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Durham, N.C. – Sister Cities of Durham, Inc. won one of only 12 awards for its innovation in arts and culture at the Sister Cities International Convention recently held in Kansas City, Mo. 

The 52nd Annual Sister Cities International Conference hosted over 500 delegates from around the globe, including the countries of Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Ghana, Guyana, Japan, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, South Korea, Taiwan, and Uganda plus the United States during the four-day conference in mid-July.

Sister Cities of Durham won the Arts and Culture Innovation Award for cities with a population between 100,000 and 500,000 for construction of a Japanese tea house in the Asiatic Arboretum of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University. This project involved fundraising in both Durham and in the sister city of Toyama, Japan, and engaged more than 200 citizens and organizations to provide a tangible symbol of 20 years of cooperation between the citizens of these two sister cities.

Only 11 other communities received recognition at this year’s conference, including Mount Prospect, Ill.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Omaha, Neb.; Chicago, Ill.; Denver, Colo.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Suffolk, Va.; Newport News, Va.; Riverside, Calif.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Phoenix, Ariz.  For more information about this conference or Sister Cities International visit www.sister-cities.org. 

Sister Cities of Durham seeks to promote peace, understanding, and goodwill among all people by maintaining long-term affiliations with communities in other countries to develop mutually beneficial activities, programs, and ideas.  Sister Cities of Durham receives support from the City of Durham, with Mayor William V. “Bill” Bell acting as honorary chair.  A staff person with the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development also serves to support the program by coordinating the direct involvement of various City departments in exchanges concerning municipal entities, economic development, technology, public safety, and numerous other areas.

For more information about Sister Cities of Durham visit www.sistercities-durham.org or contact Trisha Gensic, assistant director of the City’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, at (919) 560-4965, extension 210 or via e-mail at trisha.gensic@durhamnc.gov.