Sister Cities International

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Sister Cities International is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and fostering town twinning, especially between cities in the United States and cities in other countries.

Contents 1 Mission statement 2 Goals 3 Examples 4 Related Links

[edit] Mission statement

"Promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation - one individual, one community at a time." -- Sister Cities International, December 2005

[edit] Goals

"Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between U.S. and international communities in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, to promote cultural understanding and to stimulate economic development. Sister Cities International leads the movement for local community development and volunteer action by motivating and empowering private citizens, municipal officials and business leaders to conduct long-term programs of mutual benefit.

• Develop municipal partnerships between U.S. cities, counties, and states and similar jurisdictions in other nations.
• Provide opportunities for city officials and citizens to experience and explore other cultures through long-term community partnerships.
• Create an atmosphere in which economic and community development can be implemented and strengthened.
• Stimulate environments through which communities will creatively learn, work, and solve problems together through reciprocal cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional and technical exchanges and projects.
• Collaborate with organizations in the United States and other countries which share similar goals."

-- Sister Cities International, December 2005

[edit] Examples

• London, England and Beijing
• Mumbai, India has several sister cities: Los Angeles, California United States; Yokohama, Japan; Stuttgart, Germany; Berlin, Germany; Saint Petersburg, Russia; London, United Kingdom
• Seattle, Washington, USA and Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• Agadir, Morocco has two sister cities, Miami, Florida and Oakland, California.
• Paris, France and Chicago, Illinois.
• Boulder, Colorado and Dushanbe, Tajikistan [1]
• Long Beach, California and Qingdao, China [2]
• Bremerton, Washington and Kure, Japan [3]
• Saint Paul, Minnesota and Nagasaki, Japan since 1955 [4]
• Fairbanks, Alaska and Erdenet, Mongolia.
• Anaheim, California and Mito, Japan
• New York City, New York and London
• Sydney and San Francisco, California
• Duluth, Minnesota and Isumi, Japan
• San Diego, California and Edinburgh, Scotland
• Madison, Wisconsin and Vilnius, Lithuania
• Alexandria, Virginia and Helsingborg,Sweden
• Hyderabad, India has several sister cities, Riverside, California; Orlando, Florida; Osaka, Japan; Dubai, UAE; Munich, Germany; Bloemfontein, South Africa; and Taipei, Taiwan

[edit] Related Links

• Sister Cities International web site