Would you like to be involved?

There are many kinds of activities and opportunities, depending on your interests and availability, in which to participate. Here are some of the things that we do, and some information about how you can become involved:

Host Visitors from Tashkent and Uzbekistan: we are often hosts to delegations from Tashkent. Sometimes they are officials from the city, sometimes they are professionals (such as journalists, architects, doctors, or religious leaders), and sometimes they are students (high school, college, or graduate level). You can help out with taking people around, arranging visits and tours, putting on meals, or hosting them in your home.

Cultural and Educational Exchanges: over the years, we have had a wide variety of exchanges between schools and universities of both teachers and students. We have collected books, especially children’s books, for “American Corners” in Tashkent libraries; we have also organized book drives at the University of Washington for a university-level library in Tashkent. Groundwork has been laid to develop art exchanges, including ceramics and painting exhibits from Uzbekistan. Other projects are also possible, such as an exchange of high school level jazz bands, and development of professional social work education.

Local and Sister City Program Exchanges: we were a “featured” city at the annual Seattle Sister Cities Reception in April 2005, and also were represented at the National Sister City Conference in Spokane in June 2005.

Commercial and Trade Relations: we are linked with the American Uzbek Chamber of Commerce, and have hosted a number of businesspeople from Tashkent. We are always open to supporting business exchanges. In the past we have particularly emphasized warehousing and food processing.

Health and Welfare: Focused on Children and Women: STSCA has completed a project bringing training on domestic violence to the city of Tashkent, particularly health professionals and police officials, and would like to extend that work. A partner organization, Orphan Care for Central Asia, has a long history of working with orphanages in Tashkent. We are currently working with Northwest Medical Teams to enhance medical equipment for pediatric hospitals, and develop important research, such as a birth defects registry, to improve public health, especially for children.

These are only a few of the many activities we are engaged in.

Seattle-Tashkent Exchanges and Projects 1973-2008

Each exchange program involved many volunteers who managed various aspects of the projects. Only the lead individual(s) appear in this listing. More extensive information will appear in future features of this website.
Alpinist Exchange - Frith Maier
Art Exchanges - Paul D. Natkin
Chef Exchange - Lydia Barrett
Cinematographer Exchange - Dale Blindheim, Dave Frankel
Communications Exchange - David Endicott
Dance Exchange (traditional Uzbek dance) - Laurel Gray, Emiko Nakamura
Dentist Exchange - Richard Johnson, Rosh Doan, Betty Sherman
Domestic Violence Prevention Training Program - Karen Green, Diana Pearce
English Language Resource Center - Joyce Doan, Patricia Leigh, Rich Hawkins, Joanne Young
Hospital Project (Paired Hospital Exchange) - Victoria Gallanti.
Human Potential Seminars - Roy and Leigh Farrell
Jewish Community Exchange - Rob Spitzer
Lawyer Exchange - Robert Alsdorf and Terrance A. Carroll
Music (Classical and Rock n Roll) - Hal Green
Organizational Management Development - Millard and Bonnie Mott
Orphanage Support through OCCA (Orphan Care for Central Asia) - Paula and Jim Quigley
Parks: Tashkent Park in Seattle - Mayor Wes Uhlman
Seattle-Tashkent Peace Park in Tashkent - Fred Noland (See below)
Peace Table (sharing knowledge of the food industry) - Jerilyn Brusseau.
Photography - Claire Garoutte and Ray Meuse
Physician Exchange - Rosh Doan, Roy Farrell, Royce Morrison
Public Administration - City of Seattle internship
Puppet Theater Exchange - Chris and Stephen Carter
School Exchange - Jay and Susan Sasnett
Sculpture Exchange - Richard (Rich) Beyer
Sports/Amputee Soccer - Brad Bodley, Bill Barry
Teacher Exchange - Angela Halonen-Webb and Kara Vasser
Trade and Business Exchanges - Gary Furlong
Tightrope Walkers (Traditional) from Tashkent - Joyce Doan
Zoo Exchange - City of Seattle
Special Project
Akhror Fund - Joyce Doan, Joanne Young
(Long-term support for an accident victim from Tashkent)
University Exchanges (University of Washington with Tashkent academies)
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization - Ilse Cirtautas
First participants UW/Tashkent State University Graduate Student Exchange - Will Dirks and Megan Gorman
Student Exchange Office - David Fenner
Architecture/Urban Planning Department - Art Rice
Business School - Affiliation with Tashkent State Economic Institute
Drama Department - Affiliation with Ilkhom Theater in Tashkent
Engineering College - Contact with Tashkent Polytechnic Institute – Pete Lauritzen
History Department - Aldon Bell
Mathematics Department - Edwin Hewitt
Other exchanges/projects co-sponsored by STSCA
Central Asian Textiles Exhibit 1986 - Seattle Art Museum
Goodwill Games - Carmen Mathews
Million Cranes Project for school children organized by Ploughshares - Akemi Matsamoto, Dwight Wilson
Peace Child Theater Project - Helen Strickland
Religious leaders from Uzbekistan - Visit sponsored by U.S. State Department
Seattle-Tashkent Peace Park in Tashkent - STSCA cosponsored this extensive project initiated and executed by Ploughshares (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers). Tashkent designated one and one-half acres for joint development by American and Soviet volunteers.
Seattle Peace Chorus - Helen Lauritzen, Helen Hustad
Target Seattle - Aldon and Betsy Bell, Kay Bullitt, Rosh Doan
Teacher and Student Exchanges cosponsored with Accent on Understanding - Dan Peterson
Ten Thousand Tiles Project (tiles decorated and shipped to Tashkent for the Seattle-Tashkent Peace Park) – Akemi Matsamoto

Last Update: 30 March 2008

Logo courtesy Mamoun Sakkal