MÉRIDA, Yucatan, May 18, 2023 – With the objective of establishing joint actions that will benefit the cities of Lansing and Mérida in the economic, tourism, academic and cultural fields, Mayor Renán Barrera Concha signed a letter of intent with the Lansing Regional Sister Cities Commission (LRSCC).
At the meeting held in the President’s Office of the City Hall, the Mayor and the Vice President of the Lansing Regional Sister Cities Commission, Maxine Cain, signed this agreement that will allow the development of a mutual understanding between the citizens of both cities, through the exchange of information to promote the economic development of families.
Barrera Concha informed that, by means of this agreement, they will support and promote the visits of the citizens of both cities; establish affiliations between schools and organizations to create and develop educational exchange programs; promote cultural exchanges and encourage official visits between representatives of different fields to learn about human resources through assistance activities of universities and private corporations.
He explained that, for Mérida, the brotherhood between cities is important because they become the same team working in a coordinated manner for the same goals.
Regarding future exchanges between Merida and Lansing, Barrera Concha expressed the importance of promoting them in the academic field, as an experience that allows the practice of a language, expand knowledge about history and customs, as well as learning about other cultural and artistic experiences.
“The exchange between cities allows you to know not only the cultural richness of the country you are visiting, but also to contrast and learn to value your gastronomy, history or customs, therefore, it is important that young people live this experience,” he said.
Given the various actions that Merida and Lansing can take to benefit their citizens, Barrera Concha proposed establishing a voluntary commission in which Merida’s civil society can actively participate to promote economic, touristic, academic and cultural exchanges, regardless of who is the mayor in office.
In this regard, Maxine Cain invited the City Council to join in the celebrations to be held on the upcoming anniversary of the city, and also agreed to participate in the upcoming festivities to be held in Merida.
“We would love for Merida with its gastronomic richness to be part of our celebration, in which other friendly cities with which we have twinned with will also be present,” he commented.
He mentioned that Lansing has also established friendship ties with Otsu, Japan; Sanming, China; Akuapim South District, Ghana; and with Mexican cities such as Guadalajara and Saltillo. In addition, it has twinned with Asan, South Korea; Cosenza, Italy; and the Tanzanian city of Dar en Salaam.
Regarding the Lansing Regional Sister Cities Commission, he explained that it is a non-profit organization whose objective is to connect Lansing with the rest of the world through a global network of citizen diplomacy.
About her visit to Mérida, Maxine Cain considered that it was a learning experience about the city, due to the fact that the coexistence of families in the parks, the customs, the festivities such as the 10th of May, differ in her place of origin.
She said she thought it was very appropriate that in the two schools she visited -one public and one private- the academic authorities give great importance to the study of English as a second language.
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