International Millennium Events

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Millennium Home
What is the Millennium?
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Save America's Treasures
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The following are summaries
of the seven national
millennium programs (excluding
the U.S.) that were presented at
the recent Rome conference:

Expand Your Horizons
Countries around the world, from Iceland to South Africa, have established millennium commissions of their own and are busy planning programs and activities. Why not mark the millennium within your community by reaching beyond local boundaries? Consider forging a sister city relationship, or using an existing tie to generate ideas for celebration. The Chicago Sister Cities International Program, for example, will match at least one Chicago Public School with a school in each of Chicago's sister cities around the world. Students, teachers and administrators will communicate across borders via the Internet, video, letters and exchanges. Each Sister Cities' committee will have a humanitarian project, such as a project between Chicago and Casablanca, Morocco, to set up a relief fund to revitalize the Children's Hospital in Casablanca. The town of Woodbury, New Jersey has a millennium project that will link the city to its English roots. In the spring of 2000, a 112-foot replica of a 1725 brig, the Phoenix, will retrace the historic journey of Henry Wood, a Quaker from Bury who is credited with founding Woodbury. On July 1, 2000, the new ship's crew made up partly of young people from Bury and Woodbury, will arrive in Woodbury Creek for a week long millennium celebration.

Kentucky has embarked on an international cultural program with France called the Millennium Monument Project. A major feature of this project is the 66,000 pound World Peace Bell, which is decorated with designs highlighting the contributions of man over the last 1,000 years. Culminating the project will be a community to community viewing of the bell as it makes its way across the Atlantic from France and up the Mississippi River to the Millennium Monument site in Kentucky. On New Year's Eve 1999, the bell will be rung once every hour as each time zone heralds the year 2000. Both our nation's capital, Washington DC, and the city of Hull in Canada's capital region, are celebrating their bicentennials in 2000. The cities are twinning their celebrations, with planned events including the development of Commemoration Parks, educational youth exchanges with high schools, colleges and artists, commissioning artistic works and organizing joint sporting events. On a global scale, the United States has led many countries worldwide in designating February 29, 2000 as International Children's Day. Be part of this international event by taking the time on this extra day of the year to honor and improve the lives of children within your community. A variety of resources are available to help your community share its celebration with the world. For example, many communities have American Friends Service Committees, World Affairs Councils, international civic clubs such as Lions or Rotary, universities or colleges with international studies programs, or language and cultural associations such as L'Alliance Francaise. Religious institutions and libraries can also be valuable resources.

For more information about how to become a Sister City, contact Sister Cities International at (202) 312-1200 or on the World Wide Web at www.sister-cities.org/index.html.

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