Sister City Convention

Playing a significant role in Sister Cities International, the Culver City Sister City Committee will host the 49^th annual U.S./Mexico Sister Cities Association International Convention March 2 through 4.

The Committee will work in conjunction with the City and the City Council with events at both the historic Culver Hotel and City Hall.

Culver City Sister City Committee President Barbara Honig said the committee has been working on the 49^th annual convention since last summer. “The convention will bring about 100 delegates from the southwest portion of the United States and Mexico,” Honig said.

Designated by Sister Cities International, Culver City has four sister cities: Iksan City, South Korea, Kaizuka, Japan, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico.

One of Mexico’s oldest cities, Uruapan, located in the state of Michoacan, is Culver City’s first sister-city, which was established in 1964 by the City Council.

Honig said bonds were developed between Culver City and each sister city through personal relationships. “Although the cities are not the same size in population, we have used the exchanges as a vehicle for learning a lot about our differences and similarities,” Honig said.

For the cultural betterment for the city, the Culver City Council established the Sister City Committee on December 10, 1962 with the goals of citizen diplomacy and to help gain insight by raising awareness into other cultures with a broader global perspective.

With the goal of fostering international friendships and better understanding of other cultures and customs that promote economic, cultural and educational interchange between communities, the Sister City concept was established in 1956 during the Eisenhower administration.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the non-profit citizen diplomacy efforts by volunteers are dedicated to help create new lines of communication between U.S. cities and other nations, develop community partnerships with business leaders and organizations, and adult and youth exchange programs.

Celebrating business partnerships and friendship, participation in the grass-roots, “people to people” program has grown to include over 250 cities and towns in the United States and the Republic of Mexico. Globally, Sister Cities International represents over 2,500 communities in 126 countries.

The annual convention will provide an educational and interactive environment for networking, connecting communities, engaging elected officials and empowering partnerships.

Honig said from a business perspective, the city is always looking to facilitate business partnerships. “We have arranged for our chamber of commerce to meet with any of the participating cities with the Culver City business community,” Honig said.

With a busy schedule on tap for the three-day event, the delegates will take some time for pre-convention activities on Friday that will include a walking tour of Sony Studios and an optional visit to the Spanish and Japanese Language Immersion School.

Honig said language immersion workshops have been added to this year’s convention. “Culver City was the first city in the United States that established a Spanish language immersion program,” Honig said.

Last November, Culver City hosted the eight-member delegation from Culver City’s Sister City of Iksan, South Korea. During their five-day visit to Los Angeles, they visited the Getty Museum, the Korean Cultural Center, and the Gene Autry Museum. Locally, they visited Sony Studios, city hall, police and fire departments

A full-day agenda on Saturday begins with introductions and opening remarks by the USMSCA President George Barks, Culver City Sister City Committee, Inc. President Barbara Honig, Culver City Mayor Micheal O’Leary, visiting Mayors and V.I.P’s.

The Keynote Speaker for the conference is Sr. David Figueroa Ortega, Los Angeles Mexican Consul General. Guest speakers include, George Novinger, Regional Director, U.S. Dept. of State, discussing the Office of Foreign Missions, Tomas Torres, Director U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, speaking about the U.S./Mexico border environment, Christine Parra from the Culver City Fire Department presenting in Spanish, the theme of community emergency response, and Maria Rosa Garcia-Acevedo, Ph.D. from the Political Science Department at Cal State Northridge focusing on the importance of relationships with Mexico.

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The Saturday agenda also includes entertainment, exhibitions and a lunchtime speaker program held concurrently in four different locations discussing four different topics. The evening ends with a Gala Dinner Dance.

A wrap-up forum is scheduled for Sunday.

The Culver City Sister City Committee also has a Youth Program. Open to Culver City resident students in grades 7-12 is the Culver City Sister City Committee- Youth Program, which was established to encourage young people to participate in the Sister City program by promoting cultural exchange. The program offers various travel, cultural and arts, competitions such as Young Artists and Young Authors, annual scholarships and exchange program opportunities with the four sister cities.

Chair of the Youth Program Donna Thayer said the idea behind the Youth Program is that it prepares youth to be global citizens with opportunities to participate in civic life. “The Youth Program gives young people an appreciation and respect for other cultures and a better sense of his/her place in the world,” Thayer said.

The Youth Program will host a roundtable discussion about youth participation and the benefits of international relationships with Mexico, followed by a question and answer session.

When asked about the current and future role of sustaining the relationship between Culver City and Uruapan, Honig said they just elected a new mayor. “We look forward to enhancing our ongoing relationship with them,” Honig said.

In terms of a successful conference, Honig said they have put together an exciting program with impressive speakers. “We want to have the delegates walk away with information that will enhance their sister city relationship,” Honig said.

The event is open to the public. Registration and information about the event can be accessed from both the U.S. Mexico Sister Cities Association website and the Culver City Sister City Committee website at www.culvercitysistercitycommittee.org.