Richmond City Council and Mayor Dwight Jones will welcome a delegation from Saitama, Japan and celebrate the 17th year of the Sister City relationship between our two cities.
Richmond City Council and Mayor to welcome Sister City Delegation from Saitama, Japan
Richmond City Council Chambers - Richmond City Hall, 2nd floor; 900 E. Broad Street
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
_________________________________________________________________________
Overview Richmond City Council and Mayor Dwight Jones will welcome a delegation from Saitama, Japan and celebrate the 17th year of the Sister City relationship between our two cities.
SCHEDULE 9:00-9:15 a.m. Welcome
• The Honorable Kathy Graziano
President Richmond City Council President
• The Honorable Dwight Jones
Mayor, City of Richmond
• My Lan Tran, Chairman
Richmond Sister Cities Commission
9:15-9:30 a.m. Greetings from Saitama, Japan
• The Honorable Hayato Shimizu
Mayor, Saitama, Japan
• Nobuaki Sekine, Chairman
Saitama Sister Cities
9:30-9:50 a.m. Richmond Presentation of Official Welcome and
Exchange of gifts
• The Honorable Kathy Graziano
• The Honorable Dwight Jones
• The Honorable Bruce Tyler
Councilman, West End 1st District
Member, Richmond Sister Cities Commission
• The Honorable Hayato Shimizu
• Nobuaki Sekine
9:50-9:55 a.m. Remarks
• Catherine E. Nexsen, Member, Richmond Cities Commission, Chairman, Saitama/Richmond
9:55-10:00 a.m. Closing Remarks
• The Honorable Kathy Graziano
• The Honorable Bruce Tyler
10:00-10:30 Reception
1. Structure of the Richmond City Council
2. Environmental issues facing Richmond and Saitama
3. Educational issues facing Richmond and Saitama
4. English Teacher Exchange
5. Future of Sister Cities Programs
Noon-1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00-2:00 p.m. Richmond Public Schools - Community High School
201 East Brookland Park Blvd, Richmond, Virginia
2:00-4:00 p.m. Richmond Tour
4:00-4:45 p.m. Tree Planting Ceremony
St. Christopher’s School
711 Saint Christopher’s Road, Richmond, Virginia
4:45-6:15 p.m. Retire to Hotels
6:30 p.m. Reception at the home of Mr./Mrs. Sam Bemiss
4706 Pocahontas Avenue
BACKGROUND _________________________________________________________________________
The Richmond City Council Sister Cities Commission, established in 1980, manages the Richmond Sister City Program. The Commission operates under guidelines provided by Council and by requirements of the Sister Cities International organization, located in Washington, D. C. An early champion of international relations, Richmond began its first relationship with its namesake, Richmond Upon Thames, England, in 1930.
Begun in 1993, the ongoing educational and cultural exchange between Saitama, Japan and Richmond, Virginia includes two major programs, a Scholastic Exchange Program that includes educators and students and a Sports Exchange Program that Includes Saitama’s Youth Baseball and Richmond Little League. This year marks the 11th year of our successful Scholastic Exchange Program. The Annual baseball exchange features 30 10-12 year olds and their families who spend several days in Richmond visiting sites, playing baseball, and developing friendships and cultural understanding.
Overview of Sister City Program
A formal Sister City concept was created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. His idea called for exchanges between Americans and people in other countries, with a goal of fostering peace, understanding and harmony.
The term “Sister City” is used to express a closeness that is engendered through commonalities between communities. Formal friendships are then established to promote cultural understanding and educational and economic prosperity.
For example, cities linked with Richmond are generally capital cities with comparable populations, notable points of historic interest, and potential opportunities for economic development and trade.
Globally, there are more than 2,400 Sister City partnerships in 134 countries. Nineteen Virginia cities represent 50 of those partnerships. This includes six in Richmond.
Richmond Sister City Relationships
As of January 1, 2009, Richmond maintains the following Sister City relationships:
1. Richmond upon Thames, England
2. Saitama, Japan
3. Olysztyn, Poland
4. Uijeongbu, Korea
5. Windhoek, Namibia, Africa
6. Zhengzhou, China
______________________________________
Steven R. Skinner, APR
Council Public Information Manager
Office of the Chief of Staff
RICHMOND CITY COUNCIL
Richmond City Hall
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 305
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804.646.6052 (office)
804.335.4054 (mobile)
804.937.1386 (home/mobile)
804.646.5468 (fax)
skinnesr@ci.richmond.va.us (email)
www.council.richmondva.gov(website)
______________________________________
MISSION The mission of Richmond City Council
is to represent citizens in creating and amending
local laws, providing government policy and
oversight, and approving the city budget.
VISION Richmond City Council is committed to
creating a vibrant community that is a great place
to live, work, learn, play, visit and raise a family.
