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PRESS RELEASE

Sister Cities International's Africa Summit Press Release
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Citizen Diplomacy and the Importance of Maintaining Sister City Relationships

Dear Fellow Citizen Diplomats, Witnessing the horrific events of the past week in Ukraine, leaders in our communities – instinctively and understandably – want to say something, to do something, and to act towards a collective disapproval of this assault on humankind; endeavoring to make a positive difference at this critical juncture in our global discourse. Yet, suspending or ending a sister city relationship with a Russian city partner should not be one such action... Read More

Support our Mission to Promote Peace Through People

Connect Globally. Thrive Locally.

Since 1956, Sister Cities International has worked to create exchanges that create community impact and kindle lifelong friendships.

Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956 White House conference on citizen diplomacy.  Eisenhower envisioned an organization that could be the hub of peace and prosperity by creating bonds between people from different cities around the world.  By forming these relationships, President Eisenhower reasoned that people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences and build partnerships that would lessen the chance of new conflicts.

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Our Reach

  • Members - 500
  • Partnerships - 1800+
  • Countries - 140+
Our network of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers run sister city programs that promote peace and strengthen local communities. But what is a sister city and why are they important?…Read More