Keywords: Cursuri & Conferinte

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The conference speakers will explore opportunities and challenges facing the global community in the 21st century and point to ways ahead, as we seek to shape the future of sustainable peace through our own communities.

Theme: Sustainable Peace through Livable Communities

As active players on the global stage, the speakers' insights will provoke discussion and debate throughout the conference by providing a diverse and challenging range of perspectives.

3 Pre-Conference Tracks will offer intense sessions concurrently on Wednesday, July 16.

• Economic Development - City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Department of Economic Development are all looking for innovative channels to encourage entrepreneurship, build investment, and stimulate tourism in your community. Sister city programs are often overlooked as a partner in these efforts. Many local sister city programs have found a winning strategy to adding this work to the traditional mix of exchanges and programs. You can "Show Your Mayor the Money" by learning the jargon, taking a page from fellow volunteer leaders who have succeeded, and sharpening up on trends from expert presenters.

• Africa - Moving beyond the humanitarian assistance model is a driving desire of African sister cities. Participants will learn how to find opportunities to create viable economic and cultural relationships with impact, hear from experts on the current state of Africa, and explore first-person accounts of productive sister city partnerships on the continent.

• Asia - From some of our oldest partnerships to hot new ones, working in Asia provides members a range of cultures, perspectives, and challenges. Find the secrets to success from expert speakers, thriving partnerships, and representatives from various countries in the region.

All Pre-Conference attendees can start the morning with a Keynote Address then move into sessions for their selected track. The session order for each of the Pre-Conference tracks is as follows:

• 11:20 a.m. - 12:20 p.m.: Experts & Real Time Trends

• 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Sister Cities Case Studies

• 3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: Discussion Panel of International Representatives

Conference Workshops are being offered on Thursday, July 17 and Friday, July 18.

The tentative session schedule will include:

Thursday, July 17, 2008

• 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

  • Sustaining Your Community Experts Panel

  • Ramping Up Your Fundraising Program

  • Sister Schools: Connecting Classrooms

• 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

  • Sister Cities Role in the Global Economy

  • Volunteers Corps - Who's Managing Whom?

  • New By-Laws Information Session

• 3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

  • Sustaining Your Community Experts Panel (repeated)

  • Sister Cities in Regions of Conflict

  • Communications/Marketing Strategies

Friday, July 18, 2008

• 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

  • Solutions for Youth Programs

  • Waging Peace: Cross-Cultural Dialogue Between U.S. & French Sister Cities

  • Mayor's Forum: Engaging Your Elected Officials

Confimed Keynote Speakers:

Pre-Conference Day Opening Plenary Keynote Speaker

Duane Kissick, AECOM

Mr. Kissick most recently has spoken at the Asia/Pacific Housing Forum held in Singapore and the International Symposium on City-to-City partnerships in Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He will provide the context for economic development and sister city activity in rapidly growing Asia and Africa. AECOM is a global development firm focusing on sustainable development services in the fast-growing emerging markets sector.

Opening Plenary Keynote Speaker, July 17, 2008

Diane Dillon-Ridgely

Dianne Dillon-Ridgley is an environmentalist, a human-rights activist and an advocate for women's issues - but sustainability is at the core of everything she does. "If we talk about striving for a more sustainable world, all countries are literally 'developing countries'," she says.

Helping to implement change is a theme in Dillon-Ridgley's work. She believes that fundamental institutions must change. "Look at the Global Water Partnership," she says. "It is this new kind of institution that grew out of the inability of current institutions to adequately address the needs of developing countries and the promotion of integrated water-resources management."

Dillon-Ridgley comes by her intense involvement with her world naturally. "[My family] all tried to instill a very clear moral and civic compass. That's the compass by which I guide my entire life."

Keynote Speaker, July 18, 2008

Goli Ameri, US Department of State

Goli Ameri was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs on March 19, 2008. She leads the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), which fosters mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries around the world.

Ms. Ameri has long had an interest in education and women?s issues. She served as a trustee of the Catlin Gabel School, as a member of the Oregon Steering Committee on the Campaign for Undergraduate Education for Stanford University, and as a member of the advisory committee for the Babson College Executive MBA program in Oregon.

Ms. Ameri was born in Tehran, Iran, and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and French Literature and her Master's degree in Communications at Stanford University. She also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. She is fluent in French and Persian and is conversant in Spanish. She is the recipient of the Award for the 100 Most Powerful Women in Oregon and the Award of Excellence by Persian Heritage Magazine.

Additional invited keynote speakers include:

• Kit Bond, U.S. Senator for Missouri

• John McCain, Republican Presidential Nominee

• Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton, Democratic Presidential Nominees

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Best Practices Showcase

Does your sister city program have a vibrant youth program? Does your program conduct an innovative fundraiser that others should know about?

Well don't miss the opportunity to showcase your local sister cities program in the Best Practices Showcase.

Who? Local programs looking to share knowledge with their fellow sister city programs.

What? Table top exhibit of your program in one of the following areas:

When? Friday, July 18, 2008, 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Where? 2008 Annual Conference at the Westin Crown Center

http://www.sister-cities.org/sci/sciprograms/Conference/KansasCity/index/index?specs=yes#Registration

Deadline: 2008/07/10