The Miramar City Commission held a special workshop on November 1, 2023, at 5:00 PM at the Miramar Civic Center to review the city's Sister Cities program. The workshop was led by Economic Development and Housing Director Anita Taylor and Vice Chair of the Sister Cities Board Val Glenister. The presentation covered the history of Sister Cities International, Miramar's past and current international engagement, and future recommendations for formalizing sister city agreements.
So I wanted to bring light to the number of people who are black and British during their uh black British Heritage Month, which is October. Black Britons haven't been celebrating good evening. Today's workshop meeting is being streamed live at Miramar FL.gov slash commission meeting and televised on Comcast Channel Seventy-eight and ATT U versus Channel 99 for CWMAR subscribers. The meeting of the Myanmar City Commission workshop is now called to order. And at this time, Madam Clerk, please call the role. Um this evening we'll be presenting the workshop on our sister Mirror Cities. Um this workshop will provide some historic um background where we are currently and where we we're trending in the future. Um so without much um more comment. I'll ask our economic development and housing director, Miss Anita Taylor to address the commission. I'm pleased to present the sister cities, Mirmar sister cities at this commission workshop. Also joining will be Donald Scantelberry. She may be online, she's the president of the Florida Sister Cities International, and Brenda Franks, Vice President of the Florida Sister Cities International and Sister Cities International Volunteer of the Year. Mr. Sherman Banks was also invited, but we have not received confirmation from him as of yet. First, I'll provide a history of Sister Cities International, followed by what we have done as a staff and a commission as well as administration on building international relationships. Vice Chair of the Sister Cities Board, Ms. Val Glenister will give an overview of the Sister Cities Board as well as activities that they have that have taken place, and we'll discuss upcoming events. Sister Cities International was founded in 1956 after President Eisenhower's White House conference on citizen diplomacy. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and serves as a national nonprofit organization. The City Diplomacy Focus emphasizes city to city connections, fostering global understanding and cooperation. The cross border impact is that they facilitate cultural exchange and economic initiatives, creating enduring global relationships. The global network, it is an organization linking U.S. cities with communities globally, fostering international collaboration and understanding. The central coordination is that Sister Cities International recognizes, registers, and coordinates Sister City linkages, ensuring structured and meaningful partnerships. They have a worldwide reach, representing 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries worldwide, showcasing its vast global network and impact. From a historical perspective, in 1964, Miramar City Commission passed resolution number 136 agreement with Santa Ana, El Salvador. In 2013, a memorandum of understanding was established between the city and Belize City Belize. And from 2013 to 2020, city staff did research. There was a commission workshop held, and there were exploration committee meetings scheduled and held. In 2021 to present, we had a workshop meeting and established the Miramar Sister Cities Board. The board was created on October 13, 2021, when the City Commission approved ordinance number 22-01. And the board was created to build mutually beneficial relationships between Miramar and its international sister cities, and to make recommendations to the City Commission concerning said cities. We'll touch upon the building international relationships, and this has been done cooperatively cooperatively between our elected officials, city administration, and our department. It was our first time, and we were an exhibitor and we showcased the city of Miramar. In February of 2020, we participated in an export sales mission to Ghana. Miramar Business developed six potential clients for construction materials. The Commissioner Dave Vice Mayor Davis gave a presentation promoting the city of Miramar, and there was a discussion about creating a potential sister city with Accra, Ghana, and later a discussion on Ho Ghana. April 2021, we participated in an export sales mission to Dubai. We strengthened the relationship with the Alan B. Levan, Nova Southeastern University, Broward Center of Innovation. We connected the Dubai Chamber with the Miramar Pembroke Pines Regional Chamber of Commerce. We participated on a panel discussion, and more specifically, it was Mayor Messen who participated on a panel discussion where he promoted the city of Miramar. This trade mission changed the way that we presented the city and the city's business moving forward. And after this trade mission, we held a webinar for importers about the world logistics passport. And this is a global initiative designed to smooth the flow of global trade. In October 2021, we participated again at the Florida International Trade and Cultural Expo. This was our first time taking a sponsorship role. Mayor Messon promoted promoted the City of Miramar through his welcome remarks at the opening event, and this expanded our outreach. We created an awareness of the city, our services, and our programs.