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International Center Coordinates “Family Reunion” in Brunswick

Representatives from the Glynn County government and others welcomed a visiting delegation of 25 government managers from China’s Jiangxi province on December 8–10 as part of an outreach program coordinated by the Vinson Institute’s International Center.

The Chinese delegation is visiting the United States through December 14 to learn about public administration through the International Center’s Public Management Training Program. The group traveled to Glynn County after having arrived in Georgia on November 11 and stayed in Atlanta and Athens.

The visit marked a continuation of a relationship that has developed between Jiangxi Province in southern China and Glynn County over the years. The City of Brunswick in Glynn County is a sister city to Ganzhou, a Jiangxi city with a population of 8.5 million. In 2008, Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson and members of the city commission traveled to Ganzhou to strengthen ties, and a Ganzhou delegation visited Brunswick in 2009 to sign an official sister city agreement in Old City Hall.

More recently, Glynn County Manager Alan Ours worked directly with the visiting delegation when he traveled to Jiangxi province with the Vinson Institute in June to teach a course titled Public Administration and Local Government Governance.

On their first day in Glynn County, the group listened to presentations about economic development and local planning from the Coastal Regional Commission; Nathan Sparks, the director of the Glynn County Economic Development Authority; and David Hainley, the Glynn County development director. A representative of the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service gave a lecture about local agriculture. The delegation also toured the Brunswick State Port Authority and attended a dinner hosted by the Glynn County Board of Commissioners.

On Friday, the group learned about delivery of hospital and health department services to the county’s residents at the Southeast Georgia Hospital, and the following day, they toured the Jekyll Island Historic District.

The International Center’s Public Management Training Program engages local and provincial public officials from throughout China to help them serve their constituents more effectively. It provides training in China and the United States that draws on the expertise of both UGA faculty and government practitioners. By hosting Chinese officials in Georgia and coordinating visits for Georgia leaders abroad, the program encourages cultural understanding, exchange of ideas, and economic cooperation.

Since its inception in 1999, the Vinson Institute’s International Center has trained more than 1,200 Chinese public officials and coordinated visits of more than 100 Georgia local government leaders to China.