NEIGHBORS ABROAD
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    • Albi, France >
      • 2023 Albi Delegation to Palo Alto
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      • Palo, Leyte, 2022 Delegation
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      • 15th Anniversary - Tsuchiura and Palo Alto
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Neighbors Abroad in the News:

Around Town: Friends and partners
April 26, 2025
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Observando el Universo
February 11, 2025
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JLS tree planting ceremony, potluck honors French sister city anniversary
October 17, 2024
read more
La Ville d’Albi célèbre 30 ans de jumelage avec Palo Alto
July 26, 2024
read more
Around Town: New friends and old
July 6, 2024
read more
Crown Princess Victoria And Prince Daniel attended a conference in Palo Alto.
February 23,2024

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Bridging borders: Supporting the people of Ukraine
December 1, 2023
read more
THE new erA TRAVEL
April 26, 2023
read more
Nonprofit Neighbors Abroad to host International Festival, unveil new sign
August 23, 2022
read more
Palo Alto student essay contest honors Leendert Overduin, Dutch [..]
March 30, 2022
read more
Around Town: Inspired by pastor’s ‘civil courage,’ groups organize [..]
March 19, 2022
read more
More Than $24K Raised For Ukrainian Children By Palo [..]
March 1, 2022
read more
Neighbors Abroad step up to raise money for Ukrainian refugees
February 28, 2022
read more
Around Town: Sister-city relationship grows stronger with $100K gift [..]
February 21, 2021
read more
Around Town: Keep on truckin’; community hero
February 26, 2017
read more
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News and Events

Neighbors Abroad Announces Addition of Palo Alto's First 'Friendship City'

July 2024 – The Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously during summer 2024 to move forward on the next steps to bring our first Friendship City into the fold. Welcome Narok, Kenya! 

Friendship Cities are similar to Sister Cities, but a bit less formal in structure. Narok, situated west of Nairobi, is in one of the most wildlife-rich areas of the country. It is the seat of safari tourism and the world-renowned Great Migration and Maasai Mara National Reserve. It is the district capital of Narok County and is the major center of commerce in the district. Like Palo Alto, the city  has a population of around 65,000 people, primarily Maasai. For more information, click here. 
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Neighbors Abroad Receives Award for Innovation in Youth and Education

June 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 

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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

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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. 

air_linköping-palo_alto_october_31__1_.pdf
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Linköping Brass Band to Present Joint Concert with Foothill Symphonic Winds Brass Ensemble  

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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]


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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

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January 2023--Longtime Neighbors Abroad Board Member Sarah Burgess became President of Neighbors Abroad in January 2023.  Read more about Sarah here. 


ABOUT NEIGHBORS ABROAD

Neighbors Abroad fosters Palo Alto's domestic and international engagement through friendship, education, commerce, and sustainability. 

​We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
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355 Alma Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: (650) 503-3343
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  • Home
  • Sister and Sibling Cities
    • Albi, France >
      • 2023 Albi Delegation to Palo Alto
      • 30th Anniversary Celebrations - 2024
    • Bloomington, Indiana
    • Enschede, Netherlands
    • Heidelberg, Germany
    • Linköping, Sweden
    • Oaxaca, Mexico
    • Palo, Leyte, Philippines >
      • Palo, Leyte, 2022 Delegation
    • Tsuchiura, Japan >
      • 15th Anniversary - Tsuchiura and Palo Alto
    • Yangpu District, China
  • Friendship Cities
    • Narok, Kenya
  • Programs
    • Art and Sustainability
    • Climate Offsets and Network
    • 60th Anniversary Party & SustainCity Summit
    • Overduin Essay Contest >
      • Overduin Student Trip
    • Student Exchanges
    • Palo Alto/Enschede Photo Project >
      • Photographer Bios
    • Ukraine Relief Fund
    • Yaxe Rainwater Capture Project
    • We Are What We Eat Art Exhibit
    • Young Artists and Authors Contest
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Shop
  • About
    • Palo Alto
    • Board Members
    • In Memoriam
    • Partners
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Newsletter Archives
  • Blog