07/22/2021 Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2021
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
e
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, July 22, 2021
4:00 PM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Sister Cities Advisory Board
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2021
Roll Call
Present 5 - Chair Michael Ballard, Vice Chair Pamela Gene Benton, Board
Member Candace Hays, Board Member Hoyt Hamilton, and Board
Member Lucas Geraldi-Smith
Absent 2 - Board Member Sallie Parks, and Board Member Michael Brewster
Also Present— Christopher Hubbard — Cultural Affairs Coordinator, Patricia O.
Sullivan - Board Reporter
1. Call To Order
The Chair called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. at the Main Library.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily
discussed in that order.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the January 28, 2021 Sister Cities Advisory Board meeting.
Member Hamilton moved to approve minutes of the January 28, 2021
Sister Cities Advisory Board meeting as submitted in written
summation. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda: None.
4. New Business Items
4.1 Review an update on the status of the Nagano exchange programs.
Review an update on the status of the 2021/2022 high school, teacher, and
official delegation anniversary exchange programs.
Cultural Affairs Coordinator Christopher Hubbard said he had received an
email from Nagano International Relations that included a DVD introduction
to Nagano with tourism videos and views of Nagano schools featuring
students who had visited Clearwater. The video will be posted on the City
website. He was working with students selected for the Sister City exchange
to create a reciprocal video for Nagano students and residents.
Board Member/CSCI Clearwater Sister Cities, Inc. Representative Hays
expressed concern that privacy issues may preclude posting the video on
the City's website; Nagano had concerns about privacy on Zoom calls. If
Nagano agrees to Clearwater posting the video, she requested that CSCI
also be able to post it.
In response to a question, Mr. Hubbard said Nagano had not referenced a
February visit by Nagano middle school students. The delegation
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board Meeting Minutes July 22, 2021
anniversary exchange and student and teacher exchanges had not been
scheduled. Summer 2022 exchanges may be possible but COVID
restrictions were fluid.
5. Old Business Items
5.1 Review an update on the progress of Sister Cities discussions with Bourges, France.
Mr. Hubbard said Bourges, France had responded, indicating interest in the
program. As he was unable to schedule the French Consulate to help with
translation, he was working with Member Benton to schedule a French
teacher's help during a Zoom call. The City Council will need to approve a
structured agreement also covering digital and personal exchanges and
establishing a theme. While Clearwater's Sister City relationship with
Nagano is based on tourism and Education, the basis for Clearwater's
relationship with Bourges could be commerce and education, Monin
provides the City a direct tie to Bourges.
5.2 Review an update on expanded programs of exchange with Nagano and other online
media.
Review an update on expanded programs of exchange with Nagano
including digital student exchange videos and Pen Pal program as well as
additional online materials hosted on the Sister Cities webpage.
Mr. Hubbard said he was working on a video art exchange with Nagano; the
Clearwater Arts Alliance will partner with the City. Nagano will send an artist
here to reproduce their design for installation on a signal box, Clearwater will
send digital art to Nagano to be reproduced for their use.
Staff will continue establishing a database of tourism videos of local
attractions and cultural exchanges to be hosted on the City's website and
accessible by Nagano residents. The City also will post videos from Nagano
to familiarize local residents with Clearwater's Sister City. The videos will
serve as a great recruitment tool for Sister City exchange participants and
host families.
6. Director's Report
Member Hays said the Pen Pal exchange had begun, Young Ambassadors
had responded to letters from Nagano. She said the City of Safety Harbor
had invited CSCI to participate in its month long Japanese cultural event and
4th Friday event, CSCI had provided artifacts to the Safety Harbor Museum.
She said about 40 guests attended CSCI's outdoor social, membership and
annual meeting in April. She said CSCI was starting to plan an exhibit
featuring City and CSCI Japanese artifacts at the Clearwater Historical
Museum.
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City of Clearwater
Sister Cities Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes July 22, 2021
In response to a question, Mr. Hubbard said he would provide an updated
version of the Young Ambassador scholarship application at the next
meeting and confirm the scholarship amounts. He will contact JWB (Juvenile
Welfare Board) and other service agencies regarding their qualification
process for determining eligibility for financial assistance.
7. Board Members to be Heard: None.
8. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Chair - Sister Cities Advisory Board
City of Clearwater
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