to salute with all my friendship, we are going to start a new period of our links, our ties, mayor lee is a very popular man, a very popular mayor and i want to know first the reputation of the people of san francisco through him and through his progress. we have another common link, we believe that innovation can be noble if it starts many the people, so from the intervention of people in the democracy, a dynamic democracy, of course with new cooperation, new act of cooperation, first of all, there's always innovation [inaudible] of working in a smart and efficient way.

we work together on the program as smart cities where we want san francisco -- other cities to be modern cities but also civilized cities which means that consider that everything we wish for as far as economic development is concerned must consider the environment also, and the quality of the planet on which we live. with mr. lee, we talked about all these questions and of course we are going encourage all of these new companies and everything that enables us to improve our cities and make them a better place to live and less polluted place to live, as may it in transportation, management of energy, in san francisco and in paris, there

are innovations that are certainly ahead of many other cities in the world and i want to learn from san francisco and of course paris is there for the san francisco team, may it be a development of electric transportation or automobiles or [inaudible] or the reuse of energy of heat to heat private buildings or public building by using waste water, i explained to mayor lee that a couple of years now, i worked with bill clinton on the isolation of public buildings and specifically schools so that every year, we could renovate

100 schools in paris and the children are in heated rooms but where we don't waste energy. these are subjects on which we have a lot of common ambition and where we'd like to exchange our dynamic efforts between san francisco and paris. but what would be a cooperation between san francisco and paris without culture? in san francisco, there's so much talent, so much genius, so much creation of cultural events that i want to open my doors of paris to them, [inaudible] that's an emblem that i created for the creative arts that come from new technology, i know there are fwraet creators in music and classic art, they are home in

paris, that is where i will welcome them. you have beautiful dancers and the director of the [inaudible] is here with us today, there are dancers from san francisco that i would love to welcome at the [inaudible] vil in paris, but we too, we have talent, we have some talent, we have a lot of passion for artistic creation so it may be in music and theatre and painting, we are ready to share a lot here in san francisco and i'm happy to have my trip be with the first visit of a french company in the united states, the great artist had its head in [inaudible] that was in los angeles a couple of days ago,

will be in berkeley tomorrow and then after that in new york of course, so there you are, that is how we are civilized together, how we are human beings that try to push ahead san francisco, paris, two cities that are destined to understand everything and do the maximum understanding because san francisco and paris believe in progress, know that it's difficult that progress of a factor of human development, we don't want to forget anybody, we want to shoulder each other, help each other so that the two cities, san francisco and paris be the most attractive cities in the world but also the most smiling cities in the world, the most

-- the cities that are worth your affection and that express to the rest of the world their taste of friendship, fraternity, friendship and for that we have to be together, we have to wan -- want to draoe yait toing and we want to make sure that this memorandum of understanding, this understanding between paris and san francisco be a final way of saying to each other it's happiness to live in both san francisco and paris together. thank you very much. [applause].

>> my presence to san francisco is maybe not as symbolic as the golden gate. i done have with me works of art that express when the banks of the san river won't have anymore cars that i started recently, but parisian artists know how to do things that we like a lot, so this is an object that is very symbolic of paris for you. [applause].

>> so, there's little christo and bakarage. >> what's wrong? what's wrong? >> [inaudible]. >> he's not happy? what's going on? >> how beautiful. i'm going to put your picture in it. beautiful. >> thank you, mayor. isn't the french language absolutely so exciting, but maybe because it's coming out of the mouth of this wonderful mayor. and i always thought we were great but didn't he make us sound great? even better? and i do see that we have the

fire chief here in case, you know, we have had an earthquake and fire, so we brought the chief, chief haze in, and also a former first lady, gina miskony, gina, she's right behind the photographer, her husband was mayor and his portrait is right up here. so, we're coming to the signing, more important, of the signing, but tom horn is the one as been said has been leading us, in fact, we had to put a leash on him and we have him guarded at the airport with security guards because he would be on that air france airplane almost every day if we let him so we won't let him go because he does a wonderful job, he'll present a few words and then i'll present the mayor

to signs the forof understanding, may i present tom horn. >> (speaking french). mayor lee, council general, we commemorate today the 16th anniversary of our sister city of cord signed in san francisco in 1976. during this period, we have twice received official visits of the mayor of paris and paris has received three different mayors of san francisco.

and each visit has led to projects and agreements between our two cities that have been beneficial and advantageous to each. there is even one exchange in the field of fashion wean the academy of art and university and the most famous fashion schools in paris that begin at the beginning of our relationship and continue stronger than ever today. gladys pamer, the director of the department of fashion,

gladys pamer, our sister city committee member is here today, we have worked closely in the area of public transit, thank tos you, mr. mayor, the urban furniture that you showed us in paris now exists throughout san francisco, whether it be the bus stops, public toilets or the french kiosks used to distribute newspapers or other products.

thanks to our relationship, we saw for the first time a successful bike share program and i still have my cart delebre that you gave each of us on our visit to paris. [laughter]. >> and i remember fondly sort of, my first [inaudible] that day in suit and tie with mayor newsom in pouring rain in paris in front of city hall.

like you in san francisco, reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gases is a priority. you've seen how bicycle lanes throughout san francisco, even on our famous hills and after too long a delay, we ant pate launching our bike share program in 2013. our two cities have been in the forefront.in the fields of high-tech and digital media.

digital sister cities. on your last visit in 2006 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of our partnership, we signed an accord being digital sister cities. this accord has facilitated numerous parisian company ins establishing companies in san francisco such as parisoma which we will visit tomorrow. and we see companies based in san francisco that create branches in paris such as soef

fee nova whose ceo, a member of the city sister committee is with us today. there are many other examples of successful and flourishing business and commercial relations between our two cities, an atmosphere made part in possible due to the close working relationship between our two close municipalities. finally, as each of the mayors before me, i must comment on the world of art and culture of which san francisco and paris are two world capitals. our cultural exchanges are

often, live the highest quality. many san francisco cultural institutions of every size perform frequently in paris. san francisco's symphony presents every year in paris and the new president of their board of directors is here today, so also deshanty clear,

a smaller men's choral group, a member of our committee is here today as well. and parisian artists are often in san francisco in the region and they're always warmly welcomed. at this very moment as the mayor said earl ye, we are pleased to welcome to the bay area e man yell, director of st vil de la paris who will be presenting tomorrow the and the next niekt the masterpiece of

the absurd rhinoceros. the ties between our two cities are strong, now with this new agreement, we assure they will continue and remain strong and beneficial for the great cities of paris and san francisco. [applause]. >> do you think he interpreted himself well? so, you can see why he is our chairman, now the moment has come, mayors, to sign the memorandum of understanding. yes, sign it.

[applause]. (next event). >> i want to learn more about e-mails, internet. er >> social networking and e-mail. >> i want to know how to use it.

>> the digital divide is essentially the divide between those who have access to these digital tools and those who don't. >> these young people is having computers and i just don't know, they're doing it fast. so, i want to know. >> not knowing how to navigate the internet is at a loss of what to do. >> we don't have a computer. >> we are non-profit that unites organizations and volunteers to transform lives through digital literacy. our big right now is the broadband technology opportunity program, a federally funded project through the department of aging so we're working in 26 locations, our volunteers are trained to be tutors and trainers offering everything from basic classes all the way to genealogy and job search.

>> to me, a computer aon auxiliary brain, it's like knowing how to use your brain, how important is that. i think it's important and possibly seniors, it's important for them to stay in touch. er >> people like facebook or skype so they can connect to their family members or see their family member's albums from far away. >> (speaking spanish). >> what we like to focus on is transferring skills from volunteer to learner to help

them get on to facebook, find housing on craig's list, being able to connect with friends and family. >> i decided teaching them what i knew and that got me into wanting to give back and to learning more and how it works. >> i discover -- i discovered that seniors need a lot of review. >> i am beginner so little by little, i learn a lot now. >> i learned just the basics, if you get the basics, you can learn it, if you don't get the basics, you're lost. >> it's simple, it's easy, once you know it and that's what i want to learn, how to make my life easier and more knowledgeable with a computer. >> so, what we need right now are more people who speak languages other than english or in addition to english, who can give their time during the day and who care deeply ideally

about helping to close the digital divide. >> you know, its's a humbling experience, it could be something simple to us in our daily lives but to someone that doesn't know and to help somebody gain that experience in any way, it's awesome. >> (speaking spanish). >> no matter how tired or cranky or whatever i miekt feel when i walk into this class, i walk out feeling great. >> if you feel comfortable using a cuter and you have patience, we want you on our team. >> with they showed me how to do skype. >> will you help me learn more?

>> i tried to think about this room as the dream room, where we dream and bring some of those dreams to life. i feel very blessed that i have been able to spend the last 31 years of my life doing it my way, thinking about things better interesting to me, and then pursuing them. there are a lot of different artists that come here to work, mostly doing aerial work. kindred spirits, so to speak. there is a circus company that i have been fortunate enough to work with the last couple of years. i use elements of dance and choreography and combine that with theater techniques. a lot of the work is content- based, has a strong narrative. the dancers have more of a

theatrical feel. i think we are best known for our specific work. in the last 15 years, spending a lot of time focusing on issues that affect us and are related to the african-american experience, here in the united states. i had heard of marcus shelby and had been in join his work but never had the opportunity to meet him. we were brought together by the equal justice society specifically for this project. we were charged with beginning work. marquez and i spent a lot of time addressing our own position on the death penalty, our experiences with people who had been incarcerated, family

members, friends of friends. pulling our information. beyond that, we did our own research. to create a picture that resonated with humanity. it is the shape of a house. in this context, it is also small and acts like a cell. i thought that was an interesting play on how these people make these adjustments, half to create home. what is home for these people? the home is their cell. people talk a lot about noise -- very noisy in prisons. that is interesting to me. looking at the communication level, the rise of frustration of being caged, wondering, where

does redemption fit into the equation here? [singing] i think both of us really believe the death penalty is wrong, and is flawed for many reasons. the list is as long as my arm -- about several others. we feel this is important for both of us, personally, to participate in the debate of this issue in a way that we can help people frame it for a

conversation.