Chicago-Kyiv celebrate 10-year partnership as sister cities (12/02/01)

Chicago-Kyiv celebrate 10-year partnership as sister cities

by Inna Grabareva

KYIV - A series of events celebrated this year's 10th anniversary of the Chicago-Kyiv sister cities partnership. On October 12 the Kyiv Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities International Program jointly with the Kyiv City Council hosted a news conference in Kyiv, following the unprecedented opening early in the year of the Sister Schools Abroad Program in Chicago.

In a decade long history of their partnership, Chicago and Kyiv have established strong and productive bilateral relations in the areas of economy and trade, education and medicine, sports and culture.

In a welcoming speech, committee member Natalie A. Jaresko, representing the City of Chicago, underscored the critical role that such relations play for everyone - from the average citizens trying to make friends to businesses seeking out new market opportunities and governments trying to build sustainable and mutually beneficial relations between their states.

"The 10th anniversary of the Chicago-Kyiv relationship has a great symbolic meaning for us," Ms. Jaresko said, "as its celebration is being held in the year that marks the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence."

The centerpiece of the news conference was the Sister Schools Abroad Program. "Particularly noteworthy are the efforts that our cities have put so far into fostering educational programs," underscored Borys Zhebrovsky, who heads the Education and Culture Department at the Kyiv City Council. The program, which aims to promote cross-cultural understanding and curriculum-sharing for the children of the sister cities, meets the basic principles of the Kyiv Schools Development Program set forth by the Kyiv City Council for the next five years.

Present at the news conference were directors of four of Kyiv's primary and secondary schools, which were paired with four public schools in Chicago. The program, initiated by the chair of the Kyiv Committee, Marta Farion, began with a fundraiser chaired by Patricia Mackiw and Marsha Pender. The proceeds were used to finance the purchase of computers, fax machines and photocopy machines for the sister schools in Kyiv. The delivery of this modern equipment will be used as a vehicle to facilitate communication with the sister schools in Chicago. The chair of the Education Subcommittee in Chicago is Dr. Ivanna Richardson.

"Now, when our children have access to the Internet," said one of the sister school directors, "not only can they gain knowledge of a wide spectrum of both academic and non-academic disciplines, most importantly, they can communicate with each other easily and quickly. And we teachers can share the latest developments and improvements in methodology, exchange practical ideas on curriculum planning and apply them to fulfill our current needs. We are happy and thankful to all those who made this program viable."

A number of international companies, including Western Union, Arthur Andersen, Eastern Economist, Panorama Magazine and Rotary as well as Rotary International, made generous contributions. Local sponsors include Rotary One, Selfreliance Ukrainian Federal Credit Union and 1st Security Savings Bank.

Facilitating an exchange of administrators, teachers and students is another part of the Sister Schools Abroad Program. Mr. Zhebrovsky defined the educational exchanges as a powerful language learning opportunity, as well as an increasingly important tool to help people gain better understanding of each other, acquire knowledge and develop skills for living in a culturally diverse, complex, and fast-changing world.

"To begin with, we will be pleased to bring children from the four sister schools in Chicago and Kyiv together to our famous youth camp Artek, located on the Black Sea coast in Crimea, where they will have an excellent opportunity to practice their English and Ukrainian through joint participation in a variety of leisure time activities, such as workshops, sport competitions, contests, activities connected with culture, history and traditions of both our countries. We [Ukrainians] have a lot to offer to our American friends," Mr. Zhebrovsky observed.

All sides seemed optimistic about the future of the Chicago-Kyiv relationship. Ms. Jaresko summed it up at the news conference: "We move into our next 10 years, with high, but achievable goals. We believe in a great long-term outlook for our cities."

* * *

The Chicago Sister Cities International Program, Inc., a volunteer, not-for-profit organization, was founded in 1960. It was established as a municipal program in 1990 the by the executive order of Mayor Richard M. Daley. The program aims to increase international trade and economic development, cultural and educational opportunities with its 23 sister cities for the benefit of the city of Chicago, its residents and its businesses.

More information on the Chicago Program is available at the website www.chicagosistercities.org.

Inna Grabareva is assistant to the president of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund.

| Home Page |