Shenandoah has a great asset in
Tisovec, Slovakia. Tisovec is Shenandoah's sister city. At
Tuesday's (10/11/11) City Council meeting we heard the report of a
recent trip there by a Shenandoah delegation. The entire report was
superb and full of hope. The Tisovec
people, especially in the parliamentary leadership, were moved by
Shenandoah's gesture of goodwill. The delegation was even invited to
a school program about 9/11. They thought they were going to hear
student reports of the dreadful day but instead it was actually a
chance for the Slavic people to ask us (the delegation) our own
feelings of 9/11. The report was that everyone in attendance was
greatly moved. These kinds of events further bind cultures. We are
truly blessed to have a friend in the community of Tisovec, Slovakia.
The Sister
Cities International program is a great way to connect the world.
It's a “win win!” Great strides seem to have been taken to warm
relations and strengthen future ties. As a gesture of goodwill
Shenandoah proposed a tree planting ceremony on Tisovec ground as
symbolic of a solid foundation of relations between our two great
cities. This tentatively may take place in the spring of 2012.
As part of my “wish list” of things
to happen in Shenandoah while in my proposed tenure of City
Councilman At Large is the hope that individuals in our community may
organize through this Sister City International delegation to
communicate personally with individuals of the sister city of
Tisovec, Slovakia. Ongoing communication may help create friendships
and foster even economic ideas to benefit each other.
Constantly improved technology can make
this process easy. With the help of Facebook and even the premiere
of Google+ exchanges can take place daily. Google+
especially comes to mind because there are simple avenues to have
webcam “hangouts” in circles. This can be not only fun but also
productive as far as economic ideas and cultural exchanges are
concerned.
I plan to look into this process
immediately to see it's relevance.
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