Barbara Honig
Today’s world is so much smaller than it used to be. I remember when we spoke on the phone long distance and either couldn’t hear each other or spoke over crackling noises. Now, we communicate with people all over the world as if they were next door whether via social media, skype, email or phone. When the concept of Sister Cities was developed in the 1950’s by President Eisenhower, I don’t believe he ever imagined the instantaneous connection we experience today. What he obviously did realize was that establishing relationships around the world through one-to-one friendships and communication can make a difference in the way people relate to one another. He realized that those personal links are very useful in a volatile world arena to fight against the threat of nuclear disaster and world war. And although I would say this world has not been very successful in our movement towards peace and justice, I believe that the Sister City model of citizen diplomacy still plays a very important role in making a global everlasting difference.
The mission of Sister Cities International is “to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation — one individual, one community at a time”. I think the old adage, “Think Globally, Act Locally”, is very applicable to Sister Cities. Perhaps more relevant would be the addition, “Affect both Globally and Locally”. The Culver City Sister City Committee is part of this international effort towards world peace. Our residents and our community gain tremendously through the work of this community based organization. Our focus for many years has been our youth programs. If young people are given the opportunity to understand different cultures and belief systems through sharing their own with youth their age, they will become adults who are more respectful and accepting of the differences among us. So we have sent many middle school students to our sister city of Kaizuka, Japan and many high school students to our sister city of Iksan, South Korea. Many Culver City families have also hosted students from those two cities who have visited Culver City as part of the exchange program. It is phenomenal how many lives have been affected in this process both here and abroad. Thinking through all the years of this program, it is amazing when you realize that the Culver City participants may have gone off to live elsewhere, attending college or just moving to another city, yet the influence on their lives and the way they respond in life continues.
Developing a relevant itinerary for a student delegation from another country is no small feat. We want them to learn about U.S. culture and life, relate specifically to life in Culver City, develop friendships among themselves and with their Culver City hosts and have fun. Just last summer when 8 middle school students from Kaizuka were in Culver City, they not only visited and learned about our city structure and government, visited Sony and our city historical archives, but spent time in Japan learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and then toured Culver City’s Mayme Clayton library for more in-depth information about the Civil Rights Movement. They had a class on the environment and what we in Culver City are doing to protect our natural resources and shared with us what they do in Japan. The class was led by folks from the city and Ballona Creek Renaissance who gave up their time to present to our visiting student delegation. And when we sent our 7 high school students from Culver City to Iksan this past summer, they also were exposed to similar community information and locations relevant to Korean culture. It takes a lot of thought, time and energy to create such an itinerary and then carry it out, but this is the basis of the Sister City model. I am very proud to be part of such an all volunteer organization.
The Culver City Sister City Committee formed as a membership organization with support from the city of Culver City. We are currently a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and we continue to receive some financial support from the city as well. We welcome new members and offer the possibility of a lifetime membership which most people take advantage of so they never have to pay again, however, others continue to donate, continuing to support the work of the organization. Coming up on our agenda is the inaugural high school delegation coming on December 26th from our sister city of Lethbridge, Canada and the ongoing marathon runner exchange with Kaizuka, Japan in February (our runners go to Japan) and in March (their runners come to Culver City). We are also very proud to be the host city of the 49th annual U.S./Mexico Sister Cities Association international conference in early March 2012. Please check us out on Facebook and our web page: www.culvercitysistercitycommittee.org. We are looking for host families with high school students for our Lethbridge students. Please let us know if you are interested and pass the word on to others.
This article focused on the student exchange programs to be followed in December by a more in-depth discussion of the community/adult programs, specifically looking at my participation on the Culver City Sister City community delegation to our sister city of Lethbridge, Canada in July 2010 and refuting the rumor that all we are is a “travel club.”
Barbara Honig is the President of the Culver City Sister City Committee and a former President of the Culver City School Board.
Very well said, Barbara!
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