The Baghdad - Denver Region Partnership
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The Baghdad - Denver Region Partnership Sister Cities International Conference July 28, 2005 A Region to Region Partnership 52 Cities and Counties City of Baghdad Baghdad Province City of Baghdad with 9 Districts and 89 Neighborhoods 1 “Regional Area” with 6 Districts and many cities, towns, and villages Purpose of the Partnership To promote the exchange of ideas and understanding between citizens, government officials, education faculty and students, businesses, and nonprofit organizations Origins of the Partnership • Mayor of Glendale, Colorado, 1996-2003 • Served in Iraq with the Army Reserve • Colorado becomes one of many resources • The relationship grows and is formalized Why Should We Care? • What’s happening is worth our understanding and our investment • Stability is in our interests and that of the Iraq’s • Righteousness of the war is a separate discussion • So many trying to do right thing for the right reasons Partnership Activities • Email and Phone Friendships & Advice • Shipping School Supplies through Sister Cities Program • “How do government, business, education, and NGOs work together?” Former Baghdad Governor Ali with children at Butterfly Pavilion Delegation Visits • December 2003 – 5 Baghdad City Council • May 2004 – United Way and Baghdad Representatives meet in Amman, Jordan An NGO Work Session • August 2004 – 1 City Council Member and University Professor • October 2004 – Formal Partnership Signed • April 2005 – 18 Officials for 2 Weeks April Delegation with Lt. Gov. Jane Norton Denver Region Participants And many, many other groups and individuals… Future Plans • Delegations: – Intergovernmental Relations, Amman – Late 2005 – Gov/Bus/Ed/NGO Delegation, Colorado – Early 2006 – Student / Kiwanis Youth, Colorado – Spring 2006 – Iraqis to Sister Cities, Municipal League Conferences – Delegation from Colorado to Baghdad when possible • NGO Mentorship Training via conference, delegation visits, and distance learning • Establish Rotary Community Corps in Baghdad • Continued Shipment of School Supplies and possibly Medical Supplies w/Project CURE Personal Observations Questions likely with an Islamic Partnership… • Is Islam a violent religion? • Doesn’t this make us a terrorist target? • What security arrangements are needed? Report from 2006 SCI Conference “The opening of the 2006 Sister Cities Convention took place a few weeks into the Israeli – Palestinian conflict in Gaza, and coincided with the start of the Lebanon War. Headlines announced the war news over pictures of grieving civilians peering into wreckage. However, inside the convention hall, a remarkable panel of mayors, representing five Israeli and four West Bank towns, declared that they were committed to peace, and that after the shooting stopped they would still have the task of learning to live together. Ibrahim Jaffal, Mayor of Abu Dees in the West Bank declared, “We are fed up with violence and want to live in peace and forget all that history of blood.” Avi Rabinovitch, from the Union of Local Authorities in Israel, showed that he knew how to work an American crowd. “I have a dream,” he said. “In my dream, at your convention next year, we will come back with fifteen Palestinian mayors, fifteen Israeli mayors, fifteen Jordanian mayors, and fifteen Egyptian mayors, and they will all have American sister cities. These mayors are elected by citizens, and they reflect their citizens’ feelings. We need to build trust, and the mayors are here to show you that this can happen, but we need more American partners.” 2013 Update • The Baghdad-Denver Region Partnership still active, but so much untapped potential… • What happened to the State Department, Sister Cities, and public awareness? • Americans don’t know and don’t care; Middle East don’t know what they don’t know Call to Action • Renew commitment to public diplomacy – Public/Citizen Diplomacy and the Cold War: Risks and Benefits • SCI: Renew the Muslim World Initiative and Partners for Peace Program • Lobby Congress and State Department • Partner with groups like National Guard State Partnership Programs The Baghdad - Denver Region Partnership [email protected] Cell: 303-667-5555 .