MEETING NOTICE

When: Wednesday, October 19th at 5:30pm

Where: Tucson Medical Center, Marshall Auditorium, Sagebrush Room

Program: Les Caid, Fire Chief for Rural Metro Fire Department talking about homeland security and Emergency Preparedness stuff.

The monthly meeting of TASCC has been moved temporarily to the Sagebrush Room in Marshall Auditorium at Tucson Medical Center. This is a ONE TIME THING. Please call if you need directions.

CULTURE TAKES FLIGHT TO ALMATY

I think it has become apparent that this committee is committed to working in the three key areas of education, culture and economic development in pursuit of its goal of "People-to-People Diplomacy". Our current project of sending Norman Bia, Navajo jewelry artisan, to Almaty for a first-of-its-kind Exhibition comes down heavy in all three areas. Norman will be conducting workshops and holding discussions on Navajo jewelry techniques, exploring cultural similarities in the heritage of the Kazakhs and the Navajos and paving the way for economic development projects in the future between the Navajo Nation's artisans and the artisans of Kazakhstan. The support we have received from local businessman, Brian Corbell, really got us started in this current endeavor. We can only say "THANKS BRIAN". What a true friend!

FilmPals PROJECT ANCHORS TASCC YOUTH INVOLVEMENT

When Alanna Randall brought the FilmPals concept to our committee, it didn't look like the vehicle that would send our youth programs into orbit around Tucson....but it has! As a single project, FilmPals is producing great results as evidenced by the receipt of three video tapes which show a day in the life of the 9th, 10th and 11th Form students at Gimnasia 159 in Almaty. Pam Shapiro's class at Pueblo is getting ready for their second DvD project to send to Almaty. Both Pueblo and Cholla are preparing to implement a grant we have applied for which will establish internet teleconferencing communication with Gimnasias 60 and 159. Another outgrowth of Alanna's efforts is Sister Cities Saturday (SSS) in partnership with the Southern Arizona Volunteer Center which is designed to educate Tucson youth about our sister city. At the September SSS meeting, 21 youths and adults met, heard from TASCC heads Jerry, Barbara and Sally, played games, ate and painted a quickie mural depicting what they had learned that day. Under the youth portfolio, we will be bring two students from our sister schools in Almaty to the Sister Cities International annual meeting next July in Washington, DC.

PROJECTS THAT WILL BRIGHTEN OUR FUTURE

A fact of life: You can make an international exchange out of ANYTHING! There are soooo many ways that our intermingling of cultures can be fun, fruitful and human. TASCC is committed to sending a wheelchair lift to A.R.D.I., a school for children with disabilities in Almaty. There is interest in sending the Arizona Boy's Choir to Almaty and in bringing their youth choir to Tucson. There is interest in creating a library exchange. Sally Allison is working to set up a tourism link with Kazakhstan. We need to find ways to encourage our local elected and administrative city folks travel to Almaty. There will be three Kazakh jewelry artisans coming to Tucson in late January of 2006 for the Gem and Mineral Show. A small music group has been invited to come to come to Tucson for the Family Arts Festival. Our recent motorcyclist, Dmitri Petrukhin, would like to encourage riders from Tucson to come and tour Kazakhstan with him. Our Al-Farabi connection needs attention. More creative ideas are needed for developing economic ties with Almaty........AND THE BEAT GOES ON! So, you that are reading this...put your minds and your hands to work and help us insure the growth and further development of our program with Almaty, Kazakhstan.

FUTURE HAPPENINGS

Family Arts Festival crew needed to start preparing for our involvement on Sunday, January 15, 2005. The food booth needs organization and planning. It will be the same menu as last year but with the addition of an authentic Kazakhstani apple desert. There will be a Kazakh crafts booth and a Showcase of Kazakhstani culture and artifacts. A host or hosts will be needed for the Almaty Artisans coming in January. Attempts are being made to secure an authentic Kazakh Yurta to use as a centerpiece at the Pueblo Inn Gem and Mineral Show. Futuristic thinking has this becoming a 'really big show' item which will feature items from all of Central Asia.

November meeting will have DvD and video footage by Dave and Cyndee Wing, taken during their attendance at the Almaty International Film Festival. December meeting will preview videos from School 159 in Almaty, along with a GREAT Christmas potluck and some robust holiday singing.

VISIT "Sister Cities in the Midst" a blog site, and share your opinions with us: http://journals.aol.com/jerrymgary/SisterCitiesintheMidst/