Sister city
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.
[1] While there are early examples of international links between municipalities akin to what are known as sister cities or twin towns today dating back to the 9th century,[2] the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide during World War II.
[3] First conceived by the then Mayor of Coventry, Alfred Robert Grindlay,[6] culminating in his renowned telegram to the people of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in 1942,[7][8][9] the idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events.
[16] By the 2000s, town twinning became increasingly used to form strategic international business links among member cities,[17][18] and may include localities of any scope such as villages, prefectures, or countries.
[24] Sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju in South Korea.
According to Rodrigo Tavares, the earliest formal attempts to establish city diplomacy across national boundaries took place in the 19th century.
[27] The first priority of those carrying out city diplomacy typically overlaps with the core aims of municipal government – improving the lives of local residents.
Yet they will often collaborate with peers in other cities to work on issues of planet-wide concern, such as efforts to address climate change.
A March 2014 debate in the British House of Lords acknowledged the evolution of town twinning into city diplomacy, particularly in matters of trade and tourism, but also in culture and post-conflict reconciliation.
[2][37] Starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux.
[38][39] The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the World War I.
[1][2][43][44][45] For example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war.
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions also works closely with the commission (DG Education and Culture) to promote modern, high quality twinning initiatives and exchanges that involve all sections of the community.
Famous examples are the partnerships of Hanover and Leipzig, both of which have important trade fair grounds, or between Hamburg and Dresden.
[56] In June 2012, the Scottish village of Dull and the US town of Boring, Oregon, agreed to twin their municipalities to promote tourism in both places, playing on their names.
Liberal, Kansas was twinned with Olney, United Kingdom in 1950, and the cities have run a joint Pancake Day race ever since.
A twin towns program was instituted in the United States in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed a citizen diplomacy initiative.
For example, Vermont's Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream company opened a factory in the Republic of Karelia in Russia and offered the same profit-sharing plan to its Russian employees.
China's sister city relationships are managed by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, a united front organization.
In the 2010s, Tokyo began to actively promote 'city diplomacy' with other global cities at the initiative of governor Yoichi Masuzoe.
The Hungarian city Gyöngyös was twinned with the Azerbaijani city of Shusha in 2013, signing the twinning agreement with representatives from the Azerbaijani government; Hungary recognised Shusha as de jure part of Azerbaijan, even though it was controlled at the time and until 2020 by the military forces of Armenia and the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh.
[76] An attempt was made in 2003 by Preston city councillors in England to twin with the Palestinian town of Nablus in the name of solidarity.
[78] China manages sister city relationships through the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).
