Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Partnership Committee

Happy Summer!

On Saturday, August 27, 2022, we are participating in the Taste the Difference & Sister Cities Festival at Indy’s Global Village Welcome Center. We will have two tables at this event: one with a display of the Indy-Cologne Sister City Committee information with giveaways, and another tasting table in the dinning hall.

If you are a German Food vendor and would like to participate, or you would like to volunteer for this event (and get some volunteer perks!), please contact our president, Melissa.

Below is the PDF of the agenda for the festival.

TASTE-FESTIVAL_Running-agenda-minutes-2022

From the Desk of our Committee President, Melissa Hopson:

Dear Friends and Members of Indy-Cologne,

Excited to announce that tonight at 7:30 pm at the Athenaeum, IFD Firefighter Mike Mullennax presents “Two Cities, One Community: the Indy-Cologne Firefighter Exchange.” Mike will talk about his experience in the Indy-Cologne Sister City Firefighter Exchange Program that started in 2009. For tonight’s presentation, Mike will discuss his personal exchange experience in Cologne including: the IFD application process, exchange detailing, and the cultural differences between Indianapolis and Cologne fire rescue. Mike’s stories tonight are a testimony to the importance of cultural exchange. Please join this conversation invited by the Indiana German Heritage Society Stammtisch Program by attending in person or online via Zoom, Register in advance for this presentation if you can not be with us in person.

Every year since 2010, a firefighter has traveled to one of our Sister Cities to participate in a three week exchange. The firefighters live with host families and work alongside our Sister City firefighters at their stations treated as employees. We are so grateful to IFD Battalion Chief Howard Stahl at Station #3, Cologne Chief Christian Miller, and Lieutenant Uwe Siemons for hosting our rescuers and creating a fair and rigorous application process that has long-term cultural, education and economical impact on our communities. Your contributions help us sponsor this exchange and others. Now that COVID travel restrictions have lifted, we are proud to continue this program again this year in June with IFD Firefighter Jason Thompson who will be traveling to Cologne in June. 

Please become a member, a partner, or make a one time donation to the Indianapolis-Cologne Sister Cities Committee here to keep these programs going. Find out more about our membership program on our website or inquire with Sister City President Melissa Hopson. We are a volunteer-based non-profit that welcomes all who want to help and get involved. 

Presenter Bio:

Firefighter Mike Mullenax was born in Lebanon, Indiana. He has worked as a firefighter for 35 years. Mike worked for Pike Township and now for IFD Station #18. Mike was the first firefighter to participate in the Sister City Firefighter Exchange in 2010 for three weeks. Mike earned a certification in International Relations concentrated on Western Europe from IUPUI. He authored a book entitled “The Blanket.” He is also a father, ballroom dancer, and travel enthusiast. Mike is also the new Indy-Cologne Sister City Committee Firefighter Exchange Chair; he is helping us support our programs and spread the word about the exchange.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Partnership Committee President Melissa Hopson shared these great photos of Indy citizens expressing support for Ukraine at Monument Circle downtown on Saturday, May 5:

Our friend Hartwig Prüßmann sent us these pictures of antiwar demonstrators in Cologne during Cologne’s annual Carnival festivities:

Dear Friends and Members of the Sister City Cologne,

Sharing some information and photos Hartwig sent me of the Peace Demo in Cologne this past weekend. As many of you probably already know, Russia attacked Ukraine on the first day of Karneval Thursday, February 24th, 2022. I’ve been glued to the news ever since. On Saturday, February 26th, the SC committee gathered on Zoom for our monthly meeting with Cologne. I was very touched by the active solidarity our Cologne members have shown for Ukraine. Hartwig attends demos in Cologne, he shared with me over 40 images and sources! We were also delighted to have Ulrich Linnenberg from Düxer Bock Beer join us in the meeting in Prinzengarde carrying a Ukrainian flag pin his wife Caroline crafted for him. He has also shared with me the demos he and Caroline continue to attend.

I would welcome any similar info from our Indy members and friends. Please share! We welcome our assistance to events, programs, charities, and demos in support of Ukraine. As an American who lived in Cologne for six years, and spent eight total years in Nordrhein-Westphalen, my greatest takeaway from Germany was practicing tolerance through inquiry, engagement, and dialog. Germany also taught me how important it is to stand up for democracy and peace. This is why sister city relationships were established by Eisenhower in 1956 after WWII to “build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development” (Sister Cities International Website). I will be sending out more info this week on updates. 

Thank you Hartwig for sharing so much relevant information!

MFG,
Melissa Hopson, President
Indianapolis-Cologne Sister City Committee

Cologne news links in German:

https://www.ksta.de/koeln/ukraine-friedensdemo-in-koeln-viel-mehr-teilnehmer-als-auf-demos-vergangener-jahrzehnte-39500968

Highlights der Friedensdemo: Kuckelkorn, Reker, Niedecken

https://www.ksta.de/koeln/friedensdemo-in-koeln-polizei–bis-zu-250-000-teilnehmende—-das-ist-wahnsinn–39499184

Friedensdemo 2022: Eine der größten Demos, die Köln je erlebt hat