On Monday, August 16, 2010 Houston-Baku Sister City Association co-hosted an Iftar (break the fast) dinner at the Turkish Center in Houston together with the Houston Sister Cities of Istanbul, Abu-Dhabi and Karachi.  The event, which was held at the Turquoise House, was attended by representatives of various Houston-based profit and non-profit organizations as well as of the Consular Corps.  You can see its slideshow here. Special thanks goes to the Raindrop Foundation for opening the doors of the beautiful Turkish Center and their generous support in presenting the guests such a delicious dinner.  A big thank you also goes to Shahira Aliyeva and Sevinj Gustin for coordinating and preparing tasty Azerbaijani delicacies that were shared at the tables.

At this truly international event the guests were able to learn more about the tradition of Ramadan and make friends within the Houston community. Ramadan Mubarak Olsun!

Upon invitation of the Institute of International Education in Houston, HBSCA representatives met with a delegation from Azerbaijan during their participation in the U.S. State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program Azerbaijan on Thursday, April 15, 2010. Traveling under the Old Energy/New Energy program, the delegation included four visitors from Azerbaijan, Mr. Aydin Gardashkhan Oglu Aliyev/Azerbaijan State Oil Academy; Mr. Fariz Orucali Oglu Mamadov/Azerenerji, JSC; Mr. Vilayat Matlab Oglu Salahov/Ruzgar Ecological Society; Mr. Rashid Surat Oglu Ziyadli/SOCAR. While in Houston, the guests also met with energy researchers, journalists who cover the energy industry, and environmental experts to discuss efforts to improve upstream or downstream oil and gas sectors. The visitors indicated interest in learning more about the Houston-Baku Sister City Association and the relationship between our communities which we were able to deliver through a presentation and informal discussions at the offices of the Institute of International Education.

On March 19, 2010 Azerbaijani community in Houston celebrated an annual Novruz Bayram and shared an unforgettable evening with old and new friends while enjoying a traditional Azeri dinner and live music performance by NOVRUZ MAMMADOV from New York.

Greetings from HBSCA officials were followed by scenes from Arshin Mal Alan and O Olmasa, Bu Olsun musicals and traditional dances.

On Friday, February 19, 2010, HBSCA representatives attended the 2nd Annual Bauer MBA Global Experience event presented by the National Association of Women MBA and the Bauer MBA Society at the University of Houston.   During the event, the guests learned more about the unique economy and business culture of some of the regions represented at Bauer while enjoying delicious ethnic foods and cultural performances.  Jamila Kulieva from Baku performed an Azerbaijani folk dance and HBSCA President Irada Akhoundova gave a speech on behalf of all the Sister Cities of Houston and provided general information about the organization's activities at an information booth.  Congratulations to the organizers of the event, especially to the VP of events, Jamila Jabbarli from Azerbaijan, MBA Candidate 2011 at the Bauer College of Business.

On February 2, 2010, representatives of HBSCA and other Houston Sister Cities were hosted by Captain Reed of the Houston Fire Department for a tour of the-state-of-the-art HFD training facilities to learn more about their foreign exchange training program.  These training programs can be designed specifically to meet the needs of the foreign clients and can be conducted in different languages, as necessary with the support of a translator.  Houston Sister Cities members were also impressed  with a specialized fire prevention training developed by HFD for major oil and chemical corporations in the USA and other countries.