Columbia World Affairs Council

Columbia Representatives Travel to China and Visit Sister City Yibin

From July 11^th through July 21^st, Columbia was represented by a delegation whose members included Mayor Bob Coble, Mayor Pro Tem E.W. Cromartie, our very own Chairman Fred Monk and several others.  The group traveled to China on a trade mission in order to foster economic ties between our city and China. 

In 2006, the city began working on a strategic plan called the China Economic Development Strategy for Columbia.  As part of the strategy, one goal called for the establishment of a Sister City relationship with Yibin in order to promote cultural exchange and awareness.  Today, that goal has been realized, and the Columbia World Affairs Council, in conjunction with the City, continues to strengthen that relationship. 

This month, Columbia’s delegation visited Yibin City as they passed through Shanghai, Chengdu, and Beijing.  During the time spent in Yibin on this visit, an agreement was signed between the two Sister Cities as part of US-China Exchange Association.  Discussion during the visit heavily focused on clean energy efforts and ways that China and the United States can work together to achieve a better environment.  Further, the Columbia International Business Center was promoted in Yibin for future collaborations.

In addition to forging stronger ties with Yibin, the delegation also attended the 2009 Global SME Expo and US China Business Cooperation Forum in Shanghai.  Mayor Coble gave a speech concerning the economic ties both South Carolina and Columbia have with China due to our port system and international business presence.  In Chengdu, the possibility of creating an economic exchange between Columbia’s Innovista and the Sichuan Provincial Government was touched upon as Columbia and the Chinese could benefit from developing clean air technologies through job creation and investment opportunities.

Of course, the group was able to do a bit of sightseeing before returning home to Columbia.  Pictured below is Fred Monk, his wife Virginia, and Mayor Coble.

Fred Monk, Chairman of the Council; Virginia, his wife; Mayor Bob Coble

Read about Mayor Coble’s personal reactions on his blog via WIS-TV.

My Internship in Columbia at the World Affairs Council

Ashley’s Future and Thanks

Dear Friends and Family,
 
I hope this note finds all of you doing well and enjoying the spring weather.  Many of you know that I will be graduating this May from the University of South Carolina, but I’m sure some of you would like to know what my plans are post graduation.
 
After spending an endless number of hours studying for the LSAT (Law School Admission Test,) working tirelessly on admission essays, running to the mailbox each day like a dog after a bone, and pacing to make a decision about which great school I should attend, I will be attending the University of South Carolina School of Law this August.  I plan to pursue a joint J.D./I.M.B.A. degree with the law school in conjunction with the Moore School of Business; please continue to wish me luck as I take the GMAT this summer and prepare my applications for the International Masters of Business Administration.  This joint degree will require a four-year commitment, and the I.M.B.A. will take me overseas for a period of at least six months in my third year.
 
On May 8th, I will be graduating with honors from the South Carolina Honors College and Magna Cum Laude from the Moore School of Business with a B.S. in International Business, Marketing, and a minor in French.  I can’t even begin to describe what a wild ride my four years at Carolina has been, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it—even if the Gamecocks were losing.  J  USC has provided a great education for me, especially the #1 International Business program, and I don’t regret the decision I made four years ago to attend.  Besides school, I’ve made the best friends of my life here, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 
 
Until my first day of law school on August 17th, I’ll be traveling to West and Southern Africa from May 28th – June 22nd.  In July, I’ll be vacationing with Mom, Stuart, and Roy for a couple of weeks and then returning to the Columbia World Affairs Council as the Program and Membership Specialist for part-time work during law school.  Since I’m remaining in Columbia, you can still reach me at my current address, phone, and e-mail.  Of course, I’ll still be “stalking” people on Facebook, so feel free to keep up with me there as well.

I’m so excited to be pursuing this path in my life and thank all of you for your dedicated support and help throughout my life and especially the last four years.  I would like to say a special thanks to the following people who have made a huge impact on my life in the last four years and helped me reach the place where I am now:
 
My family and Roy, for absolutely everything.
Sam, for being the best and truest friend I’ve ever had and whom I truly admire.
Andy, for being the best person to work with and the best guy friend ever.
Alicia, for sharing in my grad school experience, hanging out with me when Andy’s away, and laughing about silly things.
Mitch, for being to best roommate on the face of the earth and for your sense of humor.
Raffo, for a friendship I never expected.
My CWAC family, for all of your support and encouragement and giving me the opportunity to learn great things.  (Fred, thanks for your trust; Haneez, thanks for empowering me; Sabrina, thanks for making me one of your own; Christine, thanks for bringing excitement into my life all the time; Veronica, thanks for all of your hard work.)
My SAO Sisters, for always being just a phone call (or text) away.
Adam and Valerie, for embracing me and being so wonderful.
 
USC Family:
Dr. Sibley-Jones, for being so cool, supportive, and one of my favorite professors—ever.
Mr. Tom Hughes, for directing my SCHC thesis, giving advice about law school, and always being totally honest.
Dr. David Crockett, for being the Second Reader for my thesis, letting me rant about “senioritis,” and inspiring me to continue marketing after taking your Intro. to Marketing course.
Dr. Nancy Buchan, for assigning the most difficult and best project of my entire life; I’m so indebted to you for that.
Dr. Robert Rolfe, for sparking my interest in Africa and taking time to really get to know me and all of your students.
Dr. William Edmiston, for being one of the best and nicest French professors I’ve had while at USC and inspiring me to continue practicing.
Dr. Lara Lomicka-Anderson, for immersing me in French culture and going above and beyond in the classroom.
Dr. Clay Bolton, Michelle Hahn, and Melissa Rorer, for taking me under your wings with service, leadership, and Carolina Service Council.
Elizabeth White-Hurst, for all of your help and guidance.
 
By no means is this an extensive list of all of the people who have made an impact on my life.  For everyone else, you have a special place in my heart, and you know who you are.  I’ll try to keep everyone posted as I make my journey through law school.  Keep your eyes peeled for postcards and pictures from Africa!
 
Thank you,
  Ashley
 
P.S. Please forward this to anyone I might have missed.  Thanks!

Sophomore Study Abroad

Walker Institute: Upcoming Events

Our ally and friend in the community, the Walker Institute of International Studies has some wonderful events coming up at the University.  Please visit their website at http://www.cas.sc.edu/iis/upcoming.htm to learn more information about the Walker Institute and contact them with any questions. We’ll be happy to post information about upcoming events, so check back here to stay in touch with the Walker Institute.

Thursday, April 16th, 3:30pm, *Business Building 855*
Dr. Raphael Israeli, will present “The Odd Couple: Turkey and Israel.” This event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program.

Thursday, April 16th, 4:00pm, Gambrell 152
Hartmut Keil of University of Leipzig, Germany will present, “The Americanization of Francis Lieber.”

Friday, April 17th, 5:30pm, Gambrell Hall 153
Dr. Raphael Israeli will give a public address, “Palestinians between Nationalism and Islam.” This event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program.

~Veronica, Media & Community Relations

On the Radio

Click on the link above to hear an interview with talk show host, Ron Huff on WUSC’s USC Today’s Friday afternoon show. Sabrina and I chatted with Ron about the council, our mission, some upcoming events, and what it’s like to be a intern at the council.  If you missed the Friday afternoon air, we highly recommend you click on the link above and download the mp3 file.

We thoroughly enjoyed talking with Ron, a long time member of the council.  WUSC is a student-run radio station at the University of South Carolina that plays over the airways at 90.5 fm radio.  To learn more about WUSC and USC today go to their website.

And, if you are listening to this for the first time, please know that you can contact Sabrina and me by calling the office at 803-252-2197 or by email at programs@columbiawac.org.  We look forward to hearing from you!

~Veronica, Media & Community Relations

Facebook

We have very much enjoyed using Facebook to communicate with the vibrant Columbia community. We have over 250 friends last count! Some of our members were already on Facebook, and we encourage all of them to join us on Facebook as well to stay updated.

Right now, we’re using Facebook, in conjunction with our older methods of email, the phone, and the mail, to announce events. We create Facebook events and invite all of our friends.

As far as the other features available to use via Facebook, I think the most relevant one is the status updates and the home page. We’re staying in touch with the community and they’re staying in touch with us. Our home page feels like a town square or a big dinner table in which everyone is telling us how their day went, what’s coming up in their lives, and what they think about us. It’s such a wonderful thing to be–actually participating in the dialogue.

The biggest boost of all has been some interest in membership among young people. We’re excited about this and are going to brainstorm some ideas on how better to serve the younger crowd. First thing that popped into my mind was young professional group and programs designed to help them navigate in the world. This is obviously the start of a much bigger thing.

So, if you’re not already on Facebook, then log on, and be our friend! We’d love to have you!

~Veronica, Media/Community Relations

Phase One: Turkish Cultural Program

We are so excited to present a second year of Turkish culture to our members and educators all over the state. Our event last Friday and Saturday was such a wonderful example of Turkish Culture. Latif Bolat talked with us about his music and his very interesting life. He serenaded the attendees while they enjoyed their delicious dinner from local restaurant, Al Amir.

The next morning was more business as Sabrina and Andy went over the travel itinerary and applications involved with the educators. In June/July we hope to send six teachers to Turkey with the Turkish Cultural Foundation for twelve days. Dr. Hal French from the University of South Carolina spoke of his travels and shared his photos of Turkey with us. We were very happy to receive Mr. Omer Ozbek, a representative of the Istanbul Center in Atlanta, GA. He gave us an overall look at the Turkish-American relations in the southeastern United States.

Ms. Victoria Barrett, a wonderful actress, producer and director, spoke with the audience after the screening of her film, Desperate Hours; the film discusses the heroic involvement of Turkish Ambassadors and Diplomats during the Holocaust in order to save Turkish citizens from the horrors.

We’ll have another phase of our Turkey program soon. Good luck to all of our educators and many thanks to the Turkish Cultural Foundation and Heathwood Hall Episcopal School for sponsoring the event.

Welcome to our first official post!

I am so excited to finally present this blog that the staff here at the office have been working on. You’ll see that it has just started and there are not many posts here–yet. You’ll soon see updates from all of our staff members, and we would like to see comments and contributions from you all as well. To become a registered contributer or author click on the link below.

Register

The sliding photos represent categories of blog entries, so after the blog is populated, we’ll have them in groups related to all the particular aspects of the council. Right now the categories are empty, but hopefully soon when you click on a category it would have entries in it. If you are a contributer, please be sure to categorize your post.

You may also notice twitter updates to the left of the main text of the blog. This is Sabrina Mandanas’s, our new executive director, twitter feed. Twitter is yet another way we have found to stay in touch with our members and friends, and we are excited about its possibilities for communication. To follow her, or to “tweet back” simply click on the link below:

Twitter

Underneath the twitter feed is our google calendar, which has information about our upcoming events. If you would like an event to be added to our calendar or posted to our blog, just send us an email to our gmail account at columbiawac@gmail.com. We especially would like to announce events going on the community that our members may be interested in, like conversation groups or educational programs.

Finally, we are also on facebook, so be our friend! We finally got a profile like many other local nonprofit, community organizations, and we want to stay in touch that way. We have uploaded a lot of pictures to our Picasa account and they are available on facebook too. We’ll send out invitations to join us on facebook soon as well.

facebook

We hope you’re as excited as we are to finally have such a wonderful form of open communications with all of our members and friends. Check back soon to see new blog entries from our staff. Have a wonderful rest of Wednesday (not an April fools joke).