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.