BXSCC Monthly Meetings

Our remaining 2026 meetings are at 6pm via Google Meet on Thursday, October 15th, Thursday, November 12th, and Thursday, December 10th. The December meeting will also act as our year-end celebration. Guests are welcome to attend our regular meetings! Contact the Committee Secretary for call-in information.

Baltimore Sister Cities Film Programming at the SNF Parkway Theatre

The SNF Parkway Theatre, home of the Maryland Film Festival, has adopted a new mission centered on international cultural exchange. The Baltimore Sister Cities Committee has been invited to help bring films and filmmakers from its Sister Cities, including Xiamen, to the Parkway’s year-round programming and to the Maryland Film Festival. The BXSCC is working with the Parkway and our fellow committees on a sister cities film event, tentatively planned for spring 2027. Watch this page for details as the program takes shape.

Looking Ahead to 2027

Planning is under way for the 2027 Youth Ambassadors Program and for the 21st annual CHINA Town Hall in early April. Details will be posted on those pages as they are finalized.

BXSCC Continues its Partnership with the World Trade Center Institute

Committee Chair Chelsea Nakabayashi, Vice Chair Justin Lipsky, and BSC President John Facelo met with Ziqi Li and Loren Kupferschmid of the World Trade Center Institute, Maryland’s largest international business network, to explore collaboration on future Chinese delegations and youth programming, including WTCI’s Albrecht Fellowship for high school students.

Youth Ambassadors Annapolis Tour

All five 2026 Youth Ambassadors traveled to Annapolis to present a slide show of their trip to Secretary of State Susan C. Lee, Deputy Secretary Michael Lore, and the Secretary’s International Affairs staff, whose office coordinated the Anhui portion of the trip through the Maryland-Anhui sister state relationship.

2026 Youth Ambassadors Student Travel Program

Five Baltimore City College students traveled to China with Committee Chair Chelsea Nakabayashi and with two chaperones . The group joined students from Orange County, San Diego, and Xiamen at the “Friends of Xiamen” summer camp, visited Huangshan and sister schools in Anhui Province, Maryland’s sister state, and visited Beijing as guests of the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office and Beijing School in Tongzhou. Schools in all three regions expressed interest in partnerships with Baltimore, and Xiamen has invited the BXSCC to return in 2027. Thanks to our hosts, chaperones, families, and donors! More on the program webpage.

Click any photo to enlarge.

Sister Cities International 70th Anniversary Homecoming

Sister Cities International celebrated its 70th anniversary with a homecoming at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C. Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. President John Facelo attended, joining Sister City organizations from across the country to mark seven decades of citizen diplomacy.

8th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference

BXSCC Treasurer Xin (Cindy) Wang represented the committee at the 8th China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference in San Francisco, where she was invited to speak during the conference’s Youth and Education session.

Study in China Fair at the Chinese Embassy

Twenty students from Baltimore City College traveled to Washington, D.C. for the China Higher Education Open House at the Chinese Embassy. They were the largest student group at the fair and met with representatives from nearly 30 Chinese universities about study abroad opportunities in China.

Maryland Zoo AAPI Heritage Month Celebration

The BXSCC celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the Maryland Zoo! The day featured entertainment, community vendors and resources, cultural activities, hands-on crafts, and special Zoo experiences including keeper chats and animal ambassadors.

The Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee hosted a booth with games and merchandise by our Youth Ambassadors to fundraise for their trip to China. For more information, visit the Maryland Zoo’s event page.

Asia North 2026

Further on in the Asia North series: A May 17th walking tour of Baltimore’s Koreatown is organized by the Baltimore-Changwon Sister City Committee. For more details regarding this and other Asia North events, please see the program website.

BXSCC Announces 2026 Leadership Team

The BXSCC is pleased to welcome our leadership team for 2026.

Congratulations to our new Chair (Chelsea Nakabayashi), Vice Chair (Justin Lipsky), and Treasurer (Xin (Cindy) Wang)! Their terms will run through the end of 2027.

Continuing officers on our Executive Committee include Sam Walczak as Secretary (through the end of 2026) and Hosea Chew as Member-at-Large (through the end of 2027).

For the latest information on our Subcommittees and Functional Teams, please visit our Leadership page.