“So maybe curiosity isn’t always enough — maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t — and maybe it takes this extra little catalyst.” ~ Fred Blanton

When the world feels like it’s breaking apart in a million places and even more pieces, I find myself wanting to learn from folks who are leaning into curiosity about the other, people who believe we can promote peace through what Sister Cities founder Dwight D. Eisenhower called “people-to-people diplomacy.”

Fred Blanton is one of those people.

Fred serves as the Virginia/West Virginia Coordinator for Sister Cities International and on the SCI Board. He has a lifetime of involvement in citizen diplomacy and is a champion and clearly-cherished shepherd for Sister Cities, an organization that seeks to promote peace one community at a time. 

Part of this relationship we’d like to cultivate between our two towns, which have a lot of similarities, is going to end up building a layer of trust. I can imagine you think this is impossible today, but I can assure you: we’ve been doing this for 70 years, we’ve been doing it all over the world, and somehow people have managed to get over that little barrier of trust.

We talked about Eisenhower’s inspiration, appreciating places near and far, our need for a little nudge, cultivating trust over time, what we call volunteerism, curiosity across a relationship’s lifespan, the entrepreneurial leadership of youth — and how one Romanian soldier’s values catalyzed a partnership 150 years after his war-time death.

Listen to #324: Sister Cities: Pairing Curiosity & Trust, with Fred Blanton

Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. They call it “people-to-people diplomacy”.

Interested in learning more about being a Sister City? Start here.

Check out Greater Good Magazine‘s Top 10 Insights from the “Science of Meaningful Life” in 2025.

If you enjoyed this curious community conversation, try these C2BC Classics: A Curious Crew: Curiosity & the Community College Initiative; Curiosity Is the Gateway to Connection, with Mike Morales; & (Re)Creating Community, with Ashley Goff.

Theme music by Sean Balick; “Town Market” by Onesuch Village, via Blue Dot Sessions.

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