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 non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing sister cities. [2] Sister cities are 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 an 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 entities at various levels.
Sister city partnerships often 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 on biotechnology and education, an appreciation for the arts, and a deep cultural connection to food, [5] whereas Chicago, Illinois' link with Warsaw, Poland began with Chicago's historic Polish community. [6]
The scope of the relationship between sister cities is broadly defined, with many sectors of public life open for engagement. After elected signatories process the agreement between sister cities, it is submitted to the main branch of SCI and kept on file at the Washington, DC, office. [7] SCI's CEO has advocated for sustained relations between existing sister cities programs even in times of conflict. [8]
Sister Cities International also recognizes "Friendship City" affiliations. These are less formal arrangements that may be a step towards a full sister city affiliation. [9] [10]
The first U.S. sister city program began in 1956, [11] when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a people-to-people citizenship diplomacy. [12] Originally part of the National League of Cities, Sister Cities International became a separate, nonprofit corporation in 1967.
On June 4, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the U.S. Conference of Mayors. [13] 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. Cities in the US have been delivering humanitarian aid to support their sister cities in Ukraine. [14] Poltava, Ukraine has been a sister city of Irondequoit, New York, since June 29, 1992, due to an agreement signed by Anatonij Kukoba, the then President of Poltava City Council, and Fredrick W. Lapple, the then Town Supervisor of Irondequoit. 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 in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
This expression of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy has fostered participation in the international relations of multiple localities. SCI allows individual citizens to achieve global impact through efforts within their own local US communities. According to the SCI platform, the organization seeks to mobilize a network of international organizations and expand participation in spheres driving democratic values, humanitarian relief, financial markets, and good governance organizations. Irondequoit hosted Ukrainian delegates from Congress' Open World program. [15] To inform the public for generations to come, the citizens of Irondequoit instituted a special collection of documents at the University of Rochester to historically preserve the more than one-hundred-year history of the Ukrainian community in the greater Rochester area. [16]
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Monroe County. It is the fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the larger Rochester metropolitan area in Western New York, with a population of just over 1 million residents. Throughout its history, Rochester has acquired several nicknames based on local industries; it has been known as "the Flour City" and "the Flower City" for its dual role in flour production and floriculture, and as the "Imaging Capital of the World" for its association with film, optics, and photography.
Irondequoit is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 51,043. Irondequoit is a suburb of the city of Rochester, lying just north and east of the city limits. The name is of Iroquois origin and means "where the land meets the water".
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
Poltava Oblast, also referred to as Poltavshchyna, is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Poltava. Most of its territory was part of the southern regions of the Cossack Hetmanate. Population: 1,352,283.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Agogo is a town in the Asante Akim North Municipal District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Agogo is approximately 80 kilometers (50 mi) east of Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, and had a population of 28,271 in the 2000 census. Computer projections estimate that the 2007 population was 32,859.
Diplomatic relations between Canada and Ukraine were formally established in 1991, following Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union. However, the two countries' relationship dates back further, due to the long history of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.
The Rochester metropolitan area, denoted the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area by the United States Census Bureau, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of six counties in Western New York, anchored by the city of Rochester, New York. Many counties are mainly rural with various farming communities scattered throughout the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 1,090,135. The Rochester MSA is the 4th largest MSA in New York state.
The United States officially recognized the independence of Ukraine on December 25, 1991. The United States upgraded its consulate in the capital, Kyiv, to embassy status on January 21, 1992. In 2002, relations between the United States and Ukraine deteriorated after one of the recordings made during the Cassette Scandal revealed an alleged transfer of a sophisticated Ukrainian defense system to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Ukraine does not recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions. The Constitution of Ukraine defines marriage as between "a woman and a man". The issue of legal recognition for same-sex couples has become particularly acute after the start of Ukraine's accession to the European Union in 2022 and the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University is a university in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, the largest university in Poltava Oblast. There are more 4 000 students studying in the university as of 2013. Its current rector is Mykhaylo Zagirnyak.
Ukraine–Vietnam relations are the bilateral relations between Ukraine and Vietnam. Vietnam recognized Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union on 27 December 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 23 January 1992. The embassy of Vietnam in Ukraine started its operations in 1993, and the embassy of Ukraine in Vietnam was opened in 1997.
Poltava State Medical and Dental University, also known as the Ukrainian Medical and Stomatological Academy, is a Ukrainian state-run medical and dental school in Poltava, Ukraine.
The Maryland Estonia Exchange Council, Inc., also known as MEEC, is a charitable tax exempt corporation to advance the friendship of the State of Maryland and Estonia by providing opportunities for partnerships that enhance cultural exchanges and strengthen political, economic, medical, educational, and security links.
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who is serving as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019, most notably during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine ongoing since 2022.
Koyamada International Foundation, commonly referred to as KIF or KIF Global, is an international non-governmental organization, with its mission to improve quality of people's life by empowering global youth and women to reach their full potential and by providing humanitarian aid to promote global peace and sustainable development. It has affiliated national chapter members in nine countries.
Ukraine Recovery Conference is an annual international event dedicated to discussions on the rebuilding and reconstruction priorities of Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Grain From Ukraine is a humanitarian food program that was launched on November 26, 2022, on the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the Holodomor of 1932–1933, by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to supply grain to the poorest countries in Africa.