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Grand Grapids welcomes Zapópan as its fifth Sister City
Grand Rapids: As part of the Grand Rapids Sister Cities
International global outreach program, a delegation from
Zapópan, Jalisco, México
will be here to sign an agreement with the City of Grand Rapids
to become the 5th Sister City . This historic event
marks the beginning of exchanges promoting economic, cultural,
educational, and health initiatives between the two cities. The
official signing will take place during opening ceremonies for
Festival of the Arts 2008 on June 6, 2008 at Calder Plaza .
The Zapopan delegation, led by Sr. Juan Sánchez Aldana Ramírez,
municipal president of Zapópan, will include Doctora Patricia
Malfavon, International Affairs, and Sister Cities Coordinator;
María Carranza de Sánchez Aldana, Director of Family Services;
Dora Fafutis Morris, Director of Public Relations for the City
of Zapópan, Leopoldo Font, Director of Tourism and Economic
Development; Carlos Andrade, Director of Investment Promotion
and International Business; Ricardo Duarte, Director of the
Zapópan Museum of Art (MAZ); César Covarrubias, and Luis
Macias, artist. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell will
participate in the signing ceremony.
The event will include a special art exhibit during Festival
featuring the work of Raúl Anguiano, a prominent artist from
Zapópan , and Luis Macias. The artists’ work will be featured at
the Festival Art Show in the former Grand Rapids Art Museum and
Luis Macias will participate in a three-session workshop at the
Southwest Community Campus, organized by the Grandville Avenue
Academy of the Arts. The delegation will meet with leaders in
Grand Rapids
relative to international business, family services, tourism,
education, and the arts to begin to foster exchange programs
that will benefit both cities.
Business exchanges have already begun. During a recent trip to
Zapópan, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce signed a formal
agreement of collaboration with the National Chamber of Commerce
of
Guadalajara,
The Right Place investigated “Business to Business”
opportunities in the area.
Located in the central region of the State of
Jalisco,
Zapópan is a city of more than one million people, and has
recently been referred to as the “Silicon Valley of Mexico” due
to the number of international firms and foreign direct
investment in high technology development.
Zapópan has the most universities in México outside of
México City,
among them the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, Tec de
Monterrey and Pan-American University, all of which have
numerous exchange programs. All of the universities offer
programs in engineering, electronics, computers and business.
The city has a broad range of health facilities from federal
programs free of cost for families and children, to major
hospitals and clinics and the city offers a wide variety of
cultural entertainment, convention and conference centers,
sports clubs and recreational areas.
Grand Rapids Sister Cities International is a nonprofit
organization that was incorporated in 1994 to administer the
Sister Cities program on behalf of the City of Grand Rapids. Its
mission is to build relationships between
Grand Rapids
and its sister cities by promoting understanding and mutual
respect through exchanges in culture, art, education, and
community and economic development.
The other Sister Cities in the
Grand Rapids
network include:
Bielsko-Biala , Poland
; Ga District ,
Ghana
;
Omihachiman , Japan
; and
Perugia , Italy
.
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