For Immediate Release
Contact: Rhonda Spears
(202) 861-6766
MAYOR AVEDISIAN IN U.S. DELEGATION TO INTERNATIONAL MAYORS CONFERENCE IN JERUSALEM
Conference to Examine Role of History and Culture in Economic Development
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian is one of eight U.S. mayors traveling to Israel in early May for the 24th Annual Jerusalem Conference of Mayors, which is hosted by Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski. The week-long event is sponsored by the American Jewish Congress-Council for World Jewry, which covers the costs of the mayors’ participation, and The U.S. Conference of Mayors, and is conducted in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In Jerusalem, the U.S. delegation will be joined by nearly 30 mayors from cities in South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Included among these are the Mayors of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Prague, Czech Republic; Tbilisi, Georgia; Livorno, Italy; Asuncion, Paraguay; Odessa, Ukraine; and Lusaka, Zambia. The theme of this year’s conference is “Mobilizing the Past for a Better Economic Future.”
During the May 7-13 event the mayors are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Moshe Katzav, and Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni. They will also participate in several sessions in which Mayor Lupolianski will discuss current issues affecting Jerusalem. Conference sessions will focus on a variety of municipal issues in Israel and the visiting mayors will have several opportunities to discuss their cities and the strategies they employ to address local problems. Included in the conference are visits to several Jerusalem neighborhoods. The mayors will tour both historic and modern sites in Jerusalem, visit Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial, and Yad Sarah, a social services facility in Jerusalem. They will visit a military base and travel to the Sea of Galilee and the Christian holy sites around it, Masada, and the Dead Sea.
Other members of the U.S. delegation are Mayors John Callahan of Bethlehem, PA; Heather Fargo of Sacramento, CA; Joe Geller of North Bay Village, FL; Shirley Gibson of Miami Gardens, FL; Elizabeth Kautz of Burnsville, MN; Carlos Mayans of Wichita, KS; and Bill Purcell of Nashville, TN.