Still Going Strong: Sister Cities International Honors Tacoma’s Sylvia B. Sass with Lifetime Achievement Award

By Lori Ann Reinhall The year was 1956 and Tacoma’s Mayor “Big John” Anderson had just returned from the White House Conference on Citizen Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. There he had convened with mayors from 40 major U.S. cities with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and knew he was facing a formidable task: to help rebuild international relations around the world in the aftermath of the war. Big John knew that this new mission would take a powerhouse team, so he turned to one of Tacoma’s leading ladies to head up the endeavor: Sylvia B. Sass. Mrs. Sass, ...

Houston, Texas: Sister Cities International’s 2019 Annual Conference Host City

Sister Cities International is excited to announce that their 63rd annual conference will be held in beautiful Houston, Texas. Houston’s perfect mix of deep southern charm and urban hustle make it the ideal metropolitan destination for Sister Cities annual celebration of peace through people-to-people relationships.Houston is a global city, as evidenced by its 18 sister cities. Houston has formal sister cities relationships with: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Baku, Azerbaijan; Basrah, Iraq; Chiba, Japan; Grampian Region, Scotland; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Huelva, Spain; ...

This year’s conference was one for the books. From the beautiful setting of Virginia Beach to our compelling keynote speakers, everyone had a wonderful time connecting with the SCI network on the shared topic of citizen diplomacy and strengthening local programs. Read below for the best moments from the conference, and be on the lookout to register for next year’s conference in Aurora, Colorado. Opening Ceremony and Parade of Flags The first day of the conference began with an annual tradition: the Sister Cities International Parade of Flags. Led by mounted patrol, ...

Oceans, Food Safety, and Fun! 2017 Youth Leadership Summit Recap

In concurrence with our Annual Conference, Sister Cities International holds a Youth Leadership Summit each year where students from all over the U.S. and the globe gather to learn about citizen diplomacy and garner leadership skills for a future in international relations. This year’s Summit was extra fun for our students as they enjoyed the sites of Virginia Beach and worked together to solve international issues. Read below for our day by day recap of the Summit. Day One, July 12th: Futures in Citizen Diplomacy On Wednesday July 12th, nearly 90 students arrived in ...

Contributed by the San Antonio International Relations Office Building on the momentum from the recent City Council approval of a Sister City relationship between San Antonio and Darmstadt, Germany, a 10-member cultural delegation traveled to Darmstadt to attend the 27th Annual Heinerfest. From June 29th to July 3rd, San Antonio joined the festivities of Heinerfest: a five-day festival that draws upwards of 600,000 people to the center of Darmstadt. Representing Darmstadt’s first American Sister City, the colorful San Antonio booth situated in the AlleWeltTreff (All ...

Second Lady Karen Pence to Serve as the Honorary Vice Chairwoman for Sister Cities International

Sister Cities International is excited to announce that Second Lady Karen Pence is our official Honorary Vice Chairwoman. See below for content from the press release, which was put out by the White House today:Second Lady Karen Pence will serve as the Honorary Vice Chairwoman for Sister Cities International. In this role, she will be a champion for the everyday citizen diplomat and the Sister Cities International network global movement in advancing the cause of World Peace.“Sister Cities International serves an important purpose of renewing and strengthening global ...

Aurora, Colorado: Sister Cities International’s 2018 Annual Conference Host City

Next year, Sister Cities International is heading to the mountains to host their 62nd annual conference in Aurora, Colorado August 2-4, 2018. Aurora has been an outstanding member of Sister Cities International and has formal sister cities agreements with four cities: Zielona Gora, Poland; Adama, Ethiopia; Jaco, Municipalidad de Garibaldi, Costa Rica and Seongnam City, South Korea, along with a friendship city relationship with Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador.Aurora is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and boasts over 100 parks, more than 50 miles of trails, two reservoirs, ...

Sister Cities International Elects Shin Koyamada, Actor and Philanthropist, to Board of Directors

Sister Cities International (SCI) announces the election of Shin Koyamada, Actor and Philanthropist of Los Angeles, California as the new Young Professional Member of the Board of Directors and the official SCI Country Representative for Japan & Eastern Asia.“We are deeply honored to have Shin Koyamada join the Board of Directors and the Sister Cities International leadership team,” said Tim Quigley, Chairman of the Board. “His passion and contribution as a world citizen diplomat is inspiring and will help the organization to highlight the critical importance of ...

Sister Cities International Welcomes New Board of Directors and Elects New Executive Leadership

WASHINGTON, DC (July 24, 2017) – Following a membership-wide election, four individuals were elected to Sister Cities International’s 27-member Board of Directors. The elections took place during Sister Cities International’s Annual Business Meeting at its 61st Annual Conference in Virginia Beach, Virginia on July 14, 2017.David Cortese of San Jose, California, President of the Santa Clara County, California Board of Supervisors was elected for his first three year term as an at-large Director. Presley “Lee” Guio of Union City, California; Steve Kalishman of ...

Musical Sisters: Seattle and Bergen celebrate 50 years of friendship and the birthday of Norway’s most beloved composer with jubilee gala concert

by Lori Ann Reinhall, President, Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association“Wonderful!”, “Fantastic!”, “Amazing!”, Extraordinary!”, “Thrilling!” — these were the words heard over and over again as visitors left the sanctuary of Seattle’s Ballard First Lutheran Church on Sunday, June 18, after listening to a “almost all-Grieg” program in celebration of the Bergen composer’s 174th birthday three days earlier.It was the Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association’s fourth annual Edvard Grieg Gala, this year billed as a “Jubilee Extravaganza” to ...