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Abbreviation | SCI |
---|---|
Formation | 1956 |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization |
Purpose | To create and strengthen partnerships between communities in other countries |
Headquarters | 1012 14th Street NW Suite 1400 [1] Washington, D.C. 20005 United States |
Membership | states, counties, cities |
Board Chair | Peter Svarzbein [1] |
Website | sistercities.org |
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that has the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing "Sister Cities". [2] Sister Cities are broad long-term agreements of mutual support formally recognized by the civic leaders of those cities. [3] A total of 1,800 cities, states, and counties have partnered in 138 countries. [4]
As the organization that links jurisdictions in the U.S. with communities worldwide, Sister Cities International recognizes, registers, and coordinates relationships among cities, counties, provinces, and other subnational political divisions at various levels.
Sister City partnerships share similar demographics and town sizes. These partnerships may arise from business connections, travel, similar industries, diaspora communities, or shared history. For example, Portland, Oregon and Bologna, Italy's partnership arose from a shared industry focus in biotechnology and education, an appreciation for the arts, and a deep cultural connection of food, [5] whereas Chicago's link with Warsaw, Poland began with the city's historic Polish community. [6]
Sister Cities International also recognizes "Friendship City" affiliations. These are a less formal arrangement that may be a step towards a full Sister City affiliation. [7] [8]
The first U.S. sister city program began in 1956, [9] when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people citizenship diplomacy. [10] Originally part of the National League of Cities, Sister Cities International became a separate, non-profit corporation in 1967.
On June 4, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the US Conference of Mayors. [11] Zelenskyy asked that cities in the United States take part in rebuilding Ukraine by developing ties between localities that can leverage resources allocated to the effort to repair damaged social infrastructure. Sister Cities has been delivering humanitarian aid [12] to support the Ukrainian people. Poltava, Ukraine has been a sister city of Irondequoit, NY, since June 29, 1992, due to an agreement signed by Anatonij Kukoba, then President of Poltava City Council, and Fredrick W. Lapple, then Town Supervisor of Irondequoit. The scope of the relationship is broadly defined in this document, agreeing that many sectors of public life are open for engagement. After elected signatories process documents of this kind, agreements between Sister Cities are submitted to the main branch of SCI and kept on file at the Washington, DC, office. [13] SCI's CEO has advocated for sustained relations between existing Sister Cities programs [14]even in times of conflict.
The agreement between Irondequoit and Poltava states that their Sister City relationship never expires. Former Irondequoit Supervisor Lapple formed a committee to locate a city willing to partner in the interest of honoring the Ukrainian community active in his town. The relationship is ongoing, with a virtual conference occurring on July 14, 2022, featuring elected officials, organization leaders, and various citizens, all given a venue to speak as the Ukrainians fight to secure their democracy. This expression of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy has fostered participation in the international relations of multiple localities. Sister Cities allows individual citizens to achieve global impact through efforts within their own local US communities. The SCI platform allows people to mobilize a network of international organizations, expanding participation in spheres driving democratic values, humanitarian relief, financial markets, and good governance organizations. Irondequoit hosted Ukrainian delegates from Congress' Open World [15] organization, supporting the development of leaders who embrace democratic values. To inform the public for generations to come, the citizens of Irondequoit instituted a special collection of documents [16] at the University of Rochester to historically preserve the more than one-hundred-year history of the Ukrainian community in the greater Rochester area.
This article has multiple issues. Please help
improve it or discuss these issues on the
talk page. (
Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Abbreviation | SCI |
---|---|
Formation | 1956 |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization |
Purpose | To create and strengthen partnerships between communities in other countries |
Headquarters | 1012 14th Street NW Suite 1400 [1] Washington, D.C. 20005 United States |
Membership | states, counties, cities |
Board Chair | Peter Svarzbein [1] |
Website | sistercities.org |
Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that has the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing "Sister Cities". [2] Sister Cities are broad long-term agreements of mutual support formally recognized by the civic leaders of those cities. [3] A total of 1,800 cities, states, and counties have partnered in 138 countries. [4]
As the organization that links jurisdictions in the U.S. with communities worldwide, Sister Cities International recognizes, registers, and coordinates relationships among cities, counties, provinces, and other subnational political divisions at various levels.
Sister City partnerships share similar demographics and town sizes. These partnerships may arise from business connections, travel, similar industries, diaspora communities, or shared history. For example, Portland, Oregon and Bologna, Italy's partnership arose from a shared industry focus in biotechnology and education, an appreciation for the arts, and a deep cultural connection of food, [5] whereas Chicago's link with Warsaw, Poland began with the city's historic Polish community. [6]
Sister Cities International also recognizes "Friendship City" affiliations. These are a less formal arrangement that may be a step towards a full Sister City affiliation. [7] [8]
The first U.S. sister city program began in 1956, [9] when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people citizenship diplomacy. [10] Originally part of the National League of Cities, Sister Cities International became a separate, non-profit corporation in 1967.
On June 4, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the US Conference of Mayors. [11] Zelenskyy asked that cities in the United States take part in rebuilding Ukraine by developing ties between localities that can leverage resources allocated to the effort to repair damaged social infrastructure. Sister Cities has been delivering humanitarian aid [12] to support the Ukrainian people. Poltava, Ukraine has been a sister city of Irondequoit, NY, since June 29, 1992, due to an agreement signed by Anatonij Kukoba, then President of Poltava City Council, and Fredrick W. Lapple, then Town Supervisor of Irondequoit. The scope of the relationship is broadly defined in this document, agreeing that many sectors of public life are open for engagement. After elected signatories process documents of this kind, agreements between Sister Cities are submitted to the main branch of SCI and kept on file at the Washington, DC, office. [13] SCI's CEO has advocated for sustained relations between existing Sister Cities programs [14]even in times of conflict.
The agreement between Irondequoit and Poltava states that their Sister City relationship never expires. Former Irondequoit Supervisor Lapple formed a committee to locate a city willing to partner in the interest of honoring the Ukrainian community active in his town. The relationship is ongoing, with a virtual conference occurring on July 14, 2022, featuring elected officials, organization leaders, and various citizens, all given a venue to speak as the Ukrainians fight to secure their democracy. This expression of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy has fostered participation in the international relations of multiple localities. Sister Cities allows individual citizens to achieve global impact through efforts within their own local US communities. The SCI platform allows people to mobilize a network of international organizations, expanding participation in spheres driving democratic values, humanitarian relief, financial markets, and good governance organizations. Irondequoit hosted Ukrainian delegates from Congress' Open World [15] organization, supporting the development of leaders who embrace democratic values. To inform the public for generations to come, the citizens of Irondequoit instituted a special collection of documents [16] at the University of Rochester to historically preserve the more than one-hundred-year history of the Ukrainian community in the greater Rochester area.