The 2023-24 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 nine (9) sister cities. Our goal is to create citizen ambassadors who appreciate the need for cross-cultural understanding and enduring friendship.

If you are accepted to this program, you will have an opportunity to learn things you never would in a traditional classroom. Those who are part of the program will be paired together with students from two (2) sister cities in a triangular pairing based on common interests, and will have the chance to communicate on suggested topics with each other through various digital platforms of your choosing.

Communications between groups of three pen pals will last for three months, leading to an awards ceremony in January where students can present a final project which summarizes their experiences in this program. Students will also have the opportunity to win up to $1,000 USD in scholarship. Last year we awarded $5,000 USD in total scholarships to nine participants! (You can see last year’s winners and their submissions by scrolling down on this page)

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 application submission has been extended to October 28, 2023.

For any questions regarding the program, please contact the project manager Rene Giron: rene.james.giron@gmail.com