2020 Annual Conference – Sister Cities International (SCI)

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Dear SCI Annual Conference Attendees,

Thank you for taking the time to attend our first ever Virtual Annual Conference! Our 2020 Annual Conference, “Reimagining Citizen Diplomacy: New Connections in a Virtual World” was brought to life through the involvement that everyone has had in the new territory of the online conference.

We had over 2,900 unique participants throughout the two-day conference, resulting in amazing questions and comments from viewers to our panelists and speakers!

We would like to extend our appreciation to our panelists, speakers, moderators, performers, and others who were a part of the conference. And of course, a very special thank you goes out to you all – our attendees – for your participation, investment, and donations to Sister Cities International!

If you haven’t had a chance to donate but would still like to, you can still make your greatly appreciated donation.

We’ve prepared a short survey for you all in order to know your thoughts on the conference. We greatly appreciate you supporting us by taking a couple of minutes to complete this survey.

We are extremely grateful to have experienced this virtual annual conference with you all for the first time and hope that we can be just as innovative for our events to come!

Until then,

AGENDA

July 8th

**Times listed are approximate and may change in real time**

Eastern Daylight Time

1:00PM Opening Session

Opening Remarks

Leroy Allala, President & CEO, Sister Cities International

Welcome Message

Ron Nirenberg, Mayor of San Antonio, TX; Chairman of Sister Cities International
Alan Webber, Mayor, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Undersecretary General Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Karen Pence, Second Lady of the United States of America; Honorary Co-Chair, Sister Cities International

1:35PM Announcement of Annual Award Winners

Award Presenter

Leroy Allala, President & CEO, Sister Cities International

Categories

Innovation in Arts and Culture
Innovation in Humanitarian Assistance

1:39PM PANEL “New Opportunities for Connections in a Virtual World”

Moderator

Dr. Jane S. Cahaly, State Representative Liaison & South Carolina State Representative, Sister Cites International

Panelists:

V.C. Dale Holness, Mayor, Broward County, Florida
Dr. Alex Akulli, Director, Center for International Studies, University of South Carolina, Upstate; Vice President, Sister Cities International of Greater Spartanburg, South Carolina

2:22PM Musical performance by Kinan Azmeh

2:28PM Best Overall Sister Cities Program Award winners

Population under 25,000
Population 25,001-100,000
Population over 100,000

2:36PM "Strengthening Ties with Our Global Partners: Models for Connectivity"

Moderator – Lorna K. Johnson, SCI Board Member, SCI Africa Regional Representative and Principal of Global Linkages, Inc.

Global Awareness Team Presentation – Mary Palko, Chair, Global Awareness Team, Sister Cities International
Video from Mexico-U.S. Sister Cities Mayors’ Summit in El Paso and Juarez, introduced by: Peter Svarzbein, Board Member, Sister Cities International; Mayor Pro Tem, City of El Paso, Texas
Wunderbar Together: Building strong U.S.-German Sister Cities Programs
by:
- Teri Simmons, Director, International & Immigration Practice Group, Arnall Golden Gregory, Atlanta; SCI EU Representative
- Christina Plewinski, Manager of International Relations, City of Nürnberg, Germany
Message from Prince Kwame Kludjeson, President & Chair, Africa Global Sister Cities
Meessage from Union of Russian Cities
Message from Beijing Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
Excerpt from first SCI Global Conversations with Hon. Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Hellenic Republic (Greece)

3:10PM Coffee break & Young Artist and Authors Showcase

3:25PM PANEL “Managing City Diplomacy during and after a Pandemic”

Moderator

Sherry Dowlatshahi, Chief Diplomacy & Protocol Officer, City of San Antonio

Panelists:

Mark Chandler, Director of Mayor’s Office of Global Engagement, City & County of San Francisco, USA
Maria Dolores Hernandez Montoya, Director of International Relations, City of Guadalajara, Mexico
Stéphanie Jecrois, International Affairs Advisor, City of Montreal, Canada

4:07PM Musical performance by Dionne Warwick

4:14PM Day 1 Main Sessions Wrap-up - Leroy Allala, President & CEO, Sister Cities International

4:16PM Coffee break & Young Artist and Authors Showcase

4:37PM “Member Roundtable – Members Learning From Members”

Organizer and Moderator

Barbara Shepard, State Representative Liaison & North Carolina State Representative, Sister Cities International

July 9th

**Times listed are approximate and may change in real time**

Eastern Daylight Time

1:00PM Opening Session

Opening Remarks

Carol Robertson Lopez, Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Sister Cities International

Keynote Messages:

Hon. Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director, National League of Cities
H.E. Lin Songtian, President, Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
Shin Koyamada SCI Board and Executive Committee Member; Hollywood Actor (“The Last Samurai”), Chairman of Koyamada International Foundation
H.E. Shinsuke Sugiyama, Ambassador of Japan to the United States of America
Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State

1:30PM Announcement of Annual Award Winners

Award Presenter

Leroy Allala, President & CEO, Sister Cities International

Categories

Innovation in Youth and Education
Youth Leadership Award
Volunteer of the Year

1:34PM Best Overall Sister Cities Program Award winners

Population under 25,000
Population 25,001-100,000
Population over 100,000

1:41PM Ruth Hashimoto Award

Announced by Fred Blanton

1:49PM PANEL “Arts and Culture in the Post Pandemic Era”

Moderator

Afa Sadykhly Dworkin, President and Artistic Director of Sphinx Music

Panelists:

Stuart Ashman, CEO, International Folk Art Market
Sunil Iyengar, Research & Analysis Director, National Endowment for the Arts

2:31PM Sister City Jazz Ensemble, Musical Bridges Around the World

Dr. Aaron Prado | San Antonio, Texas, USA | Composer, Piano
Brandon Guerra | San Antonio, Texas, USA | Digital Production, Percussion
Anke Schimpf | Darmstadt, Germany | Flute, Saxophone
Chen Hsien (Max) Huang | Kaohsiung, Taiwan | Trumpet
Shlomi Cohen | Tel Aviv, Israel | Saxophone
Prasanna | Chennai, India | Guitar
Suzette Eises | Windhoek, Namibia | Saxophone
Tomoko Sonoda | Kumamoto, Japan | Piano
Vico Diaz | Guadalajara, Mexico | Bass
Elemotho Gaalelekwe | Windhoek, Namibia | Voice, Guitar
Carlo Capua | Fort Worth, Texas, USA | Electric Guitar
Alan Donawa | Georgetown, Guyana | Box Bass

2:41PM Message from Sister Cities New Zealand

2:45PM Coffee break & Young Artist and Authors Showcase

2:55PM “NextGen Leaders: Where They Are Going and Why”

Moderator

Kevin O’Donnell, Young Professional Representative, Board of Directors, Sister Cities International

Panelists:

Jessica Coffield, Chair, Saumur, France Committee, Asheville Sister Cities, North Carolina
Michael Jose Avila, Youth Ambassador, Southern California Sister Cities International

3:36PM Yoga Break

by Suhail Arastu, Board Member, Sister Cities International; Advancement, Musical Bridges Around the World

3:47 PM Musical Performance by Josephine Beavers

3:52PM Visual Art Performance by Kevork Mourad

3:59PM Annual Meeting

Chairman Welcome
Secretary Report (online election results)
Treasurer Remarks
Foundation Update
President Remarks
Chairman Presentation/Remarks
Q&A
Passing of the Gavel from Chairman to Chair-Elect
Acknowledgments

4:55PM Closing Remarks & Acknowledgements

Leroy Allala, President & CEO, Sister Cities International

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

SPEAKERS, PANELISTS AND PERFORMERS

DIONNE WARWICK

Singer, actress and former United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization and United States Ambassador of Health
Speaker and Performer

Karen Pence

Second Lady of the United States of America; Honorary Co-Chair, Sister Cities International

Keynote Address

Kinan Azmeh

Clarinet player and composer of contemporary music
Performer

Marie Royce

Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
Keynote Speaker

Natalia Kanem

United Nations Under – Secretary General and Executive Director of UNFPA

Speaker

Josephine Beavers

Jazz Vocalist

Performer

Ron Nirenberg

Mayor of San Antonio; Chairman of Sister Cities International
Welcome Remarks

ALAN WEBBER

Mayor, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Guest Speaker

CAROL ROBERTSON LOPEZ

Vice Chair, Board of Directors of Sister Cities International
Master of Ceremonies

Leroy R. Allala

President & CEO, Sister Cities International

Opening and Closing Remarks;
Master of Ceremonies

Shin Koyamada

SCI Board and Executive Committee Member; Hollywood Actor (“The Last Samurai”), Chairman of Koyamada International Foundation

Presenter

Teri A. Simmons

Director, International & Immigration Practice Group, Arnall Golden Gregory, Atlanta; SCI EU Representative
Speaker

Mary Palko

Chair, Global Awareness Team, Sister Cities International
Speaker

Lorna K. Johnson

SCI Board Member, SCI Africa Regional Representative; Principal of Global Linkages, Inc.

Moderator

Geoffrey R. Pyatt

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Hellenic Republic (Greece)
Speaker

H.E. Shinsuke J. Sugiyama

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan

Keynote Speaker

Peter Svarzbein

Board Member, Sister Cities International; Mayor Pro Tem, City of El Paso, Texas
Presenter

Jane S. Cahaly

State Representative Liaison & South Carolina State Representative, Sister Cites International
Moderator

Prince Kwame Kludjeson

President & Chair, Africa Global Sister Cities
Speaker

Dale V.C. Holness

Mayor, Broward County, Florida
Panelist

Alex Akulli

Director, Center for International Studies, University of South Carolina Upstate; Vice President, Sister Cities International, Greater Spartanburg, SC
Panelist