ATLANTA - NEWCASTLE SISTER CITY COMMITTEE

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Atlanta's bridge with Great Britain

© Newcastle is the capital of the North East of England, located close to the border with Scotland, 100 miles south of Edinburgh and 276 miles north of London. The city's origins date from the time of the Romans, who built Hadrian's Wall, parts of which can be seen nearby. The name of the city is derived from the 'new castle' that was built in the 11th century by the Normans.

It is a place of great character and traditions, and an appropriate partner for Atlanta since its best known attributes - its famous drink, Newcastle Brown Ale, and the accent, dialect and spirit of the 'Geordies', its inhabitants - have an interesting parallel in Atlanta. The city is also renown for its soccer team, Newcastle United, and its landmark, the Tyne Bridge.

Newcastle is the cultural center of the North of England, home of the Northern Sinfonia, seasonal home to the Royal Shakespeare Company and an important center for literary and visual arts. It is the spawning ground of some of the leading figures of the British pop music scene with names such as Sting, Bryan Ferry, Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) and The Animals.

Newcastle's economy was founded on coal and steel which made the city a world leader of manufacturing, particularly in shipbuilding and armaments. Today the city is an important business and financial center, with a broad economic base spanning manufacturing, information technology, commercial and professional services and retail distribution. Well known companies include Vickers Defence Systems, Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, Rolls Royce Industrial Power Group, Procter and Gamble, British Telecom, British Airways, Barclays Bank and Nestlé which each have an important presence there.

©Friendship links

The friendship between Newcastle and Atlanta's dates back to 1967 when Dr. Martin Luther King, accompanied by Andrew Young, visited Newcastle University to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law. The University is the only British academic institution to have ever recognized Dr. King and this occasion is celebrated every three years at the University with a memorial lecture reflecting on the issues of poverty, war and race relations. In 1977, the Friendship Force, along with President Carter, took their first international mission to Newcastle which created many long-term friendships between the two cities. An official Sister City relationship was declared by both City Councils that same year.

Education

The special link of friendship has provided a bridge between academic, cultural and business organizations in both cities. In the field of education, North Atlanta High School has enjoyed student Business Studies exchanges with schools and colleges in and around Newcastle. In recent years a concerted effort was made to share academic resources at the broadest level. The Georgia State Board of Regents established a program to internationalize standards of education and selected the University of Northumbria in Newcastle (UNN) to act as co ordinator of its 'Centers Abroad' operation in Europe.

Exchanges of teachers and administrators, which took place in 1995, 1996 and 1997, involved participants from both locations in comparative studies of techniques and educational systems. Ideas and concepts were formulated to maximize the benefit of the exchange program which has resulted in a Memorandum of Agreement covering broad areas of educational practice including -

distance learning, using techniques such as two-way interactive video, satellite, internet and other media linking students and staff engaged in a common regimen of study;

faculty and staff exchange programs;

research collaboration;

student exchange programs allowing overseas study, internships and research opportunities for students at undergraduate and graduate levels.

The former Assistant Director of Education for Newcastle (now Director), David Bell , spent the 1993 - 4 academic year in Atlanta studying the American educational system and the role of city authorities in maintaining a vision of excellence in a decentralized school system. His research and findings were made available to British and American educationalists.

Art

An exhibition titled "32 Artists from the North of England" took place 29th June through 14th July, 1996, at the King Plow Arts Center, West Marietta Street, Atlanta.

The exhibit was sponsored in part by the Arts Council of Great Britain which highlights a city or region and an artform to be represented therein each year. 1996 was designated 'Year of Visual Arts' and the North of England chosen to exemplify 'the brightest and best' of British visual art.

For the artists of Newcastle, representing the major city in that region, this was an opportunity to celebrate art and the Sister City link during a period when the Olympics was placing Atlanta under an international spotlight.

The exhibition took place in the weeks leading up to the opening of the Olympics and contributed to Atlanta's reputation as an international city of culture.

Atlanta artists reciprocated with an exhibition "Art in Atlanta" that toured various European cities before appearing in Newcastle in December 1996.

Business

While Atlanta's has extensive relationships with businesses throughout the whole of Great Britain, Newcastle and Atlanta make use of every opportunity to further the Sister City relationship through business and economic development links. Newcastle sent a team of officials representing a broad range of business, industrial and academic interests to review interests in areas such as telecommunications, technology, and business education. Newcastle welcomes Atlanta companies to use its facilities and connections. An excellent example is Marietta (Georgia)-based 'Inbrand' which purchased Newcastle's 'Hygieia Healthcare' in 1994 providing the Georgia company with a bridge to the markets of Europe.

Link Committee

The Atlanta-Newcastle Sister City Committee is based in Atlanta and helps to co-ordinate the Sister City relationship by 'pairing-off' like-minded individuals and organizations in both cities. It would like to hear from anyone with a connection in the Newcastle area and welcomes people who would like to participate in exchange programs and its work among the diplomatic, business, academic and arts communities in both cities.

The contact is David Smith, Chairman of the Atlanta-Newcastle Sister City Committee.

Contact Atlanta-Newcastle Sister City Committee

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	City of Atlanta
	University of Northumbria at Newcastle
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