CITY OF NORWALK, IOWA, HOSTS PRESIDENT OF KOSOVO FOR DEDICATION CEREMONY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CITY OF NORWALK, IOWA, HOSTS PRESIDENT OF KOSOVO FOR DEDICATION CEREMONY
NORWALK, IOWA – The City of Norwalk hosted a welcoming ceremony on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, for the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, during her visit to Iowa. The ceremony included an official proclamation, presentation of a Key to the City, and a Star Dedication for the new NorWalk of Fame. The dedication was followed by a presentation and announcement for a first-in-Iowa virtual reality project.
“The City of Norwalk is honored President Osmani was able to attend the ceremony and celebrate our partnership with the city of Vushtrri, Kosovo,” said Economic Development Director, Hollie Zajicek. “The ceremony bolstered the partnership between our two cities and commemorated President Osmani’s achievements.”
Norwalk City officials and community members gathered at City Hall for the dedication to hear speeches from Mayor Tom Phillips, City Manager Luke Nelson, Norwalk Economic Development Director Hollie Zajicek, and President Vjosa Osmani. The City of Norwalk gifted President Osmani a Key to the City and a Star Emblem, and an interactive hologram for the NorWalk of Fame was also unveiled.
“This is a very momentous occasion for the city of Norwalk and for the entire state of Iowa. We are thrilled President Osmani and her delegation made the time in her very important and busy schedule to make a special trip to our community,” said Mayor Phillips. “Norwalk has a strong, long-lasting partnership with the Republic of Kosovo and shares many priorities, including economic development, business and trade, security and defense initiatives, and governmental relations.”
Norwalk city officials gathered for a group portrait with Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani, center, during her visit to the city on Wednesday.
Members of the Norwalk city government, including, from left, council members Ed Kuehl and David Lester, city manager Luke Nelson and Mayor Tom Phillips, right, presented Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani with a key to the city during her visit on Wednesday.
Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani speaks during ceremonies at the Norwalk City Hall on Wednesday.
Norwalk's new NorWalk of Fame will feature first-in-Iowa technology: an augmented reality marker that opens a video of honored individuals, which will contain a hologram of the person. The city showed off a sample video of Mayor Tom Phillips while honoring Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani during her visit to Norwalk on Wednesday.
Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani will be one of the people recognized in the new NorWalk of Fame, which will commemorate many famous notable or highest achieving individuals that have connections to Norwalk.
A crowd of city officials and community members gathered to hear from Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani during her visit to Norwalk on Wednesday.
The visit was a part of the Iowa-Kosovo relationship that first started when the Iowa National Guard and the Kosovo Security Force became partnered in 2011. Soon after, in 2013, the State of Iowa and Republic of Kosovo became sister states. Since then, dozens of organizations and cities across both Iowa and Kosovo have formed and participated in active relationships. The relationship is so strong that Kosovo opened a consulate in Des Moines in 2016. The Kosovo consulate, located on Court Avenue in Des Moines, remains as Iowa’s only foreign diplomatic office.
*Photos credit: The Indianola Independent Advocate (Indianola Independent Advocate) - https://www.indianola-ia.com/