sense the excitement and curiosity within the group. We have some veteran Partnership & Peace tour participants so they'll help us (and me!) figure our way along side our tour operators partners Abercrombie & Kent.

Our Partnership & Peace Travel Program has three purposes: to educate American community leaders and to drive interest in establishing new sister city partnerships in the destination country, and reinvigorating existing partnerships.

Egypt enjoys five sister city partnerships:
• Cleveland-Alexandria (est. 1977)
• Baltimore-Luxor (est. 1982)
• New York City-Cairo (est. 1982)
• Los Angeles-Giza (est. 1989)
• Baltimore-Alexandria (est. 2004)
We'll be visiting these sites during the trip and others that are seeking sister city partnerships. As a benchmark since the Morocco Partnership & Peace Tour in spring 2006, Morocco has seen five new partnerships created.

We'll see where things lead!


Thank You - 10/13/07

Thank you, Phoenix. I'm just easing into an airplane seat leaving Arizona and reflecting on the past three days. Not only did Phoenix deliver outstanding weather, but the Board of Directors wrapped up a successful fall Leadership Meeting. Over 30 board members, state coordinators, and honorary board members were on hand in Phoenix. The board spent a day and a half in work sessions covering the Strategic Plan, By-Laws, the FY08 Operating Plan and Budget (presented by yours truly) and committee meetings in addition to the official meeting.

One important outcome of the official meeting is the addition of Nancy Huppert and Len Olender to the Honorary Board. Two very committed individuals to Sister Cities International.

Kudos to Paula West and her Phoenix Sister Cities colleagues for hosting a terrific event. Next Stop for the Leadership Meeting: March 28-29, 2008-Washington, DC.

Extraordinary - 9/24/07

Extraordinary. That's the only word that covers our just-announced Partnership & Peace Tour to South Africa and the region. Working closely with Safari Ventures as our tour partner, this trip promises to unforgettable as we visit Cape Town, Johannesburg, and much more... Read the details of the itinerary and register!


Mea Culpa - 9/7/07

Ok, yes, yes I've fallen way behind in my postings by the blog arena standards. My apologies to faithful readers - are any of you still there? After a well-earned vacation to recharge my batteries and the close of the summer, I hope the following posts (which were authored way as far back as July) will whet your appetite and restore your interest in returning to read more this fall.

The Iraqis Are Here - 7/30/07

The Iraqis are here. This is what we're all about. Reaffirming my belief that we are in the life-changing business - here's a firsthand case study.

Sister Cities International is hosting 22 Iraqi high school students in the U.S for for a powerful month-long program. I had just a glimmer of opportunity to intersect with them as they spent the first few days in DC. I want to mention "H." He's one particular student I had to chance to talk more at length with after their formal program ended for the day. (Why "H"?- Well, of course I can't use his real name for safety reasons, but more importantly because it sounds like a good nickname for a Hollywood spy or action hero, doesn't it? I think he'll approve.) "H" encapsulated the curiosity, energy, excitement, intelligence of all the students but I had the chance to be quizzed by him covering all subjects. They have some idea of what they are in for but more impressively I am 'wowed' by their parents and families for taking the risk on their future. From this short conversation with "H', I can tell this: this program will change their lives forever and change the world. I don't know which one(s) will be future political leaders, doctors, educators, diplomats, scientists, but I do know they will help us change the world and their country's future for the better.

After this all-too-short chance to get to know the students, I wanted to pack my bags and follow them for a month to soak in their experience through their eyes. I can tell it's going to be special for them and us.

The Torch Passes - 7/25/07

No conference would be complete without the time-honored passing of the torch with our Board of Directors. This year we recognized a handful of retiring board members: Steve Bienke, Ann Geiger, Jo Moskowitz, Saidi Moussadaq, Kathleen Roche-Tansey, Bill Stafford and Jean van BuskirkWe welcome the return of Mimi Barker, Michael Hyatt, Jason Hibner, Nathaniel Hibner, and the addition of Carlo Capua, Bill Evans, Ron Gossett, Deirdra Nelson, Kay Sargent, Maria del Rosario Velasco, and Paula West.

This is your leadership. Be in touch with them. If you have ideas, questions, concerns you can email or call them at any time. They welcome it.

Catch Your Breath Here Comes Sister Cities - 7/24/07

Whoa, what a conference! Amassing more than 500+ sister city missionaries in one location is a rush.

Saturday marked the end of the 2007 Annual Conference in Fort Lauderdale and my first experience with the membership in one place at one time. South Florida oozed with passion and energy for our cultural understanding mission. Ideas abound and tons of dialogue about our future and the future of the globe.

Highlights for me included: the Friday keynote speak Salman Ahmed (Founder of Junoon. I'm guessing we don't usually have a rock star and movie star speak to our crowd. He was well received for his work bridging the Muslim and western world), sneaking into workshop sessions (I attempted to pop-in to as many sessions as possible, and I heard some fantastic shared stories and experiences - we plan to post some of the notes on our website in the coming months), and the Kansas City beach party warm-up for 2008 (What a terrific evening with the ocean breeze. Did you download the Save-the-Date postcard? If not, go ahead and do so now so you can save $25 on registration.)

I want to offer my sincere appreciation to Nuccia McCormick, an endless source of energy and hope for the volunteer corps in Fort Lauderdale. Thank you Nuccia, on behalf of the membership for all you did for us.

Citizen Diplomacy: 2057 - 6/11/07

The 2007 Annual Conference in Fort Lauderdale is upon us. The office is abuzz with staff interns putting the final touches on what will be a sun-filled gathering centered on our role in creating world peace over the next 50 years. We have a number of events planned to connect or reconnect with peers, workshops to explorethe latest trends in economic development, youth programs, and of course, plenty of time to view your colleagues? best practices. Have you seen the latest schedule?

I want to highlight our two keynote speakers who are sure to get the attendees thinking-our opening plenary Antonia Neubauer, founder and chairperson of READ Global. READ Global is U.S.-based nonprofit organization to improve the world-one country, one village, one individual at a time - using an asset based community development approach with library community centers at the hub. Our other plenary speaker is Salman Ahmad, a Pakistani doctor by training and a rock musician by profession. Ahmad has been featured in two documentaries and toured the U.S. performing and speaking about peace and cultural understanding. You can check out his films on YouTube.

These are two sessions that will be sure to inspire and motivate. After the conference I want your thoughts on Sister Cities See you in Florida!


Norfolk Sets Sail with Power Event - 06/14/07

This past week the Norfolk Sister Cities Association in Virginia hosted a winner economic development symposium. The concept for the Global Symposium was to bring together representatives from all six of their sister cities (in the end, three cities were able to attend the event) to stimulate innovative collaboration. Who else better suited to do this than the local sister city program?

This was a power event, if I've ever seen one. The mayor, numerous city council representatives, and high profile business figures were on hand throughout the events. The opening day (of a multi-day, multi-site event) was packed with informational presentations by leading figures from the community. Higher education, law enforcement, tourism, work force development, and so forth were all line up to participate. And that was just the first day.

If your sister city program is looking to curry favor with your mayor's office, city manager, or city council - this is a terrific model on three fronts:

1. It stirs interest with the economic development folks, business leaders, and your usual community partners who always like to ask, "what have you done for me lately?"

2. It serves as a fantastic opportunity for sister city leaders to bring together all of your partner communities at the same time to discuss our mission for a more peaceful world and how you might work toward a multilateral sister city project or program.

3. It will ignite your volunteer base. Nothing like being on the front of the newspaper or hosting events where all of the leading community figures are engaged with a sister cities program to stir up some energy.

If you are interested in learning more, I suggest contacting Ralph Nahra, the board chair, or Executive Director Pamela McNaught who hosted the event. This is a stellar model for our network to look at. Job well done, Norfolk.


Creative Diversity - Diverse Creativity - 05/17/07

This evening I will participate in a panel discussion hosted to celebrate the upcoming UN-declared 'World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.' The event is hosted by Arts For Global Development, [Art4Development.Net] an international organization based in the Washington area that uses creative programs and projects for social change, and works to empower socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and communities worldwide, particularly children, youth, and women.

The panel, titled Creative Diversity - Diverse Creativity: A Dialogue on Arts, Cultural Exchange, and Social Development will feature speakers from George Mason University, VSA Arts, Women in Film and Video, International Visions Gallery, as well as Sister Cities International. The panelist are asked to focus their presentations on values of artistic and cultural diversity, the importance of individuality/cultural identity, and the role of arts in creating cross-cultural dialogue and building local-global communities. Below you'll find my remarks.

Creative Diversity - Diverse Creativity Panel Remarks
Artomatic - Arlington, VA
5/17/07

Good evening. I am pleased to be a part of this conversation on behalf of Sister Cities International. Sister Cities International is network of communities and individuals whose mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation one community and individual at a time.

In my mind we are in the "life-changing experience" business. I'll get to that in a minute.

We work at the municipal level with mayors, city officials, community leaders, and businesses to advance cultural understanding and stimulate economic development. It started in 1956 by then-President Eisenhower with an idea to create a citizen diplomacy network outside of the government's formal diplomatic channels, where "regular U.S. citizens" would meet "regular citizens" in other countries to learn about their culture, history, and way of life to build cross-cultural understanding. We have grown into a global network of more than 2,500 communities in 134 countries in long-term dialogue.

To give you an example here locally, Alexandria, VA is partnered with cities in Scotland, Armenia, France and Sweden. Arlington, VA is matched with towns in Mexico, Germany, France and El Salvador and the list goes on - Washington, DC for example is partnered with 10 cities. Maryland has 14 cities paired with 36 cities globally.

Sister Cities member communities were tying the world together long before the internet or it was cool to talk about how we are all part of a global conversation or global economy.

If you don't know Sister Cities, your traditional concept may be teacher and student exchanges or artist exchanges, but in 2007 sister city programs have stretched the initial concept to include robust economic and sustainable development projects, humanitarian assistance programs, arts and culture, as well as youth and education. Through it all, the arts and cultural exchanges are a bedrock activity for many local programs. Using the arts to move beyond language barriers, economic and social differences or religious stereotypes for that matter is a powerful tool for understanding. Our member communities host performances of artists from their sister city. Those artists may host community forums, teach workshops in schools or other outreach programs, other programs include: city-wide cultural festivals or food festivals. (The culinary arts do count!)

For sister cities the most important element is the people to people exchange. We believe that going to the country, tasting the food, walking the streets, being hosted in someone's home, visiting the historical sites, witnessing the everyday cultural norms is how you best experience, understand and respect other cultures.

This is why we are in the "life-changing experience" business.

A good deal of our arts programming at Sister Cities International focuses on youth. We have testimony from student after student who came to the United States but left the country with a completely different understanding of the depth of American society and in their words the exchange was a "life-changing experience." We feel it is critical to expand the thinking of a younger generation and provide more access to other cultures. Technology is obviously helping breakdown physical barrier of distance, but as we all know, mass media controls the message to us and shapes the message outside of our country.

With this audience, I know I am preaching to the choir - but compare watching a music performance on TV and experiencing a music performance from the 5 row. Look at a Monet at a museum in Paris and looking a postcard of a Monet. The in-person, face-to-face experience captures your mind in a more powerful way that through another medium. I'm not suggesting that film, TV, DVDs, are not important channels for access, shared knowledge and understanding but the tie to sister cities is the people to people exchange.

This summer, along side our annual conference, we will host our 5th annual youth conference and the theme is "Building Peace through the Arts." High school students from around the globe will descend on Ft Lauderdale (not a bad location for a youth conference?) and work with artists in hands-on workshops, perform traditional arts for each other. Most importantly, they build lasting friendships.

Our second signature arts program is the annual Young Artist Showcase, which invites high school-aged students to submit visual artworks into a competition. The winners are placed in an exhibit that tours the country. This is a way for us to share up-and-coming artistic talent from around the world.

Often the arts can communicate and express so much more than words. I can share one personal experience from a trip to Russia I took in high school. Our jazz band had performed at a conservatory in then-Leningrad. Some of the Russian students wanted to perform for us, so they took the stage and started playing. We knew the tune, so we jumped back on stage and joined them. In a series of solos, if you know jazz terms - "trading fours" where each soloists plays for four measures and then the next soloist plays four measures and basically, they try and out-do each other with their solos. So I took a turn on the piano, my counterpart did, then I did and so on. We never spoke a word, but just smiled, laughed, and nudged each other as we played. When we left we thought, wow, hey they can swing in Russia, that's pretty cool. It was one of the most rewarding musical experiences of my life.

In short, the arts have a very important role in the work of Sister Cities International and in cross cultural understanding. I welcome you questions or comments on our work during the Q&A session. Thank you.


Looking forward! - 4/19/07

Just three items to draw your attention to that you won't want to miss.

The Young Artists Showcase deadline is quickly approaching-April 30! Do you know any 13-18 year-old artists who are who are inspired by Sister Cities? If so send them to www.sister-cities.org/sci/sciprograms/yap/index to find out about this year's program.

If you have always wanted to travel to Egypt, we have the trip for you. Visit our Partnership & Peace Tour webpage for details on our October 2007 trip. This isn't the traditional travel abroad trip. We will, of course, see all of the historical sites you would expect, but Sister Cities International has developed a series receptions, visits, and meetings that tie to our mission and makes it a real one-of-a-kind experience. To read more about it, click on the pyramids on our home page.

Do you have youth participating in your sister cities program? Sponsor them for our 2007 Youth Conference in Fort Lauderdale. This gathering runs at the same time as our Annual Conference but is designed for youth (15-19 year olds) and its theme will weave arts, culture and discussion of cross-cultural dialogue with time on the beach. Find out the full details visit our home page and click on the sandy banner!

Waging Peace - 3/30/07

The past three days I participated in the launch one of our new initiatives in Lyon, France, called Waging Peace. Funded by a special grant from the U.S. Department of State, the goal of Waging Peace is to bring together U.S. and French communities to discuss how cities and towns in each country deal with marginalized communities. The communities that participated in the 2-day session were:

• Charlotte, NC & Limoges
• Louisville, KY & Montpellier
• St. Louis, MO & Lyon
• Los Angeles, CA & Bordeaux

The first step for participants was drawing an understanding of each country's political and policy framework, which proved to be a bit vexing at times since there was healthy disagreement on how to describe the current state of affairs. With this baseline information, participants really dove-in on issues, such as immigrant citizens (and non-citizens), minorities, low- and middle-income families, as well as ethnic, gender, and religious communities. The break-out sessions focused on how each community handles intercultural dialogue, education, public safety, and employment with the goal of drawing out the best practices from both sides of the ocean, providing a list of ideas to test, and establishing a new network of friends to help with this work. The next phase of the program allows twinned cities to participate in exchanges and follow up with an action plan of projects that may help foster better integration of marginalized communities.

The Sister Cities staff will be providing more tangible information to all members in the next few weeks about the Lyon meeting as well as regular updates as the program progresses. It is important to me that we find ways to share this type of valuable information with the entire network so the full membership can learn from the lively discussions.

As we start to organize the details of the outcomes, I thought I would start by including my opening remarks to the delegation. This will give you a sense of how I framed the dialogue between countries and among communities.

Opening Remarks for Waging Peace Conference
Delivered by Patrick Madden, Executive Director, Sister Cities International
Lyon, France, 3/29/07

"Thank you for those thoughtful words. My special appreciation to the Deputy Mayor of Lyon and his staff here who have worked to make this seminar happen. I need to share my gratitude to Cities Unies FRANCE as our intercontinental partner in all of this as well as Angie Bryan U.S. Consul in Lyon, her Cultural Delegate Alain Beullard, and Brent Beamer from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State who helped fund this event. We appreciate their support of Waging Peace as well as their annual support of Sister Cities International. I want to recognize Sister Cities members who earned their travel miles from Charlotte, Louisville, Los Angeles, and St Louis and the French sister cities' delegations who came from near and far. Also, my personal appreciation to our Board Member, Enda Brennan, who is with us.

None of this would have been possible without the efforts of Sarah Grausz and Lynn Olson from the Sister Cities staff. Thank you both.

Sister Cities is a powerful global network of more than 2,500 community partnerships in 137 countries. We have 700 U.S. communities that are working tirelessly to tie the world together with peace.

The Sister Cities movement was started in the late 1950s as a way to work outside of formal government channels, and President Eisenhower's idea was to bring citizens together directly to learn from each other and to build respect, understanding, and cooperation across nations and cultures. And ultimately, build peace. This Waging Peace seminar is a modern-day edition of this important legacy.

The title expresses a great deal to me - Waging Peace - this is an active verb which challenges us to bring an open and thoughtful energy to the discussion.

As most of you know the United States does not have flawless record of handling minority cultures within our borders. You may be familiar with the words Cherokee, Iroquois, Seminole. These are just a few of the Native American Indian cultures that were practically pushed to extinction in our country's earliest days. Better known is slave. Which became freed, and later colored became black, which eventually became African American. All these terms describe different generational thinking, different levels of cultural acceptance, and all words laced with various levels of prejudice and intolerance. Ultimately, they represent a search and a struggle for a few common words that represent differences...differences as basic as skin color.

Despite being a melting pot of the world, decade after decade throughout American history, citizens grappled with this challenge. America in 2007 is no different. "Immigrant" and "1st generation" populations struggle for a voice and identity in our communities. And, in some cases, it is a struggle for rights, fair treatment, and respect. Some U.S. cities and towns embrace and celebrate these differences. A few of those cities are with us for this seminar. Other communities ignore them. It is the latter environment where misunderstanding and mistrust lead to strife and discrimination.

It is not an easy time to say: we believe people can understand each other, and peace is possible. We live in a world where nations struggle to understand each other, yet here you are - having traveled hundreds or thousands of miles- committed to the advancement of a cross-cultural dialogue.

We have so much to learn from each other. I see this gathering as a jumping off point - not just for the Waging Peace program, but a larger effort among our communities toward finding practical solutions. Let's focus on what's working - and, based on what I heard last night at our event, there is plenty working!

Sister Cities International challenges you to identify the "a-ha" moments and the "oh my" moments. Both will be important for our collective progress. On behalf of Sister Cities International, we are honored to further this dialogue which really speaks to our mission: to foster mutual understanding, one individual and one community at a time. Thank you."


Gathering with Your Leaders - Posted: 3/16/07

This past weekend the staff and I had the pleasure of hosting the spring leadership meeting here in Washington, DC. The Board of Directors led by Mae Fergeson from Ft. Worth, the State Coordinators and the Honorary Board arrived on Thursday evening for a full weekend of training, discussions, and briefings on the state of the sister cities network. What a group of inspired leaders.

After Friday's committee meetings, the Board launched its dialogue in a work study session on Saturday morning where various governance, the conference and fundraising issues were discussed at length, which was followed by the formal board meeting in the afternoon.

A few of the topics include: the legislative initiative (Sister Cities' initial effort to secure direction funding for our exchanges is looking positive), the draft 2006 audit (a good report from our audit firm), the 2007 budget (it is on track as expected), as well as the announcement of the next Partnership & Peace tour to Egypt in late October (watch for more details on our website in two weeks). More details from the meeting can be found in the minutes which will be posted in April.

The highlight of the weekend was the chance to talk one-on-one with so many individuals who have been involved with the sister cities network - some for decades. Learning their personal stories and history gives me great insight into the organization. I noted more than once over the weekend that many national and international nonprofits would be jealous of the organized infrastructure we already have established. This signals, to me, that good things are on the horizon. I'm eager to jump in and roll up my sleeves.


First Impressions - Posted: 3/2/07

I am delighted to launch my tenure as the new Executive Director of Sister Cities International. With personal and professional international experiences that have left a deep impression on my life, I believe I can articulate the powerful impact of our members' work. Over the first two weeks I was able to delve into our programs, become more familiar with staff and spend time on Capitol Hill with other advocates urging Congress to increase funding for the Department of State exchange program.

As an organization with such a storied history, it's an exciting challenge to find a way to add my imprint to our network's next chapter. For the general public, the idea of "going global" entails opening their computer's internet browser, but for members of SCI, the phrase has a deeper meaning involving face-to-face interactions that result in discussions that connect cultures and communities in unforgettable ways.

My hope is to invigorate our sister cities movement by expanding our membership, to provide funding to members for more exchanges, and to build the capacity of SCI to better serve members and the global community-at-large. This blog will serve as a place where I'll use you, the members, as a sounding board for ideas and welcome your input. More importantly, I hope this e-space becomes a vehicle for you to share experiences, best practices, and lessons learned with other members and the broader public.

I'd like to hear your stories! Tell me about your first notable memory with Sister Cities. Send an email with the subject "First Encounter" to the comments email address listed below. Over the next few weeks, I'll share what I'm hearing.

In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact me or the other staff with your ideas, comments, or suggestions on our work. I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming months and in Ft. Lauderdale in July.

Patrick M. Madden
Executive Director
Sister Cities International

Picking Partners in Peace

How did Portsmouth, New Hampshire get the sister city of Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland? Why is Denver, Colorado partnered with Baghdad, Iraq? Ningbo, China and Jacksonville, Florida...really? These are the types of questions most folks start with when they see the sister cities directory. How does one city pick another city for sisterhood?

While as an organization we have a number of recommendations for communities to consider before partnering (population, economic drivers, topography, university town, and other common links), at first this wasn't the case - there are some rich stories dating more than 50 years.

• What U.S. city has the most sister cities? Chicago, IL (27)
• What's the largest city in the U.S. with sister cities? New York, NY (Population: 8,000,000+)
• What's the smallest city in the U.S. with sister cities? Gilbert, AR (Population: 32)
• Which country has the most sister city partnerships with the U.S.? Japan (269)
• What continent has the most sister city partnerships with the U.S.? Europe (35% of U.S. partnerships)

I invite you to see what cities your hometown is partnered with at www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/index.

Question of the Day: What's the most unusual sister city pairing you can find?

Putting "Community" in Diplomacy

American Diplomacy has been under the microscope for a few years. There's no need to review the reasons, numerous reports, rhetoric, and legal spats but all for all of the formal diplomatic channels and official statements, one thought keeps returning to me: let's expand our diplomatic corps. I'm not talking about the Department of State's foreign service officer corps who serve our country in largely invisible (but vital) roles - but I'm talking about the citizen diplomat corps. This group has no term limits, no budget oversight by Congress or OMB, no political agenda, no constraints to carefully craft the proper wording at a press conference. What they have is a commitment to promoting cultural understanding and advancing world peace.

Citizen diplomats are ordinary folks of all ages who travel abroad on any type of exchanges (educational, cultural, technical, humanitarian, business, and so forth) and are inspired to participate for the opportunity to experience another culture and society. (Yes, they are just like us...) In turn, citizen diplomats are also on the receiving end of exchanges by hosting visitors from abroad in their homes, allowing them to share American culture and society. (Yes, we're more than TV sitcom re-runs and Hollywood movies.) These episodic exchanges (hosted by members of Sister Cities International and a wide range of other exchange organizations with rich histories) happen by the tens of thousands each year around the globe. Their complementary foreign affairs role is unchallenged by professional diplomats and politicians of all stripes. The tales of cultural and educational exchanges during the Cold War are legendary.

Citizen Diplomacy has its role and it's a powerful one, but I would argue that this format has it limitations being, by nature, short term (a few days to a few years if you are in school) and individual-based experiences. To recalibrate our standing in the world, we need Community Diplomacy. This is a new term (as best I have researched, but I'm sure someone will correct me. I should note that the term "City Diplomacy" is taking root in Europe with the UCLG as a leader in looking at the role of local government in conflict prevention, peace-building, and post-conflict reconstruction, but the role of local government is too narrow.)

Community Diplomacy is what local Sister Cities programs foster: long-term city-to-city relationships that engage all sectors of a community and individuals of all walks of life, including politicians, educators, business executives, government professionals, scientists, nonprofit leaders, students, and so on. For example, one community may provide clean water while the other is providing microenterprise opportunities for artists. As sister cities get to know each other over decades, cultural divides disappear. Short individual experiences become relationship-based group experiences. As the equality between communities and citizens grows, the cultural misperceptions and media bias tend to fade. When all this falls aside, what's left - world peace?

Question of the Day: Can Community Diplomacy make a difference in world views of the U.S.?

Media Bias

There's a lot of talk right now about U.S. media bias. Most are talking about presidential campaigns, but I have a different beef. If you go to Google's news website and click on world news, you'll find some depressing results from all corners of the planet: bombing, attack, state of emergency, terrorism, militant warnings, and so on. This is a common complaint about the U.S. media. Good news is not news. I'm not even going to touch the vacuum of reporting on world events.

But, a quick scan of international news outlets and you find a different story (so to speak). Headlines include: Kenyans complete a climb for peace, UNICEF: child mortality down 27 percent since 1990, Turkish leader in peace mission, among others. There's no lack of bad news mixed in here either, but there is an interesting contrast with the inclusion of a broader range of articles.

It begs the question, if U.S. audiences were exposed to a wider range of "world news" would that help us work toward peace more aggressively? Might be worth a try.

Question of the Day: If U.S. media outlets included 25% more positive news about the rest of the world, would it change thinking of Americans?

The Reality of Perception

Cold War. War of Choice. World War. Gulf War. War on Drugs. Cyber War. War Footing. War of Words. Civil War. War on Terrorism. War of Ideas. Star Wars. We tend to use the word “war” too much.

The perception around the world (broadly) is Americans are war-loving people. Proof can be found on satellite dishes offering sitcom re-runs to the far corners of the earth with options, such as Miami Vice, Cowboy Westerns, and Law & Order or an endless stream of ‘action’ movies as ambassadors of American society.

Obviously, the term “war-loving Americans” can’t be statement further from the truth. But, is perception reality?

Opinion seekers from the Pew Global Attitudes Project have studied American sentiment abroad since 2002. The news and trends aren’t good. A spirit of anti-Americanism around the world still exists and in certain regions, it runs high.

But if you ask Americans (as World Learning and the Aspen Institute did in a January 2008 survey), nearly 9 out of 10 citizens are concerned about the continuing decline in the United States’ reputation overseas. We can’t be too self-interested if we are fretting over how others perceive us. Can we?

How are we addressing this problem? Head on. Track Two diplomacy. Non-kinetic warfare. Soft power. Irregular warfare. PsyOps. Conflict prevention. Multi-track diplomacy. This double-speak will work flawlessly.

If we are so articulate about describing war, let’s be just as clear about what we want in its place: peace.

Question of the Day: What is the best way to combat the negative perception abroad?

9/11 and Finding World Peace

Today, September 11, Sister Cities International is launching our Type, Talk & Transform World Peace effort. This is a month of discussion and action by Sister Cities International, our 2,300-community network, and you - citizens of the world. We invite you to use this space to add your voice on how we can achieve world peace together. Additionally, our organization and the local sister city programs will host events, programs, online forums and raise awareness for the urgency for world peace. Watch this site and our website, www.sister-cities.org/worldpeace for daily updates and news.

September 11 has a double meaning for Sister Cities International. It marks the day when we were founded by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 as a citizen diplomacy organization dedicated to finding world peace and the day that we remember one of the most destructive acts of terrorism in global history. The juxtaposition of these two moments on this day is stunning.

During the course of our month-long effort, we will post ideas and questions about world peace, react to world news (good and bad) and ask to respond. Provide your opinion on world peace - this is your place.

Question of Day: Since 9/11/01, name one world event that gives you hope for peace?