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SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL BEGINS ISLAMIC DIALOGUES WITH AFGHAN EMBASSY RECEPTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2005

WASHINGTON - Building ties with the Islamic world is important, say Sister Cities International leaders, but our rhetoric rings hollow if we cannot sit at a table and talk with one another. "It is our intent to build more partnerships with predominantly Islamic countries," said Sherman Banks, president of the Board of Directors for Sister Cities International. "Through a series of events in 2005 and our 50th anniversary in 2006, we want to remove the barriers that divide us. We want to build a level of trust that involves an exchange of ideas."

Banks and the entire Board of Directors will attend a reception at the Embassy of Afghanistan on March 3, 2005 to open the Islamic Dialogues. The reception will be hosted by His Excellency Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad. "We are honored to host this reception in an effort to foster intercultural understanding and friendship between our peoples. The opportunity for Americans to have a dialogue with Muslims in Afghanistan on issues of mutual interest and concern will resolve a lot of misperceptions they may have about one another."

The reception springs from historic ties of peace and friendship. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who sparked the sister city movement in 1956, also made history by being the first U.S. president to personally visit Afghanistan. The reception at the embassy highlights sister city partnerships already existing in the Islamic world and opens the door to forming new alliances.

Two U.S. communities currently have sister city relationships in Afghanistan. San Diego, Calif. signed a sister city agreement in 2004 with Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Community organizer Steve Brown, who led a successful effort to build a school serving hundreds of children in Jalalabad, will also attend the reception. Scottsbluff and Gering, Neb. partnered with Bamiyan, Afghanistan in 2003.

Board members will attend a second reception at the residence of the Ambassador from Morocco on Friday night, where the Islamic Dialogues will continue. The organization is sending the "Global Partnerships for Change Mission" to Morocco in 2006 to explore establishing additional sister city relationships.

The one-year Islamic Dialogues initiative will convene a series of forums around the globe to open discussions about ways to improve sister city partnerships and build trust with predominantly Islamic countries. After the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001, Sister Cities International launched an initiative called "Sister Cities United for Peace & Friendship." The initiative sparked a 33% increase in U.S. communities partnering with the Middle East, an 18% increase in partnerships with Africa, and a 3% increase in Eurasian sister city relationships.

Representing more than 2,300 communities in 127 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.