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City of Fort Lauderdale Twins with City of Duisburg, Germany
Duisburg Lord Mayor Sauerland and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Seiler sign Proclamation
Photo Credits: Peter Caspari
Fort Lauderdale - The City of Fort Lauderdale officially established its 17th sister-city relationship with the City of Duisburg, Germany on Friday, March 18th, 2011 at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. Fort Lauderdale Mayor John P. "Jack" Seiler and Duisburg Lord Mayor Adolf Sauerland signed the proclamation twinning the two cities at 5:00 p.m.
Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International (GFLSCI), the non-profit organization which creates sister-city relationships for the City of Fort Lauderdale, hosted this historic celebration and welcomed the delegation from Germany, which included Lord Mayor Adolf Sauerland and nine other councilors and city representatives from the City of Duisburg.
Lord Mayor Sauerland presented the official flag of Duisburg, a world globe as well as other gifts to Mayor Seiler. Mayor Seiler's presentation included a beautifully framed centennial poster created by world renowned pop artist Charles Fazzino commemorating the 100th year Anniversary of the City of Fort Lauderdale which will be celebrated on March 27, 2011. Other presentations included the Key to the City of Fort Lauderdale by Vice Mayor Romney Rogers and the Key to Broward County by County Commissioner Dale Holness.
Other guests of honor included Eva Alexandra Grafin Kendeffy, Consul General of Germany in Miami; Hans Lamprecht, Vice-Consul of Germany in Miami; Stephen Scott, City of Fort Lauderdale Director of Economic Development; Deborah Wilkinson, Chief Development Officer, Broward County Office of Economic & Small Business Development; Dan Lindblade, President, Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce; Andy Deering, Port Everglades; Dr. Volker Anding, German American Business Chamber; Karl and Annette Thor, Duisburg Sister Cities Representatives; John Karr, President, South Florida American Red Cross; and representatives of Lufthansa and Air Berlin.
During their stay in Fort Lauderdale, Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International organized for the delegation to meet with key players in international trade. They also organized a tour of Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale City Hall, and attended with them a meeting with business leaders at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance. Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International plans to organize many beneficial exchanges between these two cities and will participate in many local events representing the City of Duisburg.
About Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International
Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International (GFLSCI) is a non-profit citizen diplomacy network dedicated to creating and strengthening partnerships between Fort Lauderdale and cities around the world in an effort to increase global cooperation on many levels. This passport to the world promotes educational, cultural, environmental and humanitarian programming and stimulates economic development. The City of Fort Lauderdale currently has 17 sister-city relationships around the world.
GFLSCI not only promotes the City of Fort Lauderdale around the world but leads the movement for local community development and volunteer action by motivating and empowering private citizens, municipal officials and business leaders to conduct long-term programs of mutual benefit. To find out more about our organization, please to visit our website by clicking here.
About the City of Duisburg, Germany (Credits: Wikipedia)
Duisburg is a city in the western part of the Ruhr Area (Ruhrgebiet) in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is an independent metropolitan borough within Regierungsbezirk Dusseldorf. With the world's biggest inland harbour and its proximity to Dusseldorf International Airport, Duisburg has become an important venue for commerce and steel production.
Today's city is a result of numerous incorporations of surrounding towns and smaller cities. Duisburg is the fifteenth-largest city in Germany and the fifth-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia with 495,668 residents as of December 31, 2007. The city is renowned for its steel industry producing 49% of the country's hot metal and 34.4% of Germany's pig-iron (as of 2000). Duisburg is home the Konig Brauerei, a large brewery which makes the Konig Pilsener brand, and the University of Duisburg-Essen, which ranks among the 10-largest German universities.
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