Sister Cities student applications has upcoming deadline

By Lisa Rodgers
Reporter
BOONE COUNTY- “Sister Cities International was created in 1956 by President Eisenhower at his White conference on citizen diplomacy. President Eisenhower envisioned an organization that would be the focus of peace and prosperity.
He conceptualized that Sister Cities would create bonds between people from different ethnic backgrounds around the world. He hypothesized people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences rather than stimulate suspicion and propagate war.
Sister Cities International creates relationships based on cultural, educational, information and trade exchanges, creating lifelong friendships that provide prosperity and peace through person-to-person
‘citizen diplomacy.’
Since then, Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, Clinton,
Bush, and now President Barack Obama have served as the Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities
International,” according to the Sister Cities’ website at: www.sister-cities.org.
Currently Sister Cities of Belvidere has relationships with Schwieberdingen, Germany since 1988 and
Vaux-le-Penil, France since 1999.
Sister Cities raises funds throughout the year to provide the financial support to send four Boone County teenagers each year. The purpose is for them to experience life in a sister city through participation in the youth exchange home stay program.
In a reciprocal arrangement, teenagers from Schwieberdingen, Germany and Vaux-le-Penil, France are received into the Belvidere/Boone County Community to experience life here in Belvidere and Boone County.
Sister Cities of Belvidere is currently accepting applications for Youth Ambassadors. A total of four youth who are between the ages of 15-20 from the Belvidere/Boone County Area and a United States Citizen may apply.
Along with the completed application, a 100 to 150 word essay explaining “Why I would like to be a youth ambassador” and three letters of recommendation must be included with the application. Applicants will need to have a valid passport. Deadline for the Ambassador Application is Feb. 1.
Sister Cities of Belvidere is currently accepting applications for Host Families who currently have teenagers living in their home. An application and an interview in the home are needed in order to apply. Applications for being a host are encouraged to be submitted by the end of January; however, they will be accepted until housing for the students has been arranged.
The student exchange is set to occur between July 15 and Aug. 1.
Both applications should be mailed to:
Sister Cities Association of Belvidere, IL
Attn. Youth Exchange Program
P.O. Box 1822
Belvidere, IL 61008
Please contact Youth Exchange Coordinators Brad Peters (815) 547-4566 or Kris Meek (779) 552-8834 for application form and further information.
Please visit www.belvideresistercities.org.