Designated in 1988 by the Mayor's office, the Indianapolis Cologne Sister City Partnership Committee (ICSCC) is a group of volunteers who strive to connect people and places in Indianapolis and Cologne, and create lasting cultural, educational, and economic impact through exchange.
Come to Germanfest at the Athenaeum (401 E. Michigan Street) this Saturday! The Indy-Cologne Sister City Partnership Committee will be tabling with the Indiana German Heritage Society. We’ll be in the white tent with the flags all over it. So come say hello and enjoy the festivities!
You can order tickets here:
http://www.athenaeumfoundation.org/?event=germanfest-2-2
On Sunday, Sept. 29, Hartwig Prüßmann read a message of peace inside the Cologne Cathedral. The occasion was the commemoration of the pilgrimage of the three holy kings:
Let us bring joy where sorrow dwells.
Let us tell the truth where there is error; let us bring trust where there is doubt;
We want to awaken hope where despair torments; to light a light where darkness reigns;
Let us forgive where there is insult; and union, where there is strife.
We want to be an instrument of peace and love where people hate.
…and here is the text in German:
Wir wollen Freude bringen, wo der Kummer wohnt.
Wir wollen die Wahrheit sagen, wo Irrtum ist; Vertrauen bringen, wo Zweifel droht;
Wir wollen Hoffnung wecken, wo Verzweiflung quält; ein Licht entzünden, wo Finsternis regiert;
wir wollen verzeihen, wo man beleidigt und verbinden, wo Streit ist.
Wir wollen ein Werkzeug des Friedens sein und lieben, wo man hasst
Here is a class picture with Perry Meridian High School exchange program, meeting their German host students in Cologne on Monday, September 30th , 2019. Present are Beate Westerhouse, left bottom, and Hartwig Prüßmann, right top.
Visitors Claudia Burger, the widow of former Cologne Mayor, Norbert Burger, and Fiete Schneider experience at traditional American lunch at Harold’s Steer-In with Paula and Steven Schmidt. Sister City President Sonja Simpson snapped the photo.
A message from Susan Tomlinson:
Greetings, Teachers, Club Sponsors and Friends of Indy Sister Cities,
We are excited to bring you an opportunity for your students to showcase their artwork through the Indianapolis Sister Cities Young Artists Showcase. Sponsored by the Indianapolis Sister Cities Teacher and Student Outreach Committee, this year’s theme is Celebrating Indy’s Sister Cities. Grand Prize winners in each age category (elementary, middle and high school) will be awarded $50 and the 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive certificates. Student entries will be on display at the Taste the Difference/Sister Cities Festival to be held Saturday, September 21st at New Wineskin Ministries at 4501 West 38th Street, Indianapolis. Students who bring their artwork to the festival receive free entry to the fest. Students who cannot attend the Festival can submit their work electronically. Information about Indy’s nine Sister Cities and all competition and festival details are included in the link below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HUgmKUG-ZYmluSCPKunEMnf20XJi1T6a/view?usp=sharing
We look forward to your entries. If you have any questions, please send your queries to:
IndySisterCitiesTASOC@gmail.com.
THANK YOU for your support of this annual event and the chance to instill a sense of international mindedness in each of our students. PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO OTHER COLLEAGUES.
Best Regards,
Susan Tomlinson
On Saturday, June 15, 2019, Cologne Sister City Committee vice president Ralf Radke, English teacher and Committee member Julia Schlange and student parent Vladimir Petrovic from our sister city Cologne arrived in Indianapolis as part of the school exchange program with Perry Meridian High School (PMHS). A BBQ dinner at Smokey Bones was followed by Sunday breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Everyone had fun at the Indians double-header baseball game at Victory Field, cooled off with ice cream from Sub Zero on Mass Ave, and enjoyed dinner at the Mug-n-Bun Drive-In in Speedway. On Monday, June 17, a historical tour of the U.S. Federal Courthouse was scheduled, followed by lunch at India Garden. The group then met with Jordan Rodriguez, Director of International and Latino Affairs for the City of Indianapolis. At this occasion, Ralf Radke delivered a disc with Sister City program documents, courtesy of the City of Cologne. A farewell dinner was enjoyed by all at BJ’s Brewhouse in Greenwood. Our visitors left Indy on Tuesday, June 18.