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Home My WebLink AboutWS1 - Sister City Work Session Item: WS. 1 STAFF PRESENTATION TO FOLLOW : T CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240- 1826 (319) 3S6-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org � r � r CITY OF IOWA CITY Introduction to Sister Cities Connect globally. Thrive Locally. What is Sister Cities International ? • Founded in 1956, Sister Cities International (SCI ) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between the United States and international communities. • SCI's mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, cooperation, ander , understanding — one individual, one community at a time. • Eisenhower was a strong believer in the concept of Citizen Diplomacy. CITIZEN �� DIPLOMAT -.t) .t What is Citizen Diplomacy ? • Citizen Diplomacy is the concept that the individual has the right, even the responsibility, to help shape U .S. foreign relations 'one handshake at a time. ' Citizen diplomats can be students, teachers, athletes, artists, businesspeople, humanitarians, adventurers or tourists. They are motivated by a responsibility to engage with the rest of the world in a meaningful, mutually beneficial dialogue. (US Council on Citizen Diplomacy) What is a Sister City ? • A sister city organization is a volunteer group of ordinary citizens who, with the support of their local elected officials, form long-term relationships with people and organizations in a city abroad . • Each sister city organization is independent and pursues the activities and thematic areas that are important to them and their community including municipal, business, trade, educational and cultural exchanges with their sister city. • Sister city organizations promote peace through people-to- people relationships. How do Sister Cities Begin ? • Cities can, and often do, create their own criteria or requirements for new sister cities. • All sister cities are formalized by an agreement between the two mayors or highest elected/appointed officials. • Cities and local programs are ones that ultimately decide whether to partner, and under what circumstances they will partner; • SCI offers (as apart of its membership) assistance in building partnerships, by helping troubleshoot, explain the process, assist in narrowing down possible partners, reaching out on cities' behalf, and utilizing their network. Who Can be Part of a Sister City Program ? • ANYONE! • City officials, students and professors, " local businesses, religious groups, artists and musicians, local institutions and everyday citizens. i • The most successful and stable programs have volunteers from across these sectors. • Sister city programs are notjust for high school students, or nonprofits, or municipal governments; How to Structure Sister City Programs ? • While most sister city programs have a core group of volunteers for each partnership, it's not uncommon when multiple sister city partnerships are formed, for volunteer groups to focus on their specific sister city relationship while accepting support and guidance from an overarching local Sister City hub/civic group that helps seek funding, assist with administering exchanges or activities their sister cities subgroups/committees may need . • The best programs have different layers of engagement. .. Diverse programs are typically more active, respond better to challenges, and are less likely to become dormant. How do partnerships Begin ? • A relationship is formally created when the mayors or highest elected officials from two communities sign a memorandum of understanding establishing the sister city partnership. • Sister city relationships may develop from several sources including: preexisting mayoral relationships, trade relationships, historical connections, new immigrant communities, demographic connections, shared challenges, faith-based groups, and personal experiences that range from work/study abroad to marriages. • There is no one path to developing a sister city; What do Sister Cities Do ? • Conduct Cultural Exchanges that can be centered around : Arts, music, traditions, customs, performances, Youth Education and Study abroad, virtual exchanges, learning opportunities, leadership building. • Assist with Community Development municipal and technical exchanges, best practices, policy exchanges, staff development. • Assist with Business and Trade delegations, business incubation, import/export assistance, and other economic development activities; • Emphasize that leading programs do activities in all these areas, and understanding that these areas may overlap; • Cities set their own agenda; All activities go both ways. Iowa Cities that have Sister City Relationships . Iowa has over 30 communities that hove partnered with one or more international sister city partners. =VV= DeWitt Xai F cgk 0 GREATER DES MOINES E �,Ty SisterG�tles RT F1 OF Bridging Communities,Opening Doors A COR�VILLE ` Qruc� N MARSHALLTOWN l; N , MORE THAN EVERQ to ELKHART W Questions and Answers Reference material • Sister City International member tool kit. • A study on the economic benefits of sister city relationships in the U .S. and their impact on the global economy 2014-2015 https://sistercities.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Measures-that- Matter. pdf • John Dabeet ( Iowa Representative) Sister City International Board of Directors @ (563)554- 1353. STAFF PRESENTATION CONCLUDED CITY OF IOWA CITY 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 (3 19) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org