What is a "Sister City"?
“Sistering” is a process that officially links citizens and municipalities with foreign communities through formal "Sister City" agreements. These agreements are fostered by grass-roots, citizen efforts and then ratified by a City Council, or its equivalent. The process of sistering cities was developed so that relationships would be grounded in long-term community partnerships.
The U.S. Sister Cities movement was founded on September 11, 1956 at a White House Conference on Citizen Diplomacy lead by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower urged attendees to "help build the road to an enduring peace" and "work out not one method but thousands of methods by which people can gradually learn a little bit more of each other". Originally part of People to People and then the National League of Cities (NLC), Sister Cities International (SCI) became a separate, non-profit corporation in 1967. Today, SCI is the nation’s foremost citizen diplomacy movement with more than 2,300 communities participating in 130 countries. Sister Cities of Newport News is a dues paying member of SCI. Citizen Diplomacy is the essence of all sister city programs. Direct "People-to-People" contact is the goal of the program. Through these contacts, we build international understanding and foster community and business relationships. Across the globe, cities are "sistered" or "twinned" with other cities as means of connecting communities and building a sustained peace. 
|
Newport News'
Sister City Program On January 25, 1982, Newport News City Council by resolution accepted an invitation from the City of Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan to establish a "Sister City" relationship. The resolution also authorized the City Manager to develop a program of appropriate activities consistent with a Sister City affiliation. In July 1982, Mayors from both cities signed the Sister Cities Declaration that officially established the partnership between our two cities. On November 22, 1982 Newport News City Council established the Newport News Sister Cities Committee with Council Resolution #3227-82 (the name was changed to Newport News Sister Cities Commission on June 27, 1983 with Council Resolution #3369-83). After an extensive review conducted in the City Manager's November 1999, Virginia's State Corporation Commission certified the incorporation of Sister Cities of Newport News, Inc. Today, Sister Cities of Newport News, Inc. or SCNN, operates as a 501 (c) non-profit governed by a 19 member, volunteer Board of Directors and managed by an Executive Director. At the heart of our organization are volunteers, businesses and partner organizations who support the organization with their time, financial donations and in-kind services. Funding is provided through member dues, donations, fundraising activities and grants. Numerous committees operate to carry out the mission of the organization. New members and volunteers are always welcomed. |
|
|
|
