Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Sal Espino will lead a delegation of twenty Fort Worth Ambassadors to Guiyang, China June 11-19 to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the partnership as sister cities.
The exchange will consist of three nights in Guiyang, visiting local sites of interest as well as an official commemoration of the establishment of the partnership at city hall and a celebration banquet following. The exchange will also include a visit to Beijing to see the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, and a tour of the Forbidden City as well as a visit to Shanghai.
“Fort Worth is eager to recommit to this important relationship with Guiyang and looks forward to many more beneficial exchanges between our two cities. Together, Fort Worth and Guiyang, hope to create a better understanding of our individual cultures. There are many similarities and many differences we will be able to share,” said Mayor Pro Tem Espino.
The group will also include Youth Ambassadors who will be home hosted while in Guiyang. Fort Worth and Guiyang have developed a strong reciprocal youth program with students visiting each other’s cities annually. Fort Worth will be hosting fifteen Chinese students at its International Leadership Academy in July.
It is only appropriate that Mayor Betsy Price visit Fort Worth’s closest sister city Toluca, Mexico. Toluca was signed as an official partner in 1998. Mayor Price’s visit comes at the end of a DFW Airport mission trip to Mexico City where she and Dallas Mayor Rawlings are promoting the opportunities of the North Texas Region.
While in Toluca, Price will visit with Mayor Zamora, city councilors, and business leaders to discuss potential partnership opportunities and exchanges. She will also receive information on the upcoming youth and educator exchanges that will occur over the summer and discuss an upcoming Women’s Symposia co-sponsored by the Women’s Policy Forum of Fort Worth to be held in the spring of 2017.
Toluca, officially called Toluca de Lerdo is the state capital of Mexico State, as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. Toluca is located in the economic center of Mexico. Toluca has become an important economic city because of its industries and infrastructure that produce beverages, food, textiles, cars, and electronic products.
Mayor Betsy Price and Dinner Chairs Phil and Anne Moroneso lead the crowd of nearly 500 through an evening of international cuisine and entertainment as Sister Cities recognized and honored individuals, businesses, and organizations that have made significant contributions to citizen diplomacy, global understanding, world political stability, and international commerce.
The event was made possible by the Members Circle, a network of individuals, organizations, corporations and community leaders committed to expanding global relationships for peace and prosperity at home and abroad. Funding and in-kind support from the City of Fort Worth (4% of FWSCI’s total budget) plays a key role in its mission, but most work is made possible through public support like that received through the Members Circle.
The dinner was held May 5 to celebrate over 30 years of service to the City of Fort Worth. Entertainment was provided by the Mondo Drummers, Ballet Folklorico de Fort Worth, Steven Li from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Youlan Ji from The Cliburn, Panther City Five band, and many community leaders and members of sister Cities performing various international songs and dances.
The event will include an analysis of US and Cuban relations by Ambassador Carlos Alzugaray Treto, former Cuban Ambassador to the European Union and currently Professor at the University of Havana.
“The briefing we received from Ambassador Alzugaray while we were in Cuba was both insightful and educational. We are happy to host him in Fort Worth to further the understanding between our two countries,” said Mae Ferguson, President/CEO of Sister Cities who led the group to Cuba.
Before becoming a full-time scholar, Ambassador Alzugaray spent thirty-five years as a Foreign Service Officer, being
posted at Cuban diplomatic and consular missions. He is also the author of more than thirty publications on Cuban international relations.
This year marks the 12th year of the International Leadership Academy’s middle school program, Jr. International Leadership Academy (JILA) held July 11—15 for middle school students . This one week Academy will be held at South Hi Mount Elementary School in partnership with the Fort Worth ISD.
College students from Toluca, Mexico and Mbabane, Swaziland will serve as facilitators for the students who will experience cultural presentations and interaction with the university students gaining an international perspective.
“The students will be challenged to improve and refine their leadership skills and learn how diverse cultures can support common goals. It’s a tremendous opportunity for personal growth and prepares these students for a global society,” said Nancy Marchant, JILA Coordinator.
Later this month, thirty-two students and ten leaders are visiting four of Fort Worth’s eight sister cities including Trier, Germany; Budapest, Hungary; Reggio Emilia, Italy; and Toluca, Mexico.
Toluca, Mexico: Nathan Henderson, Stripling Middle School and Stephanie Atkinson, University of Texas at Arlington.
Sister Cities is working with Cuba Cultural Travel, an operator under a “People to People” license required by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury who sets regulations for any American citizen wishing to travel to Cuba.
Nearly 100 Fort Worth students recently completed a vigorous selection process and have been selected to represent the City of Fort Worth as Ambassadors to Fort Worth’s international partners.
Ms. Forrest is a teacher at Fort Worth Country Day and has been involved with Sister Cities for many years. She has led the Jr. International Leadership Academy for the past ten years and hosted students from Nagaoka, Japan. She also served as the delegation leader to Japan for the prestigious Harashin scholars program in 2015.
Ms. Oliynyk has served in several leadership positions on the youth board and traveled to several sister cities including Guiyang, China and Bandung, Indonesia. She was also chosen as the recipient of the Sister Cities International Youth Volunteer of the Year award which was presented in Minneapolis, MN at the national conference in July 2015.
Three prestigious youth scholarships were also presented including:
Henry Chao and Zoe Nichols-Payne were recognized as this year’s Rotary International Scholars. These two ninth grade students will develop and organize a service project to be conducted at a school in Guiyang, China in June 2016.