September 23 — Mayor Greg Ballard on “Sister-City Expansion & Global Economic Ties”
Mayor Greg Ballard has made upgrading Indianapolis’s international profile a priority for his administration. A big part of this is multiplying sister city relations, and making sure those relations provide Indianapolis with economic benefits. He also says he wants Indianapolis to have a Chinatown. Is a sister-city-based model of economic development any goofier than a Chinatown?
When: Tuesday September 23, 4:30pm-5:00pm Registration & Networking. 5:00pm-6:00pm. Mayor Greg Ballard. 6:00pm-7:00pm. Dinner. 7:00pm. Announcements and Adjourn.
Where: Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel – Panorama Room 301 West Ohio Street Indianapolis, IN (Overlooks Monument Circle)
From the World Trade Club’s announcment:
Our distinguished guest speaker, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, will expand on remarks made during his recent State of the City address about increasing the number of Indianapolis’ sister cities and managing these relationships to provide mutual opportunities for trade and economic development.
Are you aware that Indianapolis has 4 sister cities? Formal ties with Indy have been established around the globe: Cologne, Germany; Monza, Italy; Piran, Slovenia; Taipei, Taiwan. Developing these formal international relationships is an integral part of Indianapolis’ efforts towards being a world class city.
Why were these locations chosen as sister cities with Indianapolis? What impact have these sister city agreements had on Indianapolis: culturally, diplomatically, economically?
On November 6, 2007 Gregory A. Ballard was elected as the 48th Mayor of Indianapolis. A native Hoosier, Mayor Ballard was raised on the east side of Indianapolis and is a proud graduate of Cathedral High School. After earning his undergraduate degree in Economics from Indiana University, Mayor Ballard entered the United States Marine Corps. During his time in the Marines, he served in the Persian Gulf War and was awarded the Legion of Merit. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 23 years of service.
After leaving the Marine Corps, Mayor Ballard successfully transitioned to the corporate world. He worked for several years as North American Operations Manager for Bayer in Indianapolis. He also is the author of The Ballard Rules: Small Unit Leadership. Mayor Ballard has been active in the community, serving as a tutor and an Advisory Board Member for the Lilly Boys and Girls Club, as a contributing editor to both the Indiana Minority Business Magazine and the Indiana Parenting Magazine, and as founder of the Indianapolis Writers Group.
Why does Provocate think you should attend this event?
Sister Cities are interesting, but they are tough! Provocate has been involved for more than a year in setting up a sister city partnership with Eldoret, Kenya. Changes of administrations in both cities, post-election upheaval in Kenya, bureaucratic obstacles from Sister City International, silly political games in Indianapolis … it’s tough! Nevertheless, Provocate is commited to local-to-local partnerships and citizen’s diplomacy, so this is an important topic. And being called on to explain his thinking about Sister Cities could encourage the Mayor to give some serious thought to the much more important issues of Indianapolis’s foreign policy.
If you think this sounds interesting, be sure to check out …
The International Center’s award dinner will give an idea of the many links between Indianapolis and Eldoret September 16. Part of the sister city partnership between Indianapolis and Cologne is bringing in top German politicians for discussions, as on October 3’s discussion of US-European relations. More important than the mayor-driven sister city relations are the more decentralized intances of citizen’s diplomacy: hear about many of Indianapolis’s most important initiatives November 19.
Know before you go:
For some background about sister cities, visit the website of Sister Cities International.
For more information …
One of the only academic articles about the Mayor’s idea of economic development being driven by sister city partnerships is “International Sister-Cities: Bridging the Global-Local Divide.”
And for your listening pleasure …
