Date:

March 7, 2006

For More Information Contact:

Delores Mather, MCIF First Contact, 488-4228

Carmelee Tuma, MCIF Public Relations Chair, 471-1969

The Mayor’s Committee for International Friendship (MCIF) has announced that a multinational group will visit Lincoln March 8 through 10 to study international trade and U.S. foreign policy challenges. The five participants are from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Included in their schedule are meetings with Mayor Coleen Seng; a group of local farmers; Dale Johnson of KFOR Radio, who covered the Governor’s trade Mission to Cuba; staff in the office of U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, who will discuss constituent concerns; professors and students in political science and international relations at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln; and Ron Moravec, Chief Deputy in the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office. The group also is visiting Camp Ashland, the National Guard facility near Ashland.

Participants are:

• Ms. Louise With, Denmark, Central and Southeast Europe Correspondent, Jyllands-Post, a national daily newspaper
• Mr. Martti Sakari Setala, Finland, Research Assistant, Unifin Ltd youth network, also a freelance journalist
• Ms. Silke Kersting, Germany, Correspondent for Handelsblatt, a national daily business newspaper
• Ms. Lucia Goracci, Italy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, TG-3, Italian state television Channel Three News)
• Ms. Lissa Helen Marie Cook, United Kingdom, Senior Broadcast Journalist, “The World at One,” BBC Radio 4

The MCIF is a volunteer organization that hosts visitors from around the world. The committee sets up visits with professional counterparts and plans cultural exchanges and learning experiences to promote international understanding among the visitors and citizens in the Lincoln area. Participants are established or potential foreign leaders in government, politics, media, education, science, labor relations and other key fields. They are selected by American embassies overseas to visit the U.S. to experience this country firsthand.