Sister Cities of Durham, North Carolina

Our Annual Meeting was on Nov. 6th, on Zoom

  International contacts joined our meeting from Tanzania, Mexico, England, Greece, Russia, Costa Rica, Japan, and China.
  Our own Mayor Steve Schewel welcomed these international guests.
The plans now are to use this technology to have more virtual contacts around the world.

 Awards Presented:  
-- The 7th Annual SCD/Mayor's Award for "Promoting International Understanding" was presented by Mayor Steve Schewel to Heidi White,  Director of International Student Services at DTCC. (See below.)

-- The 9th Annual Dorothy Borden Awards for long term service to Sister Cities were presented to
Nancy Proia and Linda Horstman.

Members of the Board of Directors were elected:    Connie Gomez-Joines,  Bob Ashley,  Sue Mathias

In spite COVID, we accomplished a lot this year.
-- Our biggest success this year was the 3rd Annual Festival of Nations as a virtual festival (see the report below), especially international youth groups singing "We Are the World" as their statement in support of World Peace.
-- The plans for the Peace Grove of Trees at Durham Central Park will become a reality in January. 
-- Our City Committees reported a number of significant projects this year, including:
1) The Japan Bell Ringing on Zoom to commemorate the 75 years of peace between the US and Japan since the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945,
2) Durham delegation visited Tilaran,
3) The 7th annual visit of the Toyama College of Foreign Languages,
4) Donation of COVID Masks from Zhuzhou to Durham's Fire Department. 
    Regretfully the COVID crisis caused the cancelation of several projects, including the Kavala Wine Tasting, the visit of Castle Theatre from Durham University, Library programs, and a visit to Sibiu.

    With the new year of 2021 and the hope for better circumstances, we are looking forward to resuming our many contacts with our international friends around the world.

The Annual Dorothy Borden Volunteer Award for service to Sister Cities was presented at the Annual Meeting:

Pictured left:  2020 recipients 
Nancy Proia and Linda Horstman.

     This award is named for Dorothy Borden, the Founding President of Sister Cities of Durham.  Recipients are selected based on long time service and commitment to SCD.

We enjoyed being a part of Durham's

 Holiday Parade.   We had 9 nations with  flags, banners, and dancers.

Our Vision:
We strive to develop a peaceful world, with mutual understanding and cooperation, one person and one community at a time.

Our Mission:  We partner with the City of Durham to organize and promote Sister Cities activities for Durham residents and to establish international Sister Cities relationships.  

Pictured is our sign at Durham Central Park.
The Peace Grove of Trees at the Park will represent our nine Sister Cities, with our partnership with Durham Central Park.

Durham students welcome visiting students from our Sister Cities at RDU airport.