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The 400-year milestone of Albany's history as a commercial and cultural crossroads in 2009 is fast approaching, and our community has a critical choice to make.
Do we want a conventional convention center in our downtown, or would we like to ensure global awareness of our innovative and internationally competitive Tech Valley region? If the latter, then an "Albany International House" at the convention center is essential.
The International Center of the Capital Region's Albany International House would provide critical, tangible infrastructure for attracting talent, tourism and technologies from around the world. This international house would welcome global visitors, students and professionals, and provide facilities for international meetings and exchanges related to business, education, culture and government.
Residents in our region would benefit from the creation of the Albany International House as well. It would be a place to interact with international visitors and to celebrate the contributions of our local-global community and its rich diversity.
With the intensification of external, internal and global competitive challenges facing us all in the 21st century, building bridges of understanding among peoples has never been more vital. Many Americans have grown increasingly fearful of the world and the global economy, while people in other nations have become more critical of U.S. foreign policies and fearful of American power. Further, global integration, innovation and technological advances seem to outpace cultural awareness in the United States and abroad.
Given this daunting context, how is our Capital Region faring? Some good news: In addition to becoming more globally aware and building world-class technological infrastructure, our region fares well in Richard Florida's scoring of creative class attributes of talent, technology and tolerance ("The Flight of the Creative Class: the New Global Competition for Talent," 2005).
Fortunately, our region enjoys an impressive history of active international engagement. Two organizations are prime examples. For more than five decades, the International Center of the Capital Region has taken the lead in "welcoming the world to the Capital Region" by providing professional programs, cultural activities and home hospitality for delegations of foreign leaders, international scholars and professionals traveling to our area. The center also convenes programs that contribute to deepening local-global awareness and understanding.
Since 1991, the Albany-Tula Alliance has facilitated exchanges with citizens of Tula, Russia, in such areas as health care, business development, education and tourism. The partnerships forged by the alliance and the International Center with people and institutions around the world led to mutual improvement in the quality of our personal and professional lives, and in the celebration of our common humanity.
An Albany International House at the Convention Center would help us welcome dialogue between global and homegrown talent, foster exchanges among experts from around the world and express tolerance and appreciation for diverse global cultures.
We commend the ongoing work of the Albany Convention Center Authority Board, and appreciate its consideration of this proposal. We are also profoundly grateful for the enthusiastic public support of our efforts through the years.
So, as we reflect on our region's amazing 400-year history, let us join together to support this visionary initiative to forge our creative future as a global crossroads.
Buchanan is an attorney and founding chairwoman of the Albany-Tula Alliance. Kay Wilkie is board president of the International Center of the Capital Region Inc.
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