It’s time to eat that last hot dog, make that final trip to the shore, and use that last bit of vacation time that you’ve been saving. We’ve reached the tail end of the Summer, Global Philadelphia readers, and even though it has been challenging and confusing at times due to the arrival of the delta variant, we made it.
Although, truthfully, I like to think that this summer was much better than last year. For us at Global Philadelphia Association and Emerging International Journalism Program, we’ve been working diligently in preparing both for the World Heritage Celebration (which recently took place on Sept. 9), as well as the Globys (taking place on Dec. 13).
Speaking of the World Heritage Celebration, for the first time, GPA included Future Generation Co-Chairs, Divy Agnihotri, and Layla El Tannir as part of the World Heritage City Celebration. Divy and Layla are GPA Alumni and remain active in Philadelphia. Their goal is to help raise awareness of Philadelphia as a World Heritage City and encourage their identified audiences to support the initiatives of GPA's mission.
Please check out some of the forthcoming Global Conversation pieces on the awardees, written by our GPA interns and freelancers.
Peak Johnson
EIJP Editor
NHLs Overview on TikTok Inspired by the beautifully illustrated Philadelphia Heritage Map, which highlights the 67 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), both Layla and Divy teamed up with the current group of GPA interns on an NHL project. Together, they selected five NHLs and launched GPA on TikTok. The hope is to connect the digital generation with the NHLs in a fun and engaging way and ultimately inspire them to visit and create their own content. This project is set up to be adapted by future co-chairs, interns, and members of GPA. In addition to the NHL project, Divy and Layla are keen on connecting with young professionals in the City to attend the upcoming Celebration.
GPA Global Foods GPA interns also assembled a blog highlighting different global foods from around the world, give it a read when you get a chance. In addition to all of this, plus more that’s being working on behind the scenes, we still managed to cover a few stories, you might not have read about in the mainstream media.
In an interesting turn of events, in early August, Liverpool was removed from the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. The decision was made by the UNESCO Committee, after a meeting in Fuzhou, China where the vote was cast.
The Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), recently announced new health services opportunities in the Cedar (West Philadelphia) community. The PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar is founded on the guiding principle “to provide high-quality, community-informed, patient-centered health care and social services supporting the needs of the facility’s West and Southwest Philadelphia neighbors.”
In July, the Philadelphia Bar Association held its Summer Quarterly Meeting honoring the legacy of Judge A. Leon Higginbotham. The meeting served as both an opportunity for members to connect in person since the pandemic, and also to provide a platform to present the Bar Association’s commitment to the late Judge’s devotion to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The event’s goals were clear from the start, focusing on how “strong bonds and partnerships between the public interest, government and corporate sectors” are key as they “aim to leverage the power of Philadelphia’s diverse legal community to achieve a more equitable society for all.”
Please keep an eye out for a Global Conversation featuring the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Chancellor Lauren McKenna on GPA’s main site.
In 2014 GPA visited Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sintra is recognized worldwide for its beauty and as an original center of European Romantic architecture, which developed in the 19th century. Sintra is one of 15 sites in Portugal inscribed on the World Heritage List and was the first of three cultural landscapes to be inscribed.
EIJP acts as a training ground and platform for new voices on
international topics connected to the Philadelphia region.
