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Sister Cities International To Host Africa Forum at 2019 Annual Conference in Houston

WASHINGTON, DC (July 11, 2019) – Sister Cities International (SCI) will be hosting an Africa Forum during the 2019 Annual conference, which will be held July 17th- 19th at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Houston, Texas. The forum will be held offsite at the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs of Texas Southern University on Wednesday, July 17th.

This event will allow participants to find out how to build partnerships with Africa; meet the Houston-Luanda Sister Cities Association, the only African sister City of Houston; meet representatives and potential sister City partnerships; and learn the best practices for an effective African sister city relationship.

The forum will begin with SCI presenting our keynote speaker, Mr. Jerome Ringo, the Goodwill Ambassador for the Pan African Parliament. Then, there will be the session on the “African Consuls in the U.S.: A Resource for Development”. From this session, visitors get to hear from consuls, including the Honorable Julia Machado, the Consul General of Angola; the Honorable Khaled Rizk, the Consul of Egypt; and the Honorable Jack Webb, who is the Honorary Consul of Ghana.

This event will also have a session on “Partners for Africa!”. Mr. Christian Epps, the founder & CEO of Lights, Camera, Diaspora!; and Dr. Christian Ulasi the Interim Dean of Academic Affairs at the Barbara-Jordan Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs.

This forum will enhance the friendship and collaboration between Africa and the United States, while shedding light on innovative ways to work together to build strong, lasting relationships. The entire African continent presents many opportunities for U.S. sister cities, but only currently represents 150 sister cities partnerships. These partnerships range from providing support to schools, clinics, youth and cultural exchanges.  With robust technology access and increased stable governments, partnering with Africa through Sister Cities International can provide business and municipal development.

To learn more about the 2019 Africa Forum, please see here and to register, please click here.

About Sister Cities International

Founded as a Presidential Initiative by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Sister Cities International serves as the national membership organization for over 500 individual sister cities, counties, and states across the United States with relationships in over 2,000 communities in 140 countries on six continents. The sister city network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers who work tirelessly to promote the organizations’ mission of creating world peace and understanding through economic development, youth and education, arts and culture, and humanitarian assistance.

 

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