The 2024-25 Digital Pen Pal Program
Here at Sister Cities of Long Beach, we promote bilateral dialogue, which brings the global community closer. The Digital Pen Pal Program is our initiative to connect college students from Long Beach with students from our six (6) sister cities. Our goal is to create citizen ambassadors who appreciate the need for cross-cultural understanding and enduring friendship.
In today’s globalized world, staying connected and building meaningful relationships is more important than ever. That’s why the Long Beach Digital Pen Pal Program is excited to continue its mission of fostering international friendships. We are thrilled to announce our 5th annual Digital Pen Pal Program, which, for the first time, will include high school students. This year, students from the greater Long Beach area will be paired with peers from our sister cities around the world. This all-digital cultural exchange program offers a unique opportunity for high school students to engage in cross-cultural communication and compete for scholarships!
College Program:
The program will take place from October 2024 to March 2025. Though it is a pen pal program, it is not limited to just writing: if you are an artist, we will try to match you up with artists! If you like to take pictures, make videos, write, or more, then we will try to pair you with others who reflect similar interests. That’s the beauty of this program — we encourage accepted participants to incorporate whatever creative medium they prefer into their project!
A total of $5,000 in scholarships will be awarded to up to 9 participants who submit the best “end of the program” project that reflects their time during the program. Scholarship amounts may range from $300 to $1,000. The scholarships will be awarded at a celebration in March 2025 to honor all participants as well as give them the space to showcase their projects. There is no cost to participate in this program.
The Digital Pen Pal Program was born out of the pandemic in 2020 by our Long Beach-Qingdao Committee in partnership with the Qingdao University of Technology and with the generous support by the Port of Long Beach and the Qingdao Port. With a record number of participants last year, we are looking to expand this year across all of our Sister City Committees. The program is completely online, 100% free, and open to university students of any major or background. The deadline for college application submission is September 30, 2024.
For college DPPP inquiries, please contact the Program Manager; Isis Nolasco Ramirez isisnolascoramirez@gmail.com
To apply, please complete the following application and send it to isisnolascoramirez@gmail.com
High School Program:
In addition to our existing initiatives, Sister Cities of Long Beach is excited to introduce a new high school component to our Digital Pen Pal Program. This expansion aims to engage high school students in Long Beach and our six sister cities, fostering early cross-cultural connections and global awareness. By integrating this program into high school curricula, we provide students with a unique opportunity to develop global competencies and communication skills while forming lasting friendships with their peers abroad. Through this initiative, we hope to inspire a new generation of citizen ambassadors who value and contribute to international understanding from an early age.
The program will run from October 2024 to May 2025. While it is a pen pal program, communication will primarily take place through email with occasional Zoom meetings. However, it’s not limited to just writing; if you’re an artist, we’ll match you with other artists! If you enjoy taking photos, making videos, or expressing yourself through other creative mediums, we will try to pair you with participants who share similar interests. The beauty of this program is that we encourage you to incorporate your preferred creative medium into your project! The deadline for high school application submission is September 15, 2024.
For High School DPPP inquiries, please contact the High School Program Manager; Salma Elhabashy s.elhabashy.96@outlook.com
To Apply, please fill out the following online application. If you prefer, you can complete the application and send it to s.elhabashy.96@outlook.com