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Pasadena Sister Cities participates in Africa Summit

Pasadena Sister Cities Committee is proud to participate in the Sister Cities International Africa Summit 2023.  Leading the delegation is Pasadena Sister Cities President, Taleen Hindoyan and SoCal Sister Cities Board member, Carla Boykin.  The Pasadena Sister Cities Finland Sub-committee Chair, Shomari Maynard, is participating as a young professional and attending special workshops, Pasadena Sister Cities Armenia Sub-Committee Chair, Nova Hindoyan and Senegal Sub-Committee member, Marcia Talbert, are participating as delegates.  Last but not least, the Pasadena Sister Cities Senegal Sub-Committee is ecstatic to be sponsoring two Pasadena students Makia Talbert and Elise Tervalon in this enriching educational experience of participating in the summit and the activities involved.

Message from President Hindoyan: The delegation hopes to fulfill the vision of Sister Cities International by contributing to the conversation, sharing best practices of establishing a sister city in Africa, strengthening those ties and creating cultural, educational and business exchanges.  Each of the delegates has a unique perspective to bring to the table that reflects the diversity of Pasadena and its great relationship with sister city Dakar-Plateau, Senegal.  The participation in this summit is a meaningful way of honoring Black History Month, as well as honoring the legacy of our late councilman, John J. Kennedy. Councilman Kennedy emphasized that Africa is where we all come from and it is important for us to find our personal connection with this sacred land.

The Mayor of Pasadena Terry Tornek and the Mayor of Dakar-Plateau, Republic of Senegal Alioune Ndoye stand for the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance and Senegal Pledge of Allegiance during the Welcome Reception for the Sister City of Dakar-Plateau in the Honor of his Excellency Alione Ndoye, Mayor of Daker-Plateau, Republic of Senegal and Esteemed Delegation at the Pasadena City Hall Courtyard, June 18, 2019.

Mayor’s Trip To Pasadena’s Sister City of Dakar-Plateau, Senegal

Dear Fellow Pasadenans,

I am happy to share with you a seven-day trip I am planning for March to our African Sister City. My wife Maria and I, along with the Dakar-Plateau Subcommittee of the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee, will visit the mayor of Dakar-Plateau, Alioune Ndoye.

You are cordially invited to be part of this culturally enriching experience.

Mayor Ndoye will welcome us with a reception and the following days will offer the opportunity to tour the city by bus and its harbor by boat before heading for Goree Island with us.

Afterwards you’ll be free to extend your travels to other parts of Senegal. Attached is a complete package of tour with costs included.

Please respond by email if you are interested in participating. To reserve your seat and receive more information, email PSCCafrica@gmail.com.Deposit of $1500 due by Feb. 5, 2020. Balance of $2499 due 30 days before trip.

Maria and I hope you will join us for this historic visit.

Best Regards
Terry Tornek
Mayor

Pasadena Sister City Trip Dakar-Plateau, Senegal

The Senegal Subcommittee of the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee is proud to announce that Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek will be leading a delegation to our African sister city in Dakar-Plateau, Senegal.

The trip that will take place from March 10-19, 2020 will be a return visit to the exciting June 2019 visit by a delegation led by Dakar-Plateau’s Mayor, the Honorable Alioune Ndoye.

Registration Now Open
Due by Feb. 5, 2020

Besides two days of official business and ceremonial activities, the trip will include:

  1. Touring the City of Dakar and its vast open-air markets, museums, Cathedral and mosques.
  2. Visiting breathtaking touristic sites in Senegal such as
  • The Goree Island and its Door of No Return (a UNESCO World Heritage site)
  • Lebu Village
  • St. Louis
  • The Retba Pink Lake

Package Includes: Airfare, hotel, excursions, and most meals

Approx. cost is $3999 (final price dependent on number of participants)

Please respond by email if you are interested in participating. To reserve your seat and receive more information, email PSCCafrica@gmail.com. Deposit of $1500 due by Feb. 5, 2020. Balance of $2499 due 30 days before trip.

Pasadenans Say Farewell Friday Night to Delegation from Newest Sister City, Dakar-Plateau in Senegal

The Mayor of Pasadena Terry Tornek and the Mayor of Dakar-Plateau, Republic of Senegal Alioune Ndoye exchange gifts during the Welcome Reception for the Sister City of Dakar-Plateau in the Honor of his Excellency Alione Ndoye, Mayor of Daker-Plateau, Republic of Senegal and Esteemed Delegation at the Pasadena City Hall Courtyard, June 18, 2019.

Photography by JAMES CARBONE
Published : Friday, June 21, 2019 | 5:55 AM
Pasadena Now

After a whirlwind week, the Mayor and a delegation from Pasadena’s newest and first African Sister City, Dakar-Plateau in Senegal, wind up their local tour with a Gala Farewell at Jackie Robinson Park Recreation Center.

The group arrived last Thursday, June 13. Since then, they have been treated to Gold Cip soccer in the Rose Bowl, tours of Caltech and JPL, a formal signing ceremony before the Pasadena City Council, and two community receptions, one in the courtyard of Pasadena City Hall and another at Alkebu-lan Cultural Center.

Dakar-Plateau is a district of about 34,000 people in the center of Senegal’s capital city of Dakar. The group is hosted by Pasadena City Councilmember John Kennedy. Kennedy and other members of the Sister Cities Committee, who previously visited Darak-Plateau last April.

Pasadena’s Sister Cities program helps build bridges to cities in other nations.

Pasadena’s other Sister Cities are: Mishima, Japan; Ludwigshafen, Germany; Järvenpää, Finland; Vanadzor, Armenia; and Xicheng District of Beijing, China.

Original Article @ Pasadena Now

Leaders of Pasadena’s Newest Sister City, Dakar-Plateau in Senegal, Honored at City Hall Reception

Excellency Alione Ndoye, Mayor of Daker-Plateau, Republic of Senegal at the Pasadena City Hall Courtyard, June 18, 2019.

Photography by JAMES CARBONE
5:07 am | June 19, 2019
Pasadena Now

A community reception Tuesday at Pasadena City Hall feted his Excellency Alioune Ndoye, Mayor of Dakar-Plateau of the Republic of Senegal, and his Esteemed Delegation, all of whom are in Pasadena to formalize the new Sister City relationship between the two cities.

The courtyard ceremony began with a Pasadena Police and Fire Department color guard and U.S. and Senegalese pledges of allegiance by their respective audience members.

Speeches, gift exchanges and a performance by Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles highlighted the event.

Mayor Ndoye smiled and held high a nameplate similar to those used in Pasadena Council Chambers to identify Councilmembers which bore his name, presented to him by Mayor Tornek.

Tuesday’s ceremony was one of a number of activities to which Ndoye and his delegation are being treated since arriving in Pasadena last Thursday, June 13.

The group visited the Rose Bowl to watch Gold Cup soccer match, toured educational and cultural institutions, and formalized the Sister City relationship at Monday’s City Council meeting.

The public has several more chances to meet the entire delegation:

Thursday, June 20:

Community Reception at Alkebu-lan Cultural Center, 1435 North Raymond Avenue, from 3 to 5 p.m. Reservations for this event have closed.

Friday, June 21:

Gala Farewell at Jackie Robinson Park Recreation Center. Click here for more information.

Dakar-Plateau itself is relatively small, with a population of 36,900, but it is one of 16 districts of Senegal’s capital of Dakar, a sprawling coastal city of over 1 million. Dakar is the westernmost city on the African mainland.

The African city joins Ludwigshafen, Germany; Mishima, Japan; Järvenpää, Finland; Vanadzor, Armenia; and Xicheng District in Beijing, China, as being a sister city partner to Pasadena.

Original Article @ Pasadena Now

City Council Officially Welcomes Pasadena’s Newest Sister City

Whirlwind week in Pasadena is filled with local samplings of art, business, education and culture for Dakar-Plateau Mayor and delegation

By EDDIE RIVERA, Community Editor
Published : Tuesday, June 18, 2019 | 5:22 AM
Pasadena Now

Dakar-Plateau, Senegal Mayor Alioune Ndoye sat serenely next to Mayor Terry Tornek before a packed City Council chamber at City Hall Monday,  as Pasadena welcomed representatives of its newest “sister city” on their first official visit.

Last August 27 the City Council unanimously approved Senegal’s Dakar-Plateau, a burg of some 36,900 located in the central district of the capital city of Dakar, as Pasadena’s sixth official sister city.

Ndoye, on behalf of a large Dakar-Plateau delegation,  thanked the City Council for the invitation, and said, “This beautiful City of Pasadena plays such a major role in the state of California, in particular because of its main assets in terms of science and education.”

Ndoye also noted “centuries of friendship and solidarity between the United States and Senegal.”

Mayor Ndoye was joined by members of Pasadena’s Sister City Committee, various Dakar-Plateau City Council members, and the Honorary Consul of Senegal, Mame Toucouleur Mbaye.

Mayor Tornek, noting Pasadena’s long history with sister cities, told the assembled audience, “We take these relationships seriously because they help us to grow as a city, and to better understand the universality of friendship.”

Councilmember John J. Kennedy helped spearhead the collaboration. Kennedy told the delegation, “If you could look out and see yourselves, you could see how special you look, especially in terms of what the fabric of Pasadena is really like. It represents a multiplicity of cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, hopes, and aspirations.”

‘We’re looking forward to an extraordinary relationship with you,” added Kennedy, and told the delegation that he hoped that the two cities would visit each other every year.

Both mayors then signed a historic Agreement of Cooperation declaration.

During their whirlwind stay, the Dakar-Plateau delegation visited local restaurants, attended the CONCAF Gold Cup game at the Rose Bowl Saturday, and took a helicopter and bus tour of the city. On Monday, their “Education Day,” they visited Pasadena City College, and the Huntington Library and Museum.

Later in the week, “Science Day” will take them to Caltech, the Space Solar Power Project, the Global Environmental Center, and the Joint Center for Advanced Photosynthesis.

Thursday will feature a day of art and museums, as the delegation visits Art Center College of Design, the Norton Simon Museum, the Pasadena Museum of History, and the Alkebu-lan Center.

Friday will feature a community gala event at Robinson Park and Recreation Center.

Dakar-Plateau,  the westernmost city on the African mainland, joins Ludwigshafen, Germany; Mishima, Japan; Järvenpää, Finland; Vanadzor, Armenia; and Xicheng District in Beijing, China, as a sister city partner. It is the first from the African continent to be so designated.

The city itself is relatively small but it is one of 16 districts of Senegal’s capital of Dakar, a sprawling coastal city of over 1 million.

Original Article @ Pasadena Now

Sister City Delegation from Senegal Arrives in Pasadena

Members of Pasadena’s Sister City Committee led by Councilmember John Kennedy pose with Mayor Alioune Ndoye of Dakar-Plateau, Senegal, and his delegation after their arrival in Pasadena on June 14, 2019.

Dakar-Plateau, Senegal will be Pasadena’s sixth, and first African, sister city

By EDDIE RIVERA, Community Editor
Published : Friday, June 14, 2019 | 4:54 AM
Pasadena Now

Following a missed connection in New York City, a weary but friendly delegation from Dakar-Plateau, Senegal, Pasadena’s newest sister city,  arrived Thursday afternoon, met by a cordial reception at the Pasadena Hilton.

The group was hosted by Councilmember John Kennedy and included the Mayor of Dakar-Plateau, Alioune Ndoye, members of Pasadena’s Sister City Committee, and the Honorary Consul of Senegal, Mame Toucouleur Mbaye.

“I think this is a testament,” said Councilmember Kennedy,  “to how great a city Pasadena is, that it would adopt its first sister city in Africa, a continent with about 54 nations and extreme diversity.  It’s a testament to the kaleidoscope of diversity in Pasadena.”

Pasadena Councilmember John Kennedy, left, with Alioune Ndoye, Mayor of Dakar-Plateau, Senegal after Ndoye’s arrival with a delegation in Pasadena on June 14, 2019.

Pasadena Councilmember John Kennedy, left, with Alioune Ndoye, Mayor of Dakar-Plateau, Senegal after Ndoye’s arrival with a delegation in Pasadena on June 14, 2019.

Added Kennedy, “The fact that we would choose a city that is more than 90 percent Muslim, is a testament to how we interact with each other, that we have respect for each other, and that’s what we  are, is a microcosm that can grow, for the rest of the nation.”

Speaking through a translator, Ndoye told Pasadena Now that in looking at information provided to him through Mbaye over a year ago, he realized “there were so many positive elements about the city in terms of the education system, and the organizations that are based here, and felt that Pasadena would be an amazing city to develop a rapport with.”

The delegation will formalize its sister city relationship Monday, June 17, when the Ndoye and the delegation from Dakar-Plateau visit the Pasadena City Council Chambers.

While in Pasadena, Dakar-Plateau Mayor Ndoye and the dignitaries will take part in commerce and business discussions, and visit schools, local museums, cultural centers, and a historic church. The group is scheduled to explore Caltech, the Tournament of Roses House and the Rose Bowl Stadium.

The African city joins Ludwigshafen, Germany; Mishima, Japan; Järvenpää, Finland; Vanadzor, Armenia; and Xicheng District in Beijing, China, as being a sister city partner to Pasadena.

Dakar-Plateau itself is relatively small, with a population of 36,900, but it is one of 16 districts of Senegal’s capital of Dakar, a sprawling coastal city of over 1 million.  Dakar is the westernmost city on the African mainland.

Original Article @ Pasadena Now