How do “sister cities” find each other and agree to be sisters?
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Sister Cities International is the organization that handles sister city relationships.
There isn’t really a set way it happens. Sometimes it’s because of existing relationships between city leaders. It can also be started by private individuals or groups or have connections to the other city. SSI also helps cities find partners.
Then basically the mayors or city leader signs and agreement creating the relationship. There isn’t necessarily a set agreement. Cities are more or less free to define their partnership as they want and it’s not exclusive.
You can learn more [here](https://sistercities.org/about-us/what-is-a-sister-city-3/).
Sometimes they share something cultural in common. For example, my hometown of Lexington, KY (“horse capital of the world”) has a sister city relationship with Newmarket, Suffolk in the UK (“birthplace of thoroughbred horse racing”)
Sometimes they want to make jokes as well.
I drove through a place in Scotland called Dull, and it was twinned with Boring in Oregon.
They are born of shared experience.
In 1940 Coventry, UK was heavily bombed in the Coventry Blitz. In 1942 the first female Mayor of Coventry decided that the Battle of Stalingrad constituted a similar devastation and wanted to do something to demonstrate both support and actual aid. Coventry sent a signed tablecloth and about 50 pounds, as they weren’t in much of a position to do more. In 1944 later Stalingrad responded that there existed a “bond” between the two cities and suggested that they keep in touch as they both rebuilt. These were the first sister cities.
I was just involved in one happening actually.
It was 100% just a marketting ploy. One company in one nation was settting up a new buisness in another city overseas.
The mayors of both cities were enjoying the new jobs the buisness created and the export oppertunities it created.
So they became sister cities with a lot of celebration, but not much concrete plans.
Two cities at opposite sides of the world, at the bottom of their respective goverments, cant really work to well together except for occassional token gifts – maybe fund a park or something.
“The modern concept of town twinning has its roots in the Second World War. More specifically, it was inspired by the bombing of Coventry on 14 November 1940, known as the Coventry Blitz.[3] First conceived by the then Mayor of Coventry, Alfred Robert Grindlay,[5] culminating in his renowned telegram to the people of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in 1942,[6][7][8] the idea emerged as a way of establishing solidarity links between cities in allied countries that went through similar devastating events.[9] The comradeship between the two cities continued, when again in response to the Battle of Stalingrad, 830 women in Coventry – led by the subsequent Mayor Emily Smith – had their names embroidered on a tablecloth along with the words “Little help is better than big sympathy” and sent it, along with money (each donated six pence), to the people of Stalingrad.[4][10] The tablecloth can now be seen at the Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad. The twinning between Coventry and Stalingrad was formalised in 1944 [11] and, after the end of the war, similar links were established to foster friendship and understanding among former foes as an act of peace and reconciliation,[2][12] with new twinnings between Coventry and German cities: Kiel as early as in 1947 and Dresden in 1956.[3] In 1957, Coventry was officially twinned with Belgrade, however, the link actually dates back to 1953 when the Yugoslav Ambassador visited Coventry and offered a gift of timber from his native country for use in the new Civic Theatre, which when finished was named The Belgrade Theatre.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_city
Sometimes it’s cities that have the same name like Toledo Ohio and Toledo Spain
I live in a suburb in Oklahoma.
We have a “sister city” in France.
I think it’s because our schools do foreign exchange students with each other.
Sometimes they have similar characteristics. Aspen is sister cities with queenstown and they are both just absolutely breathtaking
I grew up near the one of the first official sister cities, Toledo. It was quite easy for them to find the other one, it was also named Toledo. Toledo, Ohio was named after Toledo, Spain, so it was the perfect partnership.
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