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ress Release Source: IVC of Philadelphia
Philadelphia's IVC Joins 'Partners for
Peace' Project with Iraq; International Visitors Council of Philadelphia
to Partner With the City of Mosul in Groundbreaking Project
Tuesday June 28
PHILADELPHIA, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The IVC of Philadelphia
announced today that it is participating in the U.S. Department
of State's "Partners for Peace" project with Mosul,
Iraq.
Through IVC, officials from Iraq's third largest city will
visit Philadelphia to learn about democratic governance. Committees
in both countries will work to improve humanitarian conditions
in Mosul.
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"The IVC of Philadelphia is eager to partner with Mosul's
leaders and citizens to support their transition to a democratic
society," said Nancy Gilboy, President of the IVC of Philadelphia.
"We've spent 51 years administering democracy-building programs
and the past eleven years working with the former Soviet Union.
That experience means we can hit the ground running with Mosul.
We have humanitarian aid waiting to be shipped and a committee
of Iraqi-Americans and generous citizen diplomats ready to help.
For years, citizens in the Philadelphia area have shared their
professional expertise and opened their offices and homes to
guests from emerging democracies. We now look forward to engaging
them with this important Mosul partnership."
Mosul has a rich ancient Assyrian history. Known as the "pearl
of the North," the city rests on a centuries-old trade route
linking Persia to the Mediterranean and is located 400 kilometers
north of Baghdad on the Tigris River. Mosul's residents are a
diverse group that includes Arab and Kurdish, with a large minority
of Aramaic-speaking Christian Assyrians, as well as Turkomans.
The city has the largest number of Iraqi Christians of any city
in Iraq and is home to well-known churches and mosques.
The IVC has begun creating partnerships to support the program.
In place are partnerships with Mission Relief Services for humanitarian
aid, the Philadelphia Bar Association for describing the "rule
of law" with an independent judicial system, the Freedoms
Foundation for civic education, and the Girl Scouts of Southeastern
Philadelphia and the Boy Scouts of America's Cradle of Liberty
Council for support to Mosul's youth.
How can others help? According to Gilboy, "We need volunteer
Arabic- speaking translators and interpreters as well as funding
to house and feed government officials. To bring students from
Mosul to Drexel, Community College, La Salle and other area schools
we will need scholarship funds for them."
IVC's Mosul committee includes Majid Alsayegh of Alta Management
who was born in Mosul; Dr. Nawal Khafarji of Philadelphia International
Medicine who was born in Baghdad and who received her medical
degree in Mosul; and Dr. Mohammed Al-Maliky of Drexel University
College of Medicine and Abington Hospital who was born in Basra,
Iraq. Also on the committee are Pat Dugan and Lee Bowie who were
both recently in Iraq. Dugan, an attorney working for a member
of Philadelphia's City Council, served for ten months in Mosul
with the 416th Civil Affairs working with Mosul's Provincial
Council. Bowie, a professor at Penn State's Ambler campus, worked
with the Baghdad City Council for eight months.
Philadelphia already has significant partnerships with Iraq,
including the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University
of Pennsylvania. This museum has enjoyed a 110-year relationship
with Iraq, collaborating with Iraqi archaeologists exploring
the royal tombs of Ur in the 1920s and housing significant artifacts
from Iraq.
Philadelphia becomes the fourth U.S. community to join the
Partners for Peace project with Iraq. At last year's G8 Summit,
First Lady Laura Bush announced the first three pairings: Dallas
with Kirkuk; Tucson with Sulaymaniyah; and the Denver Regional
Council of Governments with Baghdad. The U.S. government is contributing
initial funding for the project, and each partnership receives
a $20,000 seed grant for air transportation, housing and administration.
The IVC of Philadelphia was chosen for the project through
a competitive grants process managed by Sister Cities International
in cooperation with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
at the U.S. Department of State. Although the partnerships are
administered through Sister Cities International, the IVC &
Mosul partnership does not create a Philadelphia Sister City
relationship.
The IVC of Philadelphia was formed in 1954 as a public/private
partnership with the U.S. Department of State and the citizens
of the Philadelphia region. IVC is the official local host for
the State Department's prestigious "International Visitor
Leadership Program," which brings 4,000 emerging leaders
in many fields to the U.S. each year to meet their counterparts
and gain an understanding of U.S. policies. Philadelphia's IVC
competes with 93 other Councils across the U.S. to host the emerging
leaders. This network of 94 Councils was nominated for the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2001.
IVC's work is known as "Citizen Diplomacy," which
is the idea that individual citizens have the right - even the
responsibility - to help shape U.S. foreign relations "one
handshake at a time." By opening their homes, offices, and
schools to foreign leaders IVC's volunteer citizen diplomats
foster international understanding and cooperation, build relationships
and economic connections, as well as peaceful interaction.
Annually, the Philadelphia IVC arranges professional itineraries
for more than 200 delegations, 100 of which come from more than
120 countries on the International Visitor Leadership Program.
Past well-known people who visited Philadelphia on this program
early in their careers include Germany's Willie Brandt, South
Africa's F.W. de Klerk and Poland's current president, Aleksander
Kwasniewski. Additionally, Philadelphia alumni include hundreds
of mayors, cabinet level ministers and members of parliament.
To support the Mosul program or to learn more about it, call
Nancy Gilboy at 215.683.0997 or email her at nancy.gilboy@phila.gov.
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