So long Sister Cities...but not Farewell

By the time you read this, I will be gone. But hopefully, not forgetten.

Friday, March 11 is my last day as the chief executive of Sister Cities International. It has been a incredible four years leading this global network of communities. I have enjoyed a personal international education along the way and I will not forget the people who make this network so incredible and relevent.

Over the next few weeks and months I will re-invent my blog in my new role as the Executive Director of the UN Association of the USA which is a program of the UN Foundation. In the meantime, you can continue to follow SCI on Twitter (@sistercityintl) and Facebook.

Instead of re-inventing my reflections about my tenure in a final post, I will share my remarks to the SCI members from the Annual Business Meeting on the last day of the conference.

"...As a closing footnote to my formal report as most of you know I will be leaving SCI in a few weeks to join the UN Association of the USA, a program of the UN Foundation.

I feel fortunate to have enjoyed this time, and to serve you and the sister cities mission. The idea of connecting communities and individuals is not just a noble one, but a vital one.

You follow in the footsteps of citizens, really generations of citizens, who believed and witnessed how one handshake and one relationship can make a difference.

Our network is ripe with opportunity. Its limitations are only bound by your imagination and of course, resources. I challenge you to leave this conference with a renewed commitment to invigorate your local sister city program.

These are efforts that cannot be done in Washington, DC – they are done locally. Putting on the same program or exchange every year is easy. Change is hard. Inventing, creating, imagining is difficult. But I have seen the strength and passion you bring to this work, and I have no doubt it is possible.

I wish each of you well on your sister cities endeavors. I will take all of these experiences and inspiring stories with me. Thank you for sharing sister cities with me. These are memories and friendships I will hold onto.

Thank you Mr. Chairman, this concludes my report."

Sister Cities Launches Africa Documentary - Spread the Word

One of the great highlights of the 55th Annual Conference was the premiere of our Africa documentary, which highlights the work of the sister cities network and in particular, the African Urban Poverty Alleviation Program.

LA-based filmmaker Matthew Bardocz of Filmcz put together a four-part documentary, which is the first half of a larger documentary which will be completed late in 2011.

Each Thursday a new episode has been released on SCI's YouTube channel. Tune in next Thursday (3/17) for the final edition.

Click here to see the first 3 epsidoes.

Help create a buzz. Pass the word on. Email, tweet, blog, and honk the news about this documentary.

What A Conference! SCI Celebrates 55 Years

On Saturday, March 5, Sister Cities International closed the 55th annual conference in Arlington, VA with more than 300 members from nearly 20 countries in attendance.

The anniversary celebration opened on Thursday with a Hill Day and included presentations from Senator Richard Durbin (IL) and Representative Mike Honda (CA). In the afternoon, attendees traveled to the Department of State for region and country breifings. Reta Jo Lewis, Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs was our host and made a keynote presentation about her work connecting local and state municipalities from the U.S. with other local governments around the world. In a short period the Department of State has established solid ties at the subnational level in China, South Africa, and Brazil among others. Maura Pally from the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs discussed some of the department's recent work with youth, exchange alumni, and Muslim-majority countries. Our Sister Cities conference was featured in the State Department's blog - DipNote - the following week. The day closed with a reception in the Benjamin Franklin Dining Room and Diplomatic Reception Rooms. Great views!

Friday and Saturday were filled with workshops on social media, protocol, Africa, and fundraising, as well as conversations about the future of citizen diplomacy. We closed the event by tipping our hats to the best programs for 2010 at the Lou Wozar Annual Awards Luncheon.

President of China Hails Sister Cities and the Importance of Exchanges

I'm pleased to report President Hu made reference to the importance of sister cities in the growing relations between China and the U.S. His reference also stresses the importance of all types of people-to-people exchanges. Read at his quote from the joint press conference yesterday with President Obama (who is also the Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities International).

PRESIDENT HU: "...I think that the exchanges between our two peoples represent the basis and the driving force behind the growth of our relationship. Ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, we have seen more robust exchanges between our two peoples. And such exchanges have also helped promote the steady growth of our relationship.

The statistics I have show that each year we have about 3 million people traveling between our two countries. In other words, on every single day, about 7,000 to 8,000 will be traveling between China and the United States. This is something hardly conceivable 32 years ago when we first established diplomatic ties.

In addition, we have also seen very broad-ranging development of the exchanges at sub-national level. So far, our two countries have already established sister relationships between 36 provinces and states, and we have also developed 161 pairs of sister cities between our two countries.

The Chinese government is supportive of the friendly exchanges between our two peoples, and we have been creating all kinds of conditions to expand the friendly exchanges between the American and the Chinese peoples.

During this visit, President Obama and I reached an agreement that both sides will take positive steps to further increase the people-to-people exchanges. On one hand, we will encourage the young people in our two countries to go to each other’s countries to pursue further education and to learn more about each other. And at the same time, we have also decided to put in place dialogue and exchange mechanisms between different Chinese and American provinces and states.

Besides, we are also going to further expand cultural exchanges and develop tourism. We are going to use a variety of means to further increase people-to-people exchanges.

I would like to particularly stress here that the young people hold the future of this relationship. It is extremely important to increase the exchanges between the young people in our two countries. Through such exchanges, I hope that our friendship can be furthered. And I also hope that they in the future can serve as ambassadors of goodwill for our two countries, and they can make even more positive contribution to the development of a cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit."

Read the full press conference transcript.

Source: www.whitehouse.gov

2 Days Left to Help Sister Cities

You have just two days left in 2010 to make your charitable contribution to Sister Cities International. I hope you’ll help us reach our fundraising goal with a year-end gift. We want to go into our 55th Anniversary year with a positive energy. What were some of our accomplishments in 2010…

• Convenings - an inspiring Conference in New Mexico brought together more than 400 sister city leaders from around the U.S. and the globe as well as online workshops and learning sessions throughout the year.

• Africa Urban Poverty Alleviation Program – a program where we are making a difference in 24 African cities in 13 countries with water, health, and sanitation interventions.

• Youth and Education – a robust set of gatherings (in-person and virtual!) to foster the next generation of citizen diplomats.

• Advocacy – a voice for our network on Capitol Hill, at the Department of State, and with other pivotal Washington institutions.

Here’s how you can help today with a gift. It's as easy as 1, 2, or 3!

1> Visit www.sister-cities.org/donate2010 and fill-in our online giving form. With a credit card in hand, this will take you about 45 seconds. (Timing may vary depending on how quick your hunt and peck typing may be!) I would suggest a $150 donation.

2> Donate using your mobile phone! Text SCI to 85944 and a one-time donation of $10 will be billed to your mobile phone bill. Messaging & data rates may apply. Donations are collected for Sister Cities International by mobilecause.com. (Reply STOP to 85944 to stop. Reply HELP to 85944 for help. For terms, see www.igfn.org/t.)

3> Write a check to Sister Cities International and mail it to Attn: Development Dept,1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20004.

If you’ve already made a donation, pass this along to your friends, family, and colleagues!

Thank you and here’s to a terrific 2011!

From Eisenhower to Obama: Citizen Diplomacy Marches On (Part 2)

A few posts ago I mentioned the U.S. Summit on Global Citizen Diplomacy. This was the second convening of citizen diplomacy leaders since President Eisenhower's initial call to action in 1956.

Summit produced a range of materials, breifings, and presentations on Faith-based groups, the role of the private sector, how state governments are engaging in citizen diplomacy, the health field, youth and education, and much more. There are some terrific examples within these publications. You may also be interested in the Summit's final report, which calls for a 10-year initiative to engage more U.S. citizens in our work.

I was pleased to to-chair a Task Force on Community-based Organizations with Sherry Mueller, the President of the National Council for International Visitors. We were asked to seek out some of the best programs in the community-based citizen diplomacy sector. After a competitive application process, the task force selected 10 programs to showcase:

• Boulder Kisumu Sister City
• Duluth Sister Cities International (DSCI) & La Crosse Dubna Friendship Association (LDFA)
• National Committee on United States-China Relations
• Rochester International Council, Inc.
• San Diego-Tema Sister City Society
• Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy
• Vanguard Leadership Group
• World Services of La Crosse, Inc.
• World Affairs Council of Oregon
• WorldChicago

These programs are featured in a summit summary for our task force. Read about these stellar programs. Congratulations to these programs and the many others which were commendable but didn't happen to make the final selection.

Also, I want to add my appreciation to the supporters of this event, most importantly the U.S. Department of State's Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs and major corporate funders, including Verizon Wireless, Townsend Vision, American Express, The Coca-Cola Company, Visa, and the many others.

It took 54 years between the first summit and this one, when will the next one be?

Text SCI to 85944 to Give $10 Today!

'Tis the Season to reflect on all of those wonderful sister city memories you've have this past year and help us continue our work into 2011.

Sister Cities International has a new way for you to support our work toward world peace. You can now donate using your mobile phone! Text SCI to 85944 and a one-time donation of $10 will be billed to your mobile phone bill. Messaging & data rates may apply. Donations are collected for Sister Cities International by mobilecause.com.

(Reply STOP to 85944 to stop. Reply HELP to 85944 for help. For terms, see www.igfn.org/t.)

From Eisenhower to Obama: Citizen Diplomacy Marches On (Part 1)

The week before the holiday, I had the honor of representing Sister Cities International as part of the U.S. Summit on Global Citizen Diplomacy. This was the second convening of citizen diplomacy leaders since President Eisenhower's initial call to action in 1956.


More than 600 citizen diplomats from around the U.S. attended - including sister cities and international visitor council volunteers (as well as other community-based networks), business leaders, health workers, elected officials, educators (from elementary through university), young professionals, artists and culture purveyors. There were more than 40 countries represented. I have to say (to take a page from the Sopranos), I was very impressed by the presence of the heads of the families at this event (i.e. all the heads of all the exchange networks - large and small and all types pof exchanges).

During the event, some of the sessions provoked questions about citizen diplomacy and the formal diplomacy work of the State Department while others explored the local approaches to citizen engagement and cultural understanding. There were presentations on new programs and well-established programs. Attendees heard from a range of folks from the Department of State and Department of Defense. It was one big tent and many people joined in.

Tune-in for Part 2 on this blog when I outline the session discussion, which I co-moderated, on the top 10 programs from the Community-based Task Force.

Turning Red for World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day. A day where we have the chance to raise the dialogue. A few months ago, Sister Cities International decided to partner with Project (RED), a group affiliated with efforts to raise awareness of AIDS epidemic and bring it to an end. You've probably seen their (RED) products all around. They've spent the day turning Facebook and Foursquare red .

So we worked in coordination with (RED) to encourage US sister cities and municipalities abroad to turn their cities "red" for the day to draw attention to the day. Around the globe, 85 cities are turning monuments, bridges, city halls - red. (My effort includes turning this blog red.)

Go take a look at the map and check out some of the cool pictures that are already coming in.

A Discussion around Cultural Diplomacy

The School of International Service of American University, along with its co-sponsors the Public Diplomacy Council and MountainRunner Institute, is hosting a half-day conference on Monday, November 8 at American University to explore the role of cultural diplomacy, Diplomacy 2.0 and Now Media, and the importance of "listening" as part of our diplomacy strategy.

“Cultural Diplomacy as a Listening Project?” will bring together stakeholders in the cultural diplomacy, including members of the policy community, diplomacy professionals, and academic researchers, to explore the challenges to, and potential for, listening across different approaches to cultural diplomacy.

It should be a terrific conversation, for directions and details, check out the event website.

Global Competence: Asia Society Calls for More Sister Schools

In a landmark publication published this fall, Ready for the World: Preparing Elementary Students for the Global Age, the Asia Society calls for significant improvements in the approach U.S. schools take to open the minds of elementary students. The guide lays out a complete framework on how schools, administrators, and teachers and integrate global competence in their work.

The authors lay out a 10-point outline that they call a Vision for Global Education, which calls for “dynamic interactions and exchanges with sister schools to enhance learning and create understanding.” This is a chance to connect your sister cities program with the local education system. Check out Sister Cities International's sister schools toolkit.

Any interested reader will find the guide accessible, but I see it as an important tool to articulate the needed reasoning for increased integration of global topics in the classroom. Both readers outside the education system and those professional educators will find this useful.

I was especially impressed with the opening of the preface by Tony Jackson, the Vice President of Education at the Asia Society:

Consider a girl entering kindergarten in the United States. Though her classes may be full of students from around the world, chances are global issues and cultures will not be consistently woven throughout her coursework. Unlike young children in other nations who begin learning a second language in elementary school, she will probably learn only one language, English, until high school. When she starts her career, she will likely live and work in a world where China is the largest economy and the world’s largest cities are all outside the United States. Will her American education prepare her for the challenges and opportunities of a global economy?

Well said. Elementary School? Middle School? High School? College? We are not doing enough to expose, engage and educate the current and next generation to the rest of the world. Kids across the globe know English, U.S. major foreign policies, and definitely American pop culture. What do our kids know about Africa’s emerging democracies, Asian cultures, or contemporary history of South America? Very little - we need to get moving!

The Start Line Approaches - 2010 Race & Festival for World Peace

Now's the time to make up your mind - what are you doing this weekend for world peace? Here's your options:

1> If you live in the greater Washington, DC area - sign up at www.raceforworldpeace.org/ and meet up at 20th & Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday by 9am for the start of our 5K run/walk through the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. In addition to cash prizes for runners, we have an array of free giveaways for runners/walkers during the post race awards ceremony and through out the cultural festival that follows.

(Live in DC but you are out of town this weekend? No worries. Sign up anyway and we'll count your registration as a donation and support for our cause. You do like world peace, don't you?)

2> If you don't live in the WDC metro area, host your own event. You don't need police barriers and permits. You need one or more friends. Pick a meeting point near your house and walk (or run) on Saturday. If you register your "virtual race" with the Sister Cities International office ahead of time, we'll send your group free race t-shirts. Contact our race director, Anna Valero, to register your hometown run/walk.

Congratulations to Fort Worth, Texas; Accra, Ghana; Casablanca, Morocco; and Stuttgrat, Germany - all of whom are hosting virtual races. Let us know if you are on-board!

3> Jogging isn't your thing? That's fine, do you like sitting? C'mon by for our FREE FESTIVAL from 10am-2pm at 20th & Pennsylvania Avenue for a mix of music, dance, and spoken word, as well as cultural booths, food, and fun kids activities.

So,what are you doing this weekend for world peace?

Reframing a "D" in the 3 Ds

The White House announced a major development strategy to run complementary to the strength of our defense and diplomacy efforts. (Hence the three Ds - defense, diplomacy, and development). If this turns into increased aid programs and exchanges dollars over the next few years, it has the opportunity to recalibrate how much of the developing world thinks of us (using much less money than the other two Ds).

There are many policy papers and ideas generated in DC, but this is how things get started and can translate into progress abroad. We'll see how it plays out.

Check it out the new strategy.

Pardon my delay, I was being censored

For my blog followers, I spent the past week in China at the World Cities Scientific Development Forum and participating in meetings with some local officals and NGO leaders. (Hence, the flurry of posts.) All in all, a very productive trip. However, I attempted to post to this blog in "real-time" on a number of occasions from China and found it odd that the Blogger site was down for maintence at the exact time I was trying to post...every day. Then it finally struck me. The site isn't down, it was being blocked.


City to city partnerships and citizen diplomacy between the U.S. and China are growing stronger and richer each month. But, this experience was a reminder. Some larger bilateral issues reach beyond the local level and still need to be addressed. We want everyone's voice to be heard.

Sister Cities in Beijing

Sister Cities International delegation at the World Cities Scientific Development Forum, September 10-11 in Beijing, China.

Sister Cities in China, part 1

A delegation of 10 sister cities leaders spent Sept 7-9 in Shanghai, China as part of the People's Friendship Association conference. Nearly 700 individuals from around the world convened to discuss partnerships in China. Lots of networking, connecting, and sharing ideas about exchanges and projects.

A Call for Hosting Exchange Students

Take a look at this video call from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for more Americans to host exchange visitors/students. It makes a difference around the world.

A Week Later - Conference Success Stories

Whoa - has it been a week (or two!) since Albuquerque. The praise continues to roll in. Between the youth and adult conference we had over 500 participants from nearly 20 countries. Were you there? See who was by checking out the attendee list.

The Africa and Mexico days were well attended and fostered a very useful dialogue.Our counterparts from US-Mexico Sister Cities Association and the Mexico-US Sister Cities Association were on hand and added a great deal.

Alicia Anstead led a terrific series of conversations around Arts & Culture for the day and her keynote speaker, Bob Lynch from Americans for the Arts.

The kick-off economic development presentations and networking breakfast were a huge hit. Kudos to the State of New Mexico Economic Development office.

Keynoter Anna Munio from Continuum challenged sister city leaders to look at their work through new lenses. Take a look at her PPT and other presentations from the conference.

We also transformed two conference sessions into webinars. Our popular Social Media and Fundraising sessions can be found online for members who didn't make it to the conference. Take a listen.

Many thanks to...Richard Buckler from the Albuquerque Sister Cities program and his army of volunteers, the Albuquerque CVB and mayor's staff, Carol Robertson Lopez for her support as a board member and well-connected New Mexican from Santa Fe, and our sponsors who helped us make it happen.

The debate and dialogue in the workshops, panel sessions and networking events covered the gamut and folks left with a renewed energy, a pocketful of ideas, and inspiration for another year of sister city exchanges and programs.

Join us next year for our anniversary conference at a special time of year: our 55th Annual Conference in Arlington, Virginia USA on March 3-5, 2011. Visit www.sister-cities.org/conference for speaker and session details and to secure the early bird discounted registration rate today.

Sister Cities Facebook Fan Frenzy

We surpassed 1,100 fans on Facebook this month! Not too shabby considering the effort is less than a year old. (Kudos to our own Communications & Programs Manager Frances Reimers for her evangelizing on our behalf and nonstop tweeting!) Are you a fan?

Not Your Father's Sister Cities Conference!

More than 100 youth and young professionals at the conference. No minimum middle age required.(Posted: from our social media session.)

(Author’s note: If you don’t “get” the title of this post, you are officially part of the sister cities youth(ful) movement. Apologies to Oldsmobile. Do they still exist?)