“In America we have a Declaration of Independence, but our history, our advancements, our global strength all point to an American declaration of interdependence.”
― Cory Booker
“Life doesn’t make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all.”
― Erik Erikson
It is also:
- The Centenary of the Easter Rising that took place in 1916 in Dublin, Ireland, which precipitated Irish Independence;
- The Centenary of the World War I Battle of Sommes in 1916, which saw the participation by Irishmen, both North and South, in the Allied Cause;
- The 60th anniversary of the establishment of the modern day Sister Cities International citizen diplomacy movement, founded in 1956 by President Eisenhower to promote world peace through people to people and community to community connections;
- The oldest and largest global network of citizen diplomats today, with 66 community twinning relationships between All Ireland and the United States;
- The 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Accords, which ended the 30 year period of troubles.
Where city and community leaders will come to celebrate and reflect upon the unique relationship that exists between Ireland and the United States.
All Ireland’s connections with both the United States and the United Kingdom have been its most important set of global relations. These relations have helped build the economies and the societies of all three countries. In recent years the critical role of United States Administrations in the Peace Process has helped shape the Ireland of today. The United States is the largest single source of foreign investment into the island of Ireland.
The Summit will take place around the theme of “Independence and Interdependence.” It will provide an opportunity to renew and change in practical terms the relations between the US and Ireland at local authority and citizen level. This will be done in a way that reflects on what has passed but more importantly identifies what way the future can be shaped. It will be an All Ireland event that honours and respects the different traditions on the island. Vice President Joe Biden has been invited as a Keynote Speaker and to lead the US delegation. The Mayor of each US city twinned with an Irish community counterpart is asked to participate with a delegation of civic leaders.
“It could be a meeting on the street, or a party or a lecture, or just a simple, banal introduction, then suddenly there is a flash of recognition and the embers of kinship glow. There is an awakening between you, a sense of ancient knowing.”
― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
“Your beloved and your friends were once strangers. Somehow at a particular time, they came from the distance toward your life. Their arrival seemed so accidental and contingent. Now your life is unimaginable without them. Similarly, your identity and vision are composed of a certain constellation of ideas and feelings that surfaced from the depths of the distance within you. To lose these now would be to lose yourself.”
― John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
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