Sister Cities Commission — Naperville, IL
Date: 2025-03-12

400 S. Eagle Street
 City of Naperville Naperville, IL 60540
 http://www.naperville.il.us/

 Meeting Agenda

 Sister Cities Commission

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 6:30 PM NEU




A. CALL TO ORDER:

B. ROLL CALL:

C. PUBLIC FORUM:

D. OLD BUSINESS:

E. REPORTS:
1. 24-1309 Approve the Sister Cities Commission meeting minutes of November 13,
 2024 and January 16, 2025

2. 25-0302 Receive information on a Monarch Butterly Project and plan that connects
 to our Sister City in Patzcuaro, Mexico
3. 25-0324 Receive information on a Student Exchange Program

4. 25-0305 Receive information on a Sister City 2-Day Conference for all three Sister
 Cities: Cancun, Patzcuaro and Nitra
5. 25-0306 Receive a Sister Cities Foundation update

6. 25-0318 Received an invitation to Cancun’s invitation to Cancun World Fest

7. 25-0317 Receive information on the Illinois Sister Cities Association’s Annual
 (ISCA) Conference to be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at Sauk Valley
 Community College, hosted by the Dixon Sister Cities Association

8. 25-0309 Receive information on the Sister Cities International 2025 Young Artists
 and Authors Showcase and discuss participation in 2026

9. 25-0307 Receive information on the Sister Cities International Youth Leadership
 Summit on June 15-21, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
10. 25-0323 Receive the Sister Cities calendar items of past and present events


F. NEW BUSINESS:



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G. ADJOURNMENT:
 Any individual with a disability requesting a reasonable accommodation in order to
 participate in a public meeting should contact the Communications Department at least
 48 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting. The Communications Department can
 be reached in person at 400 S. Eagle Street, Naperville, IL., via telephone at
 630-420-6707 or 630-305-5205 (TDD) or via e-mail at info@naperville.il.us. Every effort
 will be made to allow for meeting participation.




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City of Naperville

 400 S. Eagle Street
 Naperville, IL 60540
 http://www.naperville.il.us/




Meeting Minutes - Final

  Wednesday, March 12, 2025

 6:30 PM



 NEU



Sister Cities Commission
Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 12, 2025


A. CALL TO ORDER:

 Chairperson, Arun Mani called the meeting to order at 6:38 p.m.

B. ROLL CALL:
 Present 6- Tony Chamberlain, Becky Rudolph, Yugin Wang, Ganesh Kar, Arun Mani, and
 Abdechafi Boubkir
 Absent 4- Neelam Saboo, Daniel Bukowski, Navya Shah, and Joel See


C. PUBLIC FORUM:

 Laurie Donahue, a former Commissioner addressed the Commission to
 discuss the student exchange program that they did while she served on the
 Commission.



D. OLD BUSINESS:

E. REPORTS:

1. Approve the Sister Cities Commission meeting minutes of November 13, 2024 and
 January 16, 2025
 Commissioner Wang made a motion to approve the Sister Cities Commission
 meeting minutes of November 13, 2024 and January 16, 2025, seconded by
 Commissioner Chamberlain. Motion was approved by unanimous voice vote.

2. Receive information on a Monarch Butterly Project and plan that connects to our Sister
 City in Patzcuaro, Mexico
 Chairman Mani announced that any Commissioners interested in working on
 this project should reach out to Commissioner See.

 Councilwoman Longenbaugh stated that in March 2023, the City had a
 resolution that included commitments based on the City's resources and
 strategic plans to work with the DuPage Monarch Project, and the library is
 involved in that project as well.

 Staff will connect Ben Mjolsness who is our Sustainability Manager with our
 newly appointed Commissioner Dr. See.



 Commissioner Rudolph moved to table the Monarch Butterfly Poject and Plan
 Presentation to the next Sister Cities Meeting on April 9, 2025, seconded by
 Commissioner Boubkiir. Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

3. Receive information on a Student Exchange Program

 Chair recognizes Commissioners Boubkir and Chamberlain to provide an
 update on the Student Exchange Program.
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Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 12, 2025



 Commissioner Chafi stated that this is not a touristy program, but rather a
 Cultural Exchange Program that can open the door to students to learn about
 countries and for students coming here to learn about our city. Students can
 forge relationships that can continue for a lifetime.

 Councilwoman Longenbaugh asked about the financial means for participating
 in this program. Will students hold fundraisers or will the Foundation being the
 fundraising arm for this program.

 Commissioner Chamberlain added that he believes in the past, the Foundation
 held fundraisers to fund this project. He will talk to Laurie Donahue and report
 back.

 Chairman Mani stated that once Commissioners start working with schools
 they will have a better idea about the funding for this project. Commissioners
 are asked to report back with more information.

 Staff arranged a tour and visit of City Hall with a teacher from Matea Valley High
 School. The teacher is bringing several German Exchange Students to meet
 with the Mayor as part of an exchange program that she has been involved with
 for 15 years. The teacher is willing to talk to Commissioners and answers any
 questions they may have.




 Commissioner Rudolph made a motion to receive the information and request
 more information on the Student Exchange Program at a future meeting,
 seconded by Commissioner Kar. Motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

4. Receive information on a Sister City 2-Day Conference for all three Sister Cities: Cancun,
 Patzcuaro and Nitra
 Chairman Mani asked for information on a Sister Cities Conference being
 proposed.

 Commissioner Kar shared that he is proposing an annual two (2) day Sister
 Cities Conference two (2) day to include all 3 Sister Cities. The idea is to
 promote Naperville, promote our Sister Cities, exchange information, and build
 community involvement.

 Chairman Mani said even if we have a one (1) day conference or a business
 fair, invite guests to speak, and offer investment opportunities.

 Commissioner Kar suggests working on a budget so that the Foundation has
 an idea on how much money to raise.

 Commissioner Chamberlain suggested selecting a location and when
 Commissioners bring a proposal forward to add all of the financials behind it.

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Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 12, 2025



 Commissioner Kar will provide an update at a future meeting.
 Motion was made by Commissioner Chamberlain to receive information on Sister
 Cities 2-Day Conference and report back with additional information at a future
 meeting. Motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

5. Receive a Sister Cities Foundation update

 Commissioner Chafi reported that the Foundation would like to move forward
 with these events and are asking us to provide an entire year plan. They would
 support are participation in the Sister Cities Young Artist Show and Youth
 Leadership Summit.

 Chairman Kar said for the art project, we would have to submit a proposal and
 start marketing the event 2 to 3 months prior to the event.

 Chairman Rudolph likes one of the students suggestions to have an online art
 gallery.

 Chairman Mani said that there are 3 projects that we can present to the
 Foundation, which are the Student Exchange Program, Monarch Butterfly
 Program and the Sister Cities 2-Day Conference.

 Staff suggests provided information to the Foundation at the end of June with a
 tentative budget. Staff also suggests adding this to a future agenda and voting
 whether to move forward with these projects.




 Motion was made by Chairman Boubkir to receive the information from
 Commissioner Kar, seconded by Commissioner Rudolph. Motion passed
 unanimously by voice vote.

6. Received an invitation to Cancun’s invitation to Cancun World Fest

 Chairman Mani shared that Cancun officials reached out to us about Cancun
 World Fest to see if we can send a delegate, unfortunately it's not feasible for
 us to send anyone this year, but we will consider it in the future once we have
 more information to evaluate the needs of attending this event and provide more
 information.

 Chairman Mani will work with the team to gather more information.

 Staff stated it is unclear as to what the goals is and what we could achieve by
 attending. Staff also suggests that with each project, determining the objective
 and benefits to Naperville should be clear.

 Chairman Rudolph stated that the cost of the booth is $800.


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Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 12, 2025

 Commissioner Kar asked if anyone can participate. Chairman Mani suggests
 asking North Central College to possibly sponsor a booth. We still need to learn
 more about the business opportunities.



 Motion was made by Commissioner Chamberlain to receive the invitation to
 Cancun World Fest, seconded by Chairman Kar. Motion passed unanimously by
 voice vote.

7. Receive information on the Illinois Sister Cities Association’s Annual (ISCA) Conference
 to be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at Sauk Valley Community College, hosted by the
 Dixon Sister Cities Association
 Chairman Mani asked who would like to attend. In the past, we have sent 2
 Commissioners to the conference.

 Staff is asking Commissioners to check their calendars and let us know if they
 are interested in attending.


 A motion was made by Commissioner Boubkir to receive information on the
 Illinois Sister Cities Association Annual Conference, seconded by Commissioner
 Rudolph. Motion was passed unanimously by voice vote.

8. Receive information on the Sister Cities International 2025 Young Artists and Authors
 Showcase and discuss participation in 2026
 Chairperson Mani asked Commissioner Kar if we should explore the Young
 Artist program further and Kar does feel like this is worth exploring further.

 Staff stated that the program seems like a great project to research and
 markets and suggests partnering with the Art League.

 Commissioner Rudolph suggests asking our student representatives if there is
 any interest in submitting art work for this program.

 Commissioner Chafi shared that this is a good opportunity to work with the
 schools.

 Staff suggested that if the Commission takes on this project in the future, we
 could hold it at the Municipal Center similar to the District 203 Art Show that is
 held here.

 Staff said there's no fundraising component to this, the key things are marketing
 and judging and selecting 5 people to submit their work.




 Motion was made by Commissioner Rudoloh to receive he Sister Cities
 International 2025 Young Artists and Authors Showcase and discuss participation
 in 2026, seconded by Commissioner Wang. Motion passed unanimously by voice

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Sister Cities Commission Meeting Minutes - Final March 12, 2025

 vote.

9. Receive information on the Sister Cities International Youth Leadership Summit on June
 15-21, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
 Commissioners stated that we consider collaborating with an organization like
 KidsMatter and the Foundation. Chairman Mani also stated that there are a lot of
 projects and discussing the benefits of each and whether it is worth pursuing.




 Motion made by Commissioner Kar to receive the information presented on the
 Sister Cities International Youth Leadership Summit, seconded by Commissioner
 Boubkir. Motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

10. Receive the Sister Cities calendar items of past and present events

 Motion was made by Commissioner Kar to receive the Sister Cities Calendar,
 seconded by Commissioner Chamberlain. Motion passed unanimously by voice
 vote.

F. NEW BUSINESS:
 Motion made by Commissioner Rudolph to add a Sister Cities Meeting on April 9,
 2025, seconded by Commissioner Chamberlain. Motion passed unanimously by
 voice vote.

G. ADJOURNMENT:
 Motion was made by Commissioner Boubkir to adjourn the Sister Cities Meeting
 of March 12, 2025, seconded by Commissioner Chamberlain. Motion passed
 unanimously by voice vote.



 /s/ Rachel Pruneda
 Rachel Pruneda




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