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Sister
Cities Commission
2006 Year End Report
Jack
Smith, council liaison
Darrel Stover, staff liaison
The
Sister Cities Commission (SCC) consists of 11 citizen volunteers from within the
Town’s corporate limits. A
representative from
Cary
’s Teen Council also supports
efforts of the commission. The SCC
strives to further global understanding by building sister city relationships
between the citizens of
Cary
and cities throughout the world.
In building its sister city relationships, the SCC focuses on cultural
exchanges, governance, economic development, educational and youth exchanges,
and local community involvement for citizens of
Cary
. The SCC conducted 12 regular
meetings during 2006. Information
was provided by Darrel Stover, staff liaison to the commission.
Currently,
there are four sister cities: LeTouquet, France; Hsinchu City, Taiwan; County
Meath, Ireland; and Markham, Canada, and each is governed by a subcommittee to
support and encourage the on-going relationships between the Town, the
community, and the respective sister city. Each
year, the commission works with one or two of its sister cities, the Town
liaisons, and the local community to determine an annual agenda.
Highlights
of the Commission activities for 2006 follow:
Major
Events and Awards:
- Received
the following Sister Cities International (SCI) Awards:
·
50th Anniversary Award
awarded to the Town of
Cary
·
50th
Anniversary Local Government
Leadership Circle
awarded to Mayor Pro Tem Jack Smith
·
50th
Anniversary Circle
of Distinguished Volunteers awarded
to Joseph E. Zaytoun
- Held
Spirit of
Cary
Art Exhibit
- Focused
on “Year of Hsinchu” at Lazy Daze
Progress
Towards Goals
- Educated
Cary
citizens on foreign cultures by
focusing on the “Year of Hsinchu”
- Taiwanese
participation in Lazy Daze
- Monthly
Chinese “story-time” program at Cary Library
Citizen
Exchanges
- Four-member
Cary
delegation attended and
participated in Meath County Council’s investment showcase in
Dublin
- Hosted
a four-member delegation from
Hsinchu
,
Taiwan
for the 2006 Lazy Daze Arts &
Crafts Festival.
- North
Carolina Bar Association visit to
Taiwan
– reception in Hsinchu
- Two
commissioner trips to
Markham
,
Ontario
,
Canada
- Former
Teen Council liaison trip to
Le Touquet
,
France
Art
Exchanges
- Spirit
of Cary art exhibition sent to
Markham
,
Ontario
,
Canada
made possible through a Lazy Daze
Grant received in 2006
-
Cary
artist participation in Hsinchu
Taiwan International Glass Festival
Involved
youth in sister city activities
- One
of our Teen Council liaisons met with our Meath contacts during her
People-to-People trip to
Europe
- One
of our Teen Council liaisons attended the International Youth Summit on
Global Citizenship in
Washington
,
DC
in conjunction with SCI’s 50th
Anniversary Conference
- Former
Teen Council representative met with our Le Touquet contacts during his
exchange semester in
France
- Monthly
Chinese “story-time” program at the Cary Library
Supported
the Town with protocol for international visitors through initial discussions
with the
Turkish
Divan
Cultural
Center
in
Cary
Increased
participation in regional, national and international initiatives with
membership in Sister Cities International
- International:
Three-member delegation participated in the 50th Anniversary SCI
Conference
- Regional:
In 2006, the Sister Cities Commission played a key role in
establishing citizen diplomacy at home by forming an alliance with both the
Raleigh and Durham sister cities organizations in an effort to collectively
promote the mission of Sister Cities International. The alliance is
identified under the name of Triangle Area Sister Cities (TASC).
Brought
an international component to the Lazy Daze Festival with participation of
delegations from
Hsinchu
,
Taiwan
, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office
(TECO) from
Atlanta
, and the Taiwanese community
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