September 2016 — Baltimore, MD  USA

MECU Foundation Inc. has awarded Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. a $3,000 grant to support sister cities educational projects. The projects are:

• Baltimore-Kawasaki (Japan) art project for ‘Light City Baltimore’ 2017 that will engage Baltimore City high school students to build an ‘Infinity Mirrors’ exhibit at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
• Baltimore-Rotterdam (the Netherlands) “Operation Trash” exchange project with Bard High School Early College Baltimore and Benjamin Franklin High School and several schools in the Netherlands, to create a virtual exchange and social digital platform to teach sustainability, trash reduction and recycling concepts.
• Baltimore-Xiamen (China) project to support a Chinese and English language focused student exchange program between Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and high schools in Xiamen.

About MECU Foundation

MECU Foundation Inc. is the philanthropic arm of MECU of Baltimore Inc., one of the largest credit unions in the Baltimore region. ‘It is the mission of the MECU Foundation is to provide financial and volunteer assistance to the educational institutions within the MECU of Baltimore, Inc. footprint, with other extraordinary issues considered from time to time.’

www.mecu.com

About Baltimore Sister Cities (BSC)

The Baltimore Sister City Committees (BSCCs) are volunteer-run committees operating under the auspices of City of Baltimore’s Office of the Mayor. They aim to promote mutual economic development, educational, cultural, health/environmental and other cooperation and exchanges between Baltimore, Maryland and its international Sister Cities. BSC activities are designed to benefit the City of Baltimore, its residents and the business community by supporting the Mayoral Initiatives of the City of Baltimore and the goals of the Sister Cities International organization.

baltimoresistercities.org

Baltimore Sister Cities International wins Sister Cities International’s 2016 Innovation Award for Economic Development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 29, 2016
MEDIA CONTACT Anastasia Dellaccio Adellaccio@sistercities.org 202.347.8637

WASHINGTON, DC – Baltimore Sister Cities International (BSCI) has won Sister Cities International’s (SCI) 2016 Innovation Award for Economic Development for a city with a population greater than 500,000. The 2016 Sister Cities International Innovation Award for Economic Development recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding community and individual sister city programs that promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.

The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister Cities (BXSC) celebrated their 30 th Anniversary by hosting a three-day, 20 person delegation from Xiamen. This delegation promoted the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) and was led by Xiamen Vice Mayor Li Dongliang. During their stay in Baltimore, Xiamen signed a Memorandum of Understanding with City Hall that reaffirmed their sister city relationship and a Letter of Intent between Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Xiamen Information School to work together towards a summer exchange program with the Xiamen Summer Camp. The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City relationship has been their most active city in business development and education exchanges.

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SCI’s Annual Awards are awarded in several categories including Best Overall, Innovation (Arts and Culture, Economic Development, Humanitarian Assistance, and Youth and Education), and Volunteer of the Year. Award winners will be honored at the Lou Wozar Diplomatic Awards Dinner on Saturday, July 16 during SCI’s 60th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, DC.

SCI’s 60 th anniversary celebration will include an Annual Conference and Youth Leadership Summit in Washington, DC July 13-16, 2016. The celebration will bring together hundreds of the most influential global leaders in diplomacy, foreign affairs, policy, business, and innovation. Elected and municipal officials, business leaders, youth delegates, and citizen diplomats will discuss this year’s theme “Peace through People,” building on President Eisenhower’s initial vision of creating a more peaceful world by building global relationships.

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Press releases on SCI website:

• Innovation_Economic Development_Baltimore.pdf
• Sister Cities International Announces Winners of 2016 Annual Awards for Innovation in Economic Development

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About Sister Cities International

Founded as a Presidential Initiative by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Sister Cities International serves as the national membership organization for 570 member communities with 2,300 partnerships in 150 countries on six continents. The sister city network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers who work tirelessly to promote the organizations’ mission of creating world peace and understanding through economic development, youth and education, arts and culture, and humanitarian assistance.

Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 5:30-9pm
Location: Baltimore City Hall, 100 North Holliday Street

Featuring

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, former Secretary of State (1973 – 1977) and National Security Advisor (1969 – 1975)

Dr. David M. Lampton, Hyman Professor and Director, China Studies Program, the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (1997 – present) and President of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (1988 – 1997)

Moderated by Mr. Stephen A. Orlins, President, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations

Program

The 2016 program will include a catered reception, a local address & discussion by Dr. Lampton in person, and a nationwide webcast featuring Dr. Kissinger. Check-in & refreshments will begin at 5:30pm. The national webcast will be from 7:00 to 8:00pm. Baltimore event organized by the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee. National webcast organized by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Admission: There is a fee and advance registration is required.

More information

• Event information on Baltimore-Xiamen website
• Event registration (All guests must register in advance in order to be allowed entry to City Hall)
• Printable event flyer (PDF)

Baltimore is sister cities with Alexandria & Luxor in Egypt. The Baltimore Luxor Alexandria Sister Cities Committee (BLASCC) cordially invites you to watch the Luxor Folkloric Dance Troupe perform in the Washington/Baltimore region this fall!

There are 2 performances:

Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 7pm

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts
801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD
410-647-4482

Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 6-7pm

Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC
Free performance – no reservations needed!

About Luxor Folkloric Dance Troupe

The group performs traditional dances from their home country of Egypt. They are one of the most well known Egyptian folk dance troupes. They perform dances including Elhagala, Iskandrany, Tanoura, Pharonic, Numbian, Falahe, and Tahtibe.

These performances are presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Egypt

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For more info about Baltimore Luxor Alexandria Sister Cities Committee, visit baltimoreegypt.org or contact

 

Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee cordially invites you to this workshop, which is ideal for educators and artists.

Date/Location

October 27, 2016 at 4:30-6:30pm
At the Arts Every Day Space, The Motorhouse
120 W. North Avenue, Baltimore MD, 21201
Free and open to the public!

Please register on the Eventbrite page.

Questions? Contact

Workshop

Building Global Citizens through Project Based Learning: an Arts-Integrated Training

• Review philosophy and core actions of global education, including connecting to others, empathizing, developing cross-cultural communication skills, and taking action locally and globally.
• Learn about the upcoming globalized collaborative “Eco-News Art Project” with high school students in Baltimore and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Students plan, write, create, and publish an environmentally themed video news show, with Rotterdam-based theatre artist/educator Kathie DiStefano.
• Learn about resources in global education using platforms such as iearn, Baltimore sister city committees, and other resources.
• Develop plans for integrating project-based learning and global citizenship into your classroom.

Facilitated by artist/educator Elisabeth Gambino, Bard High School Early College Baltimore

More info

Arts Every Day ‘s Facebook event page

 

 

“Take To-Ro: Bridge of Lights,” a large scale artwork created by a group of young artists in Baltimore and members of Baltimore-Kawasaki sister city committee, will be featured in a special exhibit at Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan in Washington DC this summer.

The JICC uses their unique gallery space, with award-winning Japanese-inspired design, to showcase both traditional and modern Japanese art.

Location: 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC
Dates: August 8-19,  2016 • Open to the public Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

“Take To-Ro” originally made its appearance at the inaugural season of Light City Baltimore festival in March 2016. The artwork was well received by audience, and helped the festival attract more than 400,000 visitors to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

More info:
bkscc.wordpress.com/news/take-toro-at-jicc
www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/exhibits.html

Find out about innovations happening around food in Baltimore and in the Netherlands that will make our world more sustainable, improve access to nutritious food, and provide individuals & startups the means to make a living through healthy food. This event will leave you feeling inspired about our future! Refreshments provided.

Date: Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 6-8 pm

Location: Impact Hub Baltimore, 10 E. North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21202

Program

6:00pm – Mingle and sample locally produced hors d’oeuvres and Dutch beer. Food catered by City Seeds, a local social enterprise dedicated to creating good jobs in the culinary industry.

6:30pm – Presentations (Baltimore Food Hub; Innovations from the Netherlands)

7:15-8:00pm – Networking

Admission: $10 (Please register in advance)

Event web page: 2016.baltimoreinnovationweek.com/events/food_innovation-local-global

Registration: www.naccwm.org/events/2016/9/22/food-innovation-baltimore-beyond

About the event

At this event we’ll showcase some local and global innovations to solve some critical issues around the production and distribution of food. Innovations that address challenges in food systems, improve food security and equitable access to nutritious food, and promote sustainability. Organizations that provide budding local food entrepreneurs with skills and resources like kitchen incubators and farmland, so that they can make a living in the food industry. You’ll hear about interesting ventures happening in Baltimore and in Netherlands.

Event is organized by Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee and Netherlands America Chamber of Commerce for the Washington Metro region (NACCWM). This event is being held during Baltimore Innovation Week (BIW) and Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore. BIW is a weeklong celebration of technology and innovation in Baltimore. The Expo is a yearly event that includes entrepreneurs launching innovative healthy, organic products.

Organizers & Partners:

This event is part of  Baltimore Innovation Week 2016 presented by 14 West.

#BIW16

Press release

Announcement Date: December 7, 2015

Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced plans to restructure the Baltimore Sister Cities Program (BSCP), aiming to expand the program’s focus on developing significant opportunities for economic partnerships, more cultural and educational exchanges, and health and environmental initiatives.

The BSCP is currently a series of committees, reporting directly to the Office of the Mayor. The program will be restructured as an independent 501(c)(3) corporation to be named Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. (‘BSC, Inc.’).This will provide greater stability and consistency during administration transitions.

View full press release

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Working Group Report

Baltimore City Sister Cities Program Working Group Report (pdf)
Report Date: October 2015

Excerpt from the Executive Summary:

To explore how to make BSCP more effective, a working group was established by the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Neighborhood Development in April 2014. This working group was comprised of representatives from the Office of the Mayor, Maryland Sister States Program, Baltimore Development Corporation, Baltimore Sister City committees, the State of Maryland’s Office of the Secretary of the State, the local business community and Baltimore City Public Schools.

道 MICHI

Distinctive Paths, Shared Affinity: An Exhibition of Japanese American Ceramic Artists

Curated by Yoshi Fujii and Juliane Shibata.

The Michi exhibit is supported by Baltimore Kawasaki Sister City Committee (BKSCC), the Embassy of Japan in the United States of America, and the Perlman Teaching Museum at Carleton College.

Dates

Opening Reception: Friday, January 8, 2016 6-8pm
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake speaks at the reception

On View: Saturday, January 9 – Saturday, March 5, 2016

Location

Baltimore Clayworks
5707 Smith Ave, Baltimore, MD 21209
410-578-1919
Visit baltimoreclayworks.org for gallery hours and other upcoming events.

Artists

Yoshi Fujii, Hiroe Hanazono, Ayumi Horie, Mika Negishi Laidlaw, Keisuke Mizuno, Megumi Naitoh, Nobuhito Nishigawara, Hiroshi Ogawa, Shoji Satake, Yoko Sekino-Bové, Juliane Shibata, Esther Shimazu, Ryan Takaba, Shoko Teruyama, Patti Warashina, & Shumpei Yamaki.

More information

michiexhibition.com
bkscc.wordpress.com/news/michi