International News

In total Seattle has 21 Sister City relationships around the world, including a 27 yearlong connection with Chongqing, China. Chongqing has a population of over 32 million people and serves as China’s largest municipality and fastest growing urban center on the planet.

A dinner will be held at the Rainier Club on Thursday, September 9^th from 6-8:30pm featuring Yu Yuanmu, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of Chongqing People’s Congress. The dinner will also be attended by Former Vice Mayor of Chongqing Municipality and a delegation of 11 municipal and district leaders.

Join the Trade Alliance, Seattle-Chongqing Sister City Association, Washington State China Relations Council and Seattle Chinese Garden Society for an evening learning from and celebrating this long standing relationship. President of the Seattle Chinese Garden Society, Jonathan Geiger, will show images from the construction of the Knowing the Spring Courtyard.

For more details and to sign up for the program please click here

Twenty years ago the genetic flaw that causes Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FHSD) was identified, but discovering how the genetic defect causes FSHD remained a mystery. Recently, an international team of scientist that included Daniel Miller, a genetics researcher at the University of Washington and Lauren Snider of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, were able to crack the code.

The international team which consisted of researchers from the Netherlands, France, US, and Spain discovered that a “DUX4 homeobox gene by an otherwise harmless stretch of ‘junk DNA’ results in FSHD”, causing weakness in muscles. Thanks to their discovery, it is possible to do DNA testing for muscular dystrpohy, even pre-natally. This will eventually help scientists develop specific drugs to treat the condition.

Muscular dystrophy is a disease that generally affects children, causing weakness in facial muscles and shoulders and continues toward the rest of the body. Approximately 1 in 20,000 people are affected by the disease worldwide.

Many bilingual speakers across the Puget Sound region have used their language competence to translate or interpret in either a work or community setting. Now courses are being offered at Highline Public Schools targeted at bilingual speakers who do not have formal training in interpretation. The 30 minute classes are offered online and are intended to improve performance and confidence. Students will learn proper positioning, eye contact, body language, delivery, accuracy, and flow, as well as, a ten-step procedure used by professionals to ensure well written, error-free and quality translations. These classes are funded by the International Research and Studies Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Click here to learn more about these classes.

To find one of the best nature pictures this year head over to the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. The Burke Museum is currently hosting the International Conservation Photography Award (ICP) exhibit through September 6, 2010. The worldwide photography competition focused on conservation and the environment.

The conservation themed contest was established by Art Wolfe, a Seattle photographer, in 1997. Approximately 300 amateur and professional photographers entered 1500 photos from across the world. Only about 75 distinguished winners are displayed at the museum. Many of those who submitted photographs were local Washingtonians.

The recipient of the distinguished Art Wolfe award went to Stuart Westmorland of Mill Creek, Washington. His winning picture was a photograph of the endangered sailfish spearing a small sardine, taken near Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

Head over to the museum’s website to view the best conservation photos from around the world.

The Sheraton Hotel recently received four Green Leafs by Audubon International for its eco-friendly hotel. As the first Washington state hotel to receive the honor and as the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest, the Sheraton first introduced their Green Strategy plan in 2008. Their plan focused on three areas, “infrastructure and physical enhancement, guest participation and associate awareness and involvement”. The hotel continually educates staff and vendors as well as hotel guests on the importance of environmental sustainability.  

The Audubon Green Leaf Eco-Rating Program was initiated in 1998 to compare the lodging industry’s impact on the environment. Those who have earned the Green Leaf approval commit to water quality, water conservation, waste minimization, resource conservation, and energy efficiency.

Seattle-based international job engine, JobMonkey, recently acquired UK-based Working Abroad Magazine. JobMonkey has helped job seekers find international work since 1999; however, this acquisition will expand the organization’s role beyond job hunter and into a well-rounded resource for expatriates. The magazine will highlight articles that help expatriates transition into life aboard, like overcoming language barriers and cultural norms.

In the past certain information on Working Abroad Magazine’s web site was restricted to paying members, but with JobMonkey’s new ownership these resources will be made public. Positioning the magazine and its web site as a resource will attract a large and new audience of current and prospective expatriates who will utilize JobMonkey as an outlet towards their new career.

Dr. Lawrence Corey was recently named president and director at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. As the nation’s premier biomedical institution, this is the center’s fourth president since it was founded 35 years ago.

Dr. Corey is an internationally recognized AIDS and vaccine development expert and is currently the co-director at the Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division. His new position will commence on January 1, 2011 after his predecessor, Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell retires this fall.

As the new director, Dr. Corey’s goal is to further the center’s research into understanding the role of cancer in global health as well as expanding their work on women’s health.

The Hutchinson Center has more than 2700 employees with an annual budget of $400 million.

Funding for the Seattle Chinese Garden Society‘s new Knowing the Spring Courtyard is nearing completion with 80 percent of contributions secured. With spring comes new flowers and a sense of new hope; this courtyard will honor this sentiment. Construction of the courtyard will resume in August after the arrival of 21 Chinese artisans from the Changshu Ancient Style Garden Construction Corporation on August 6th and 7th. The project will be overseen by the lead architect from the Chongqing Bureau of Parks and Greenery. A community welcome is slated for August 22nd.

Drawing of Seattle Chinese Garden

The Courtyard will feature a Sichuan-style garden in which plants are a major focus. Notorious for mass plantings of single species, the Sichuan-style uses flora to make an impact. This courtyard will be the only Sichuan-style garden outside of China and will feature authentic species of irises, lilies and herbs

Russia is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat but with this year’s severe drought and devastating wildfires, prices per bushel have spiked around the world. This is great news for Washington state wheat farmers who have benefited from great weather and have seen their yields up 50 percent.  Wheat is one of Washington state’s leading exports and this demand surge will ultimately boost the state’s exports.

Wheat consumers will take the brunt of this shortage in the prices of their goods. However, because Europe and the U.S. are not dependent on wheat the impact will be less harsh. Countries like the Middle East, Africa and parts of East Asia where governments subsidize the cost of food will endure the biggest heartache in terms of over pricing.

The 2010 International Cosmos Prize was awarded to botanist Dr. Estella Leopold of the University of Washington.  The contents of the prize included a medallion and a monetary prize of approximately $500,000.

For more than 35 years, Dr. Leopold has been researching and teaching at the University of Washington’s biology department. As a palynologist and wilderness advocate, her most notable accomplishment is the advancing of her father’s (Aldo Leopold) work on the notion of Land Ethic.  Land Ethic refers to the belief that individuals are responsible for the health surrounding environment. The execution of the Land Ethic in the United States as well as the universal implication to the environment led to her award.

The annual award was announced by the Japan’s Expo’ 90 Foundation in Osaka. The foundation seeks to promote the “harmonious coexistence between nature and mankind”.