In April, ASCA celebrated its 30th Anniversary, and the 30th Anniversary of our Sister City Partnership with Aachen. A delegation from Aachen traveled to Arlington to participate in programs hosted by the Arlington County Board, Arlington Fire Department, and to join in the 30th Anniversary celebration. Invitations were also extended to the Mayors and committees from our other sister cities but unfortunately representatives from the cities of Ivano-Frankivsk, Reims and San Miguel were not able to attend.
The Aachen delegation, members of the ASCA Board of Directors and our Executive Director participated in “Arlington’s Profile Roundtable” at the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center. Arlington County Board Vice Chair Takis Karantonis welcomed the group.
Claudia Wellen-Spix, Protocol Officer for Aachen Mayor Sybille Keupen joined the roundtable virtually. The group listened to presentations regarding Arlington’s County form of government, Arlington’s economic profile, and a presentation about the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
Following the roundtable, Vice Chair Karantonis, took the group on a tour of the Bozman Building. The group, led by Mr. Karantonis, then went on a special hard-hat tour of George Mason University’s new FUSE Center in Arlington. The FUSE is a 345,000 square foot mixed use center that will house GMU research and development labs, inclubators/accelerators, offices, classrooms, convening spaces and retail. FUSE staff and the Aachen delegation had lunch and discussed partnership opportunities.
The delegation included two members of the Aachen Fire Department, who participated in meetings and sessions with Arlington County Fire Department Chief David Povlitz to share ideas and discuss future exchange opportunities between the fire departments.
Activities for the visiting delegation also included a tour of the Capitol, visits to the Smithsonian and an excursion to Glenstone Museum, as part of their art exchange program.
We are delighted that the delegation from Aachen was able to travel to Arlington to participate in the 30th Anniversary activities. They hosted a delegation from Arlington in Aachen last fall to mark the 30th Anniversary. We are very grateful to Arlington County Board and staff, and George Mason University staff for providing enriching experiences to strengthen our longstanding relationship with our sister city of Aachen. We look forward to opportunities to engage with delegations from our sister cities of Ivano-Frankivsk, Reims and San Miguel. Coyoacan is in emeritus status.
Read more about ASCA’s history here.