- What is Mundialization?
- Who are we?
- What we do
- Terms of Reference
- Committee Members
- Meeting Information
Celebrate Spring with Burlington's Twin Cities
Thank you to everyone who attended the two events, hosted by the Mundialization Committee, on Saturday, May 14, in honour of Burlington’s twin cities, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands and Itabashi, Japan. A video of the festivities will be shared on this page soon.
Canada Netherlands Friendship Day
Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 10 a.m.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre—Family Lobby, 440 Locust St.
Featuring:
- Raising of the Canadian and Dutch flags
- Greetings from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, Consul General Harman Idema, Elizabeth Witmer, former Deputy Premier of Ontario
- Presentation from B.T. Lindley Public School
- Musical interludes by members of the Burlington Teen Tour Band
- Apeldoorn and Burlington student artwork display.
Sakura Festival
Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 1 p.m.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre—Family Lobby, 440 Locust St.
Featuring:
- Greetings from Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and Consul General of Japan SASAYAMA Takuya
- A Japanese drumming performance from Do Kon Daiko
- A demonstration from Shudokan Family Karate
- A Koto performance from Mari Kunsanagi and Logan Scott
- A singing and shamisen performance from Ten Ten Canada, featuring TAKAHASHI Aki
- A performance from dance group Sakuramai
Other events planned in honour of Burlington’s twin city, Itabashi, Japan, include:
- A paid performance from Japanese musician Nagata Shachu at the Burlington Performing Art Centre at 4 p.m. on May 14. Learn more at Burlington Performing Arts Centre.
- The Taste of Japan event at Japanese restaurants in Burlington throughout the month of May, organized by Tourism Burlington. Learn more at Burlington Tourism.
What is Mundialization?
The definition of "mundialization" is the act of a city or local authority declaring itself a "world citizen" and being aware of global issues with a sense of shared rights and responsibility. The word itself stems from the Latin word "mundus" which means "world". The concept involves the twinning of cities from around the world, in the belief that peaceful cooperation depends on mutual trust and appreciation among peoples of different nations, races, cultures and systems. Mundialization encourages citizen connections as a way of fostering world peace and global understanding.
Who are we?
The Burlington Mundialization Committee is a committee reporting to Council through the Enviroment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee.
In 1984, a Mundialization Committee of volunteer citizens was formed in Burlington to pursue twinning with another country. A by-law was passed in 1985 to declare Burlington a "World Community" dedicated to international co-operation (mundialization) and that the City of Burlington, as part of its Mundialization program, proceed: (a) to undertake a twinning program with a municipality in another country, and (b) to fly the United Nations flag with the Canadian flag from City Hall at all times.
On May 12, 1989, Mayor Bird signed a twinning agreement with Mayor Kurihara of Itabashi, Japan.
On May 6, 2005, Mayor MacIsaac signed a twinning agreement with Mayor de Graaf of Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
- Read about our Twin Cities: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands and Itabashi.
- Want to find out about our up coming events
- Read the latest United Nations news and activities.
What we do
Our mandate is to promote the City of Burlington as "A World Community" dedicated to the United Nations philosophy of peaceful co-operation among the peoples of the world and encourage community understanding of different cultures global issues by:
- Maintaining our twin city relationships in accordance with the agreements
- Promoting activities that celebrate our similarities and respect our differences
- Organizing a celebration of the United Nations Day each year around Oct. 24
- Providing advice and assistance on twin city relationships to Burlington City Council
- Developing achievable annual action plans with assistance of City Staff
- presenting an annual report to Council with assistance of City Staff
Each year on or around Oct. 24, Mundialization Committee members organize an event to celebrate the importance and achievements of the United Nations and its mandate to promote peace, understanding and tolerance among people of all cultures and backgrounds.
View the Terms of Reference for this committee [PDF]
Meeting Information
| Agenda, Minutes and Meeting Dates |
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From January 2017 onward can be found on the City Meeting/Event Calendar.To access agendas, minutes for citizen advisory committees, follow the below instructions:
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Agendas, minutes and meeting dates can be found on the City Meeting/Event Calendar.
Suzanne Gillies, Committee Clerk
905-335-7600 ext. 7862
suzanne.gillies@burlington.ca