What in the world are four mayors (and one deputy mayor) from Poland doing in Knoxville?
Open World is the answer: a program sponsored by the Congressional Office for International Leadership, and locally supported by Friendship Force Knoxville. The eight days of connections and adventures were almost overwhelming with the strength of the connections between each of the delegates from Poland and their local hosts, and overwhelming with the quality and enthusiasm of our many governmental hosts in providing programming.
Courtney Shea, representative from Friendship Force, said it was so much fun to have these faraway places spring to life. Faraway places like Minsk Mazoviecki, the home of Katarzyna Laziuk who is a facilitator and deputy mayor; Krotoszyn, the home of Mayor Natalia Robakowska; Przemysl, the home of Mayor Wojciech Bakun; Tarnogrod, the home of Mayor Pawel Dec; and Jawor, the home of Mayor Emilian Bera.
Our Mayor Indya Kincannon joined Friendship Force members to meet the five delegates at the airport on Friday, September 27. The group’s next stop was the Greek Fest for great food, a beautiful church tour and a chance to meet U.S. District Court Judge Tom Varlan.
Saturday and Sunday were introductions to Knoxville, with a farmers market tour at Market Square, music at the Visitors Center, then a reception at the home of former Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe and his wife, Joan. Sunday included the Sunsphere and the Knoxville Museum of Art.
The in-depth studies and exchanges about city governance began on Monday at Mayor Kincannon’s office. then Chief of Staff David Brace took the delegation to meet with U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett. The delegates boarded an electric KAT bus to discuss development history and infrastructure financing at a number of city venues including the Urban Wilderness, Suttree Landing, the Austin homes mixed housing development and the new stadium site.
Knox County gave a presentation on Tuesday about the Advance Knox planning process used by the county to plan for its growth, infrastructure and other needs in the next five years. Tuesday evening the delegates attended the Knoxville City Council, meeting the council members and receiving a proclamation from Mayor Kincannon, declaring October 1 as “Polish Mayors Delegation Day.”
Poland has also recently experienced catastrophic flooding and the delegation was extremely interested to meet with Police Chief Paul Noel, the fire department and the Emergency Management Control Center to discuss public safety issues. Judge Tyler Caviness of the Knoxville Municipal Court reviewed court structure and also discussed elections and voter involvement.
The Wednesday sessions continued at the Knoxville Fire training facility where the visiting mayors donned fire gear, learned how to take doors off of cars to extract victims, aimed fire hoses, experienced a fully extended bucket on a firetruck and experienced 85-degree weather in full fire gear.
On Thursday, the four mayors spoke and provided photos of their cities, as well as the challenges that they face as mayors, at the Ijams Nature Center community room. They answered questions from the public, and were then treated to a visit from Stevie, the screech owl, as well as a short history of Ijams from naturalist Lyn Bales.
Dollywood was a fun American experience (four delegates had never been to a theme park) but also an opportunity to learn of Dolly Parton’s impact on Tennessee in terms of music, literacy, economic development and charitable programs.
On Friday, October 4, delegates traveled to the town of Gatlinburg to meet with Mayor Mike Werner, Seth Butler and other city officials regarding the challenges of a small town, including tourism, water management issues and bear management. At the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, staff member Katelyn Liming led the delegation on a hike to Cataract Falls.
The members of Friendship Force Knoxville provided all food, entertainment, transportation and coordinated the programming for the eight-day visit. Many officials from Knoxville, Knox County and Gatlinburg assisted in making this program intensely worthwhile.
The Friendship Force of Knoxville was founded in 1981 and members have hosted hundreds of citizens from around the world in their homes and have visited and been hosted by Friendship Force clubs worldwide and throughout the United States. Other Knoxville delegations included judges from Uzbekistan who participated in the 2022 Open World Rule of Law Program. Follow the Facebook page to learn more.
The Congressional Office for International Leadership, founded in 1999, includes an Open World program supporting legislative diplomacy efforts for Members of Congress by conducting exchanges that establish authentic communication and enduring relations. Program participants are exposed to the work of Congress, American politics, accountable governance and volunteerism while home-hosted by American families. To learn more about the Open World program, visit www.openworld.gov/
