Richmond
City Council /
News Release
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sharing, forwarding, and posting
Wednesday,
1 August 2018
Richmond
City Council Sister Cities Commission to unveil new International Guidepost installation
in Kanawha Plaza
All Richmond residents
invited and encouraged to attend
WHAT Richmond, Virginia
- The Richmond City Council Sister Cities Commission will unveil a new
International Guidepost installation in Richmond's Kanawha Plaza public park. The
International Guidepost Unveiling Ceremony will include members of Richmond City
Council, the Commission, and representatives of Richmond's partner cities.
WHEN Monday, August 6, 2018
Noon-1:30
p.m.
WHERE Richmond Department of Parks Recreation, and Community Facilities
Kanawha Plaza (Public Park)
8th and East Canal
Street, Richmond, Virginia
(Between Canal and Byrd Streets
near Eighth Street)
CONTACT
For more information, please contact:
Marcus Squires, Chair, Richmond
City Council Sister Cities Commission
804.617.7585 (tel);
richmondsistercities@gmail.com (email)
Background on the Richmond City Council Sister Cities
Commission ______________
The Richmond City Council Sister Cities Commission was
established by Richmond City Council in 1980. One of about 50
boards, task forces, and commissions created to assist Richmond City Council
with providing assistance with certain initiatives, projects, and
priorities, the Commission operates under Council guidelines as well as the
requirements of the Sister Cities International organization, located in
Washington, D.C.
An early champion of international
relations, Richmond began a relationship with its namesake, Richmond upon
Thames, England, in 1930, formalizing it in 1938. In 1956, a "Sister
Cities" concept was established in the United States of America by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Eisenhower's idea called for exchanges between
Americans and the peoples of 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 cities with comparable populations, notable points of historic
interest, and potential opportunities for economic development and trade.
Richmond Sister City Relationships
Richmond currently maintains the following Sister City
relationships:
1. Richmond upon
Thames, England (Europe)
2. Saitama
City, Japan (Asia)
3. Windhoek,
Namibia (Africa)
4. Zhengzhou, China
(Asia)
5. Segou, Republic
of Mali (Africa)
Some Examples of Sister Cities Activities
_________________________________________
Richmond upon Thames, England (Europe)
In 2007 Richmond was honored with a visit from the Mayor
and Councilmembers from Richmond upon Thames, Richmond’s Sister City in England.
The delegation visited coordination and planning events leading up to
Virginia’s 400th Anniversary celebration in 2007. The following year, Richmond
was again honored with a visit from the Mayor and Councilmembers from Richmond
upon Thames in 2008.
Saitama, Japan (Asia)
Richmond and Saitama continue their annual student,
academic, sports, and cultural exchange programs.
- Richmond has
an ongoing annual baseball exchange with Saitama, which began in Richmond
in 1994 and rotates each year from Richmond to Saitama. (Note: The 2011
exchange was canceled due to the tragic earthquake and tsunami that
severely impacted Japan.)
·
From August 3-8, 2012 Richmond welcomed Japanese Little League
Baseball team players for the 18th Richmond City Council Sister Cities
Richmond-Saitama International Junior Baseball Exchange. This exchange marked
the return of the annual event for the first time since 2010, as the 2011
events were canceled due to the tragic earthquake and tsunami that severely
impacted Japan. During their week-long stay, the little leaguers enjoyed
international cultural exchange, and played baseball games with Little League
teams in the Richmond area. The visiting Saitama team included 17 players, one
City Official, four coaches, and an emergency technician. The games and
friendships fostered during the little leaguers’ visit to Richmond are sterling
examples of the partnership and collaboration between Richmond and Saitama.
·
On June 23, 2012, three educators from Saitama, Japan, visited
Richmond for two weeks as part of the Richmond Sister Cities Commission
Educational Exchange program. That visit marked the 13th year of this
successful educational exchange program, which began in 1998.
·
In March of 2012, 10 high school students and two teachers from
Urawa Municipal High School in Saitama, Japan, visited Richmond as part of a
week-long Richmond Sister Cities Commission Educational Exchange program.
Windhoek, Namibia (Africa)
·
August 2007:
the U.S. State Department brought a camera crew to Richmond from Windhoek, Namibia, and coordinated events.
·
July 2003:
Richmond donated a Fire Truck to Windhoek.
Zhenghou, China (Asia)
Richmond continues supporting teacher exchanges and
exchanges of art and culture through museums, and economic trips to China
(conducted by the Governor of Virginia with representation from Richmond). A
book collection was presented to Richmond citizens from Zhengzhou citizens,
which is displayed at the Richmond Public Library - Main Library.
Segou, Republic of Mali (Africa)
Richmond’s partnership with Segou, Republic of Mali, is
Richmond’s newest Sister City relationship. Richmond and the city of Segou
became Sister Cities following the adoption of Richmond City Council Resolution
2009-R99-109, adopted July 27, 2009, that invited Segou to become a formal
Sister City of Richmond. The relationship was formalized in Richmond on October
12, 2009, with a visiting delegation of dignitaries from Segou.
In April 2010 Richmond was awarded a grant
of $115,000 by Sister Cities International for a two-year African
Sustainability Project to address sanitation, health, and water issues in
Segou. On May 10, 2010, Richmond City Council received and welcomed a visiting
delegation from the Republic of Mali. The delegation included six members of
the country’s government, who were in Richmond for the day as part of a
government training program sponsored by the Institute for Global Training, and
USAID in Washington D.C. The delegation was also shown state and local
government by the Virginia Institute of Government, part of the University of
Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center.
On October 6, 2010, the Richmond City
Council Sister Cities Commission, along with members of Richmond City Council
and the Richmond Government Administration, welcomed The Honorable Ousmane K.
Simaga, Mayor of Segou, Republic of Mali (Africa); The Honorable Madani
Sissoko, Councilman, Segou, Republic of Mali (Africa), President of the Segou
Sister City Commission; and a number of additional dignitaries from Segou,
Republic of Mali (Africa), during its monthly meeting.
For more information on the Richmond City Council Sister Cities
Commission, please visit the webpage, at http://www.richmondgov.com/CommissionSisterCities/index.aspx
