The Sonoma-Penglai Sister City Committee (SPSCC) won Sister Cities International’s 2015 Innovation Award (Youth and Education) for a city with a population less than 100,000.
The 2015 Sister Cities International Innovation Awards recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding community and individual sister city programs that promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.
SPSCC’s objective is to introduce the youth of Sonoma to the larger world and teach them the importance of creating and maintaining global relationships. SPSCC connected fourth- and fifth-grade students of Penglai in Sonoma with children in the Shandong Province in China through a pen-pal correspondence program.
Through educational and cultural activities, the SPSCC fosters a greater understanding between the two communities through mutual cooperation.
When the mayor of Penglai visited Sonoma in June 2013, he quickly agreed to endorse this project and assigned staff to identify an elementary school in China for the pen-pal correspondence. A member of SPSCC contacted school Superintendent Louann Carlomagno who endorsed the project. And El Verano Elementary School was recruited to serve as the first sister city school.
Lynne Joiner, a Sonoma committee member, traveled to Penglai and hand-delivered artwork, photos, maps, and books from the Sonoma students to the Yisan School in China. She returned home with paintings and souvenirs created by the Chinese students for their friends in the U.S.
There are now 100 elementary-aged students writing and communicating with one another.
Award winners will be honored at a special ceremony on Saturday, July 18, during Sister Cities International’s 59th annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Sister Cities International 59th annual conference will bring together elected and municipal officials, engaged citizens, diplomats, and business leaders to discuss, “Building Generations for Peace.”
The conference will provide attendees with opportunities to learn about strengthening their sister city programs through informative sessions led by experts and industry leaders.
For additional information on the 2015 Sister Cities International annual conference, visit: SisterCitiesConference.org.
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