Sister Cities International Honors Local Leaders

June 12, 2006

Local leaders, George E. Wallace, Mamie E. Locke, Paige V. Washington, and Randall A. Gilliland, will be honored for extraordinary influence in the sister city movement this summer. These leaders from Hampton will be inducted to the 50th Anniversary Local Government Leadership Circle this summer during Sister Cities International's 50th Anniversary Conference in Washington, D.C.

The induction ceremony will take place at the prestigious Warner Theatre on Saturday, July 15, 2006, where a musical tribute to citizen diplomats hosted by songwriter and singer John McCutcheon will highlight the event.

"The inductees to the 50th Anniversary Local Government Leadership Circle have forged sister city ties around the globe," said Tim Honey, executive director of Sister Cities International. He noted that sister city ties become "official" when local government leaders sign a sister city agreement, and said, "The support of local government officials is essential to sister city programs and contributes directly to their success in building a sustainable sister city program."

Inductees for the 50th Anniversary Local Government Leadership Circle were nominated by local sister city programs. Inductees were chosen because of their support for sister city activities and efforts to build cross-cultural international partnerships.

The sister city movement is marking the 50th Anniversary of its founding in 2006. The movement dates its beginnings to a White House Conference on Citizen Diplomacy convened in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to bring together citizens forging ties with communities abroad. On September 11, 1956, President Eisenhower exhorted delegates, "to help build the road to an enduring peace" and a Civic Committee was appointed by the President to set up town affiliations linking U.S. communities with counterparts around the globe. Today it is a grassroots movement that reaches around the globe to 134 countries.

The 50th Anniversary Conference, which will take place July 13-15, 2006, will involve more than 1,000 sister city activists from throughout the globe. Conference activities will include embassy receptions, visits to Capitol Hill, workshops on economic development, and the National Summit on Citizen Diplomacy.

Representing more than 2,500 communities in 134 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs.