Fountain Hills Sister Cities proudly carries on the legacy of the global Sister Cities movement started long ago
Questions to Ponder...
Chances are, you have seen signs around your town declaring a relationship with a “Sister City” on the other side of the globe, right?
It sounds important, but what exactly is a Sister City?
Where did it all get started?
How do cities benefit from being Sister Cities?
Origins...
In the years after the end of World War II, countries, governments, and people were fragmented and full of fear and distrust. International relations were not good, to say the least. But then President Dwight Eisenhower recalled something during his many overseas tours. He found the best results when you strip away the involvement of self-serving governments and interact directly with the people of a foreign country. Oftentimes, the barriers, the fears, and the distrust brought about by government messaging could be overcome. People honoring each other’s customs and traditions and cultures face to face worked best. People of different nationalities could often find a way to connect on deeply personal levels that no government could force nor prevent. They could work together in mutually beneficial ways to bind their communities, make lasting friendships, and return the world to a better place.
Eisenhower was thus inspired to create the term “Citizen Diplomacy.” Individuals could operate free of the restrictions and biases of governmental oversight to form international ties. Then, in 1956, he created a movement called the “People-to-People Program,” which later evolved into what we now know as Sister Cities International. Their mission is to foster peace by building bonds between communities across the world.
Fast Forward To Today...
Across the USA, there are 500 local Sister City chapters, each run in very unique ways to promote the best of their international city partnerships. Those 500 local chapters are partnered with 2,100 municipalities in 145 countries. They foster and benefit from Eisenhower’s “Citizen Diplomacy” idea and the global Sister Cities movement that started nearly 70 years ago.
Fountain Hills Sister Cities Carries on This Legacy...
We proudly carry on the traditions of the original “People-to-People” movement conceived by Eisenhower. We are committed and rewarded through relationships with our three Sister Cities; Dierdorf, Germany, Ataco El Salvador, and Zamość, Poland. We work together through mutually beneficial projects, bilateral student exchanges, unilateral humanitarian relief efforts, and sharing of diplomatic ideas. We raise up each other’s communities and strengthen our collective bonds every day.
History Can Repeat Itself...
Unfortunately, the powers of fear and distrust can wiggle their way back into our precious people-to-people relationships we share with our Sister Cities. They must be carefully guarded and cultivated.
Such is the case at the national level recently, where numerous local chapters around the US (not Fountain Hills) began petitioning the parent organization, Sister Cities International. They sought to dissolve or abandon some of their Sister City partnerships. They found disagreement, distaste, or distrust with current governmental or political climates in the countries associated with their once-cherished Sister City partners.
It seemed like the chaos of post WWII all over again. They had somehow forgotten that the magic of Sister Cities was with the relationships between people and not with their opinions of shifts in governmental policy. Negative emotion had clearly clouded their better judgement.
Sister Cities International Resets Perceptions...
Sister Cities International recalibrated the thoughts of these misguided chapter leaders. They were reminded to stick to what makes the program work. In fact, it is our duty as local chapters to promote and maintain these precious connections with the people of our Sister Cities in both good times and bad. The hope is that (with time) governments and political climates can and will best serve their citizens. Through it all, the Sister City relationship should remain steadfast. People deserve that support.
The Sister Cities movement is indeed the glue that binds the best of what humanity has to offer!
Yes, world peace is possible, but it must be done one community at a time and one person at a time.
Sister Cities Is a Global Force for the Good of Humanity
Today, we here at Fountain Hills Sister Cities therefore honor the legacy of Dwight Eisenhower’s visionary program. We are incredibly proud of the positive impact we, as a local chapter of the worldwide Sister Cities movement, make on the people of earth.
