Voices for Peace

A global citizen diplomacy networkwww.sister-cities.org

Voices for Peace

Powering Citizen Diplomacy

The idea…

» What if ordinary U.S. citizens traveled abroad and met ordinary citizens in other countries?

» What if we created long-term connections at the local level – community to community?

What would the impact be?

How far we’ve come in 52 years

» Sister Cities International’s Network: Today

• 700+ U.S. Cities/Towns/Communities

• 2,300+ Sister city partnerships across the globe

• 135 Countries on 6 continents

• 100,000+ active community volunteers

• Affecting the lives of more than 100 Million U.S. Citizens

Reaching Out…

» U.S. Partnerships Across the Globe

• Europe – 34%

• Asia & Oceania – 29%

• Americas – 17%

• Eurasia – 7%

• Africa – 6%

• Middle East – 3%

• Caribbean – 3%

Exchange & Program Areas

» Youth & Education

» Economic & Sustainable Development

» Humanitarian Assistance

» Arts & Culture

Best of the Best: 2007

» Arts & Culture - Omaha, Nebraska

• Sister Cities: Shizuoka, Japan; Braunschweig, Germany; Siauliai, Lithuania; Naas, Ireland; Xalapa, Mexico

• Middle School, high school, university levels

• 5 week WorldFest - A Sister City Celebration at Omaha Children’s Museum

• Classroom discussions

• University Concert Choir tour

• Summer exchange programs

Best of the Best: 2007

» Humanitarian Assistance - Denver, Colorado

• Sister City: Chennai, India

• Build health facilities for abandoned infants, orphan and destitute children, disabled persons without family support

· Provided equipment: furniture, lab investigation equipment, sterilizers, surgical equipment, blood pressure apparatus and other needed accessories

• Build 70 new homes for the victims of the tsunami

» Overall: Fort Worth, Texas

• Sister Cities Live! - a day of cultural entertainment on an outdoor stage

• Lone Star International Film Festival- Featured a short, award-winning film produced by a college student from the University of Swaziland.

• Fort Worth’s Young Professionals Group for business professionals under 40

• Junior International Leadership Academy for eighth grade students

Best of the Best: 2007

» Annual Conference & Youth Conference

• 2009: Belfast

• 2010: Albuquerque

» Grant-Funded Programs• Open World (Russia/Eurasia)

• Safe Drinking Water Pilot Initiative (Africa)

• USAID Program (South Africa / Global)

Signature SCI Programs

Signature SCI Programs

» Youth & Education

• Youth Conference

• Young Artists Showcase

• Sister Schools

• J-1/High School Home Stay

Signature SCI Programs

» Muslim World Partnership Initiative

• Annual Conference Session – ‘Regions of Conflict’

• Models Report

• YES Leadership Summit

• US-Muslim Sister Cities Summit

Signature SCI Programs

» Sustainable Development

• Annual Conference “Sustainable Peace through Livable Communities”

• Models Report • Global Mayors Forum (September 16-18, 2009)

in Shenzhen/Hong Kong China· Partners:

– SCI– ICSC (Canaada)– ICLEI-Oceania (Australia) – CITYNET (Japan)– IMCC (China)

Signature SCI Services

» Services

• Partnership & Peace Travel Program

· South Africa (Nov 2008)

· China with Global Mayors Forum (Sept 2009)

• Visa Toolkit, Staff Support and Assistance

• Travel Insurance, D&O Insurance

Read, Meet & Discuss

» Your Source of Information

• Publications & Toolkits

• Website (Relaunch-Fall 2008)

· Online Forums & Discussion Groups

· Tell Your Sister Cities Story Database

· New Membership Database

• Publicity for the sister cities movement

The Power of Changing Lives

Promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding & cooperation –

one individual, one community at a time.