Below please find past issues of Neighbors Abroad's periodic newsletter as well as announcements for some of our projects.
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News and EventsNeighbors Abroad Receives Award for Innovation in Youth and EducationJune 2024 – Continuing our three-year streak of bringing home annual awards from Sister Cities International (SSI), Neighbors Abroad won the Sister Cities International 2024 Innovation in Youth and Education Award, which we share with our collaborators in Enschede, the Netherlands. The recognition is based on the cross-border Overduin Civil Courage essay contest and the resulting 2023 teen trip to Enschede. The impactful educational program shined a light on a little known WW II hero from Enschede and brought together teens from three countries and four cities, including the City of Palo Alto's Sibling City, Bloomington, Indiana. SSI is the global umbrella organization for Sister Cities worldwide. Many people worked hard for over a year to conceive and roll out the project, including Monica Schreiber, Ed Fike and Jeannet Kiessling in Palo Alto and Dayenne Smolders, Bart Molenkamp and Muriel Platenkamp in Enschede. And none of it would have happened if not for Uri Elzur, Willy Berends, Sonna Krom, Bert Wouldstra, and Herbert Zwartz. Click here for more information on our award-winning program.
Neighbors Abroad Board Member Receives Volunteer of the Year Award from Sister Cities International
August 1, 2023 – Neighbors Abroad announced today that board member and Heidelberg VP Jeannet Kiessling received Sister Cities International's annual award for Volunteer of the Year. The nationwide honor goes to a single Sister City volunteer "who has shown exemplary leadership and talent that benefits local sister city programs and the larger sister city network." The committee selected Jeannet based on her exceptional leadership in several recent Neighbors Abroad initiatives, most notably the Ukrainian Emergency Children's Relief Fund which has raised more than $125,000 (and counting) for Ukrainian orphans and other vulnerable children. Jeannet also conceptualized a cross-border student essay contest inspired by the heroic deeds of Leendert Overduin, a pastor from Palo Alto's Dutch city of Enschede who saved hundreds of Jewish lives during World War II, and spearheaded last August's International Festival at Palo Alto City Hall.
Sister Cities International serves as the national membership organization for individual sister cities, counties, and states across the United States. This network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers in nearly 500 member communities with over 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries. Read more here. Neighbors Abroad Announces Artist-in-Residency Program in Palo Alto's Swedish Sister City
June 5, 2023--Neighbors Abroad today announced it is seeking a Palo Alto-based professional artist to serve as an Artist-in-Residence in Linköping, Palo Alto's Swedish Sister City. The selected artist will receive airfare, an apartment, a monetary stipend and the chance to exhibit their art in the charming city of Linköping, located two hours southeast of Stockholm. The residency will begin during spring 2024. Applications must be received by October 31, 2023. Full details about the program may be found in the document below.
Linköping Brass Band to Present Joint Concert with Foothill Symphonic Winds Brass Ensemble
April 7, 2023--Neighbors Abroad is pleased to present the Linköping Brass Band – from Palo Alto’s Swedish Sister City – in a special joint performance with the Foothill Symphonic Winds Brass Ensemble on Friday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. Join us for an evening of rousing, toe-tapping selections performed by these two acclaimed brass instrumental groups. The free concert, titled Classy, Sassy, and Brassy, will be held at Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. The event is dedicated to past president and longtime Neighbors Abroad member, Barbara Evans, who passed away in September 2022. A reception will follow the concert. For more information, please email [email protected]
Neighbors Abroad Names Scholarship After Longtime Leader Iraida Espinosa
March 12, 2023--Neighbors Abroad announced today that one of the annual scholarships it gives to deserving college students in Palo Alto's oldest Sister City, Palo, Leyte, the Philippines, will be named after Iraida Busó Espinosa, who passed away peacefully in her Los Altos home on January 5, 2023, a month shy of her 105th birthday. The Iraida Espinosa Scholarship, which is funded for two years, will go to a deserving college student in Palo who is pursuing a degree in teaching and education. A longtime Palo Alto Unified teacher and member of Neighbors Abroad, Espinosa served as Neighbors Abroad's president from 1983–84 and remained active throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She developed a special interest in Palo, Leyte, and worked to raise funding for a children’s library and vocational training center there. Palo Scholarship recipients are young college students from Palo who would otherwise have trouble paying for books and expenses if not for the financial support. Many of our Palo Scholars have gone on to professional careers, as teachers, engineers, social workers, thereby giving back to the community by helping to shape the next generation of Palo leaders. Learn more about our work in Palo here. Sarah Burgess Named Neighbors Abroad President
January 2023--Longtime Neighbors Abroad Board Member Sarah Burgess became President of Neighbors Abroad in January 2023. Read her blog entry about the leadership transition here.
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