What is Sister City?
Sister City is a deep and long-term partnership between cities, counties or states. This partnership can be based on many different reasons, such as cultural, commercial, economic, conflict resolution, etc. Sister city relations provide the societies with flexibility and convenience in addressing common issues for mutual benefit.
History of Sister Cities
Europe
Sister City movement (town twinning) spread with the work of mayors and citizens of generally countries which shattered after World War II. The Sister City movement was one of the most important priorities of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions established in 1951 and during the 1950s there was a significant increase in the number of sister cities. Sister city relations played a very positive role in the enlargement and deepening of European Union. The sister city relations played a constructive role in democracy restoration and integration in the process of enlarging the EU, especially towards the countries of South and Eastern Europe. Today, besides the CEMR, also known as UCLG's European regional branch, there are many organizations in Europe working on sister city relations and other local government partnerships.
United States of America
Although there were various relations earlier times, it can be said that for the United States, the sister city relations first started with "Sister Cities International" organization established in 1956. After World War II, the organization established after President Eisenhower's suggestion about the partnerships between different cultures would reduce conflicts and defines the sister city relationship as "citizen diplomacy". The fact that all US presidents have been honorary president since its foundation has shown the importance of sister city relations. Sister city projects have been very effective in alleviating the post-war diplomatic tensions and in development assistance. The sister cities within the organization have organized many diplomatic relations in the past 50 years, including cooperation with China during 1970s.
(http://www.sister-cities.org/)
Turkey
The sister city associations started to be seen in Turkey in the 1960s, have increased especially during the post-Cold War era, through relations established primarily with Europe and Balkans, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Middle East, and other allied countries. According to the most recent (June 3, 2016) data provided by the Ministry of Interior, Directorate General of Local Administrations, 392 local administrations from Turkey have established a total of 1547 sister city relations with 127 municipalities of foreign countries. Local administrations in Turkey have acquired sister cities from many parts of the world. According to the current issue of Guide on Sister City and Cooperation for Municipalities of Union of Municipalities of Turkey, the majority of foreign sister city relations of Turkey's local governments constitute European cities (57%), and followed by Turkic Republics, Middle East and North Africa with a total of 18%.
Why to Become Sister Cities?
► Cities have an increasingly prominent place in the international system in that they can stand out in their political geographies, control the changing economic organization, and establish intersection points to build global networks in relation to other cities.
► Supranational structures such as the European Union support the processes of integration and democratization, dialogue between local authorities for cross-border co-operation and Sister City projects. In parallel, developments in international law are encouraging local governments for opportunities in international level.
► Sister City is the complementary type of diplomacy as the most used way of providing experience, people, capital and culture flow through direct contact and communication through the representatives of cities in different countries.
► Sister City relationship among local governments has a very positive role in issues such as conflict prevention / peaceful solution, development, cooperation, good practice transfer, social services, environmental policies and cultural heritage preservation.
How to become Sister Cities?
► The decision to become a Sister City after the relations established between the local or regional authorities at the representative and / or civil society level is approved by the municipal councils and in some countries by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Thus, the relationship of the Sister City is established according to the content of the text of the protocol, either continuously or indefinitely. Commonly, a city has one sister city from a country but there is no requirement for that. Also, there are no restrictions for the number of sister cities.
► The most important consideration when choosing a sister city is the similarity between the two cities. These may be areas of historical and cultural ties, common urban features, economic relations, border relations, common environmental problems, and so on. The sustainability of the relationship established depends on the existence of these similarities. For this reason, it is the best way to establish sister city relations within the framework of an international organization or non-governmental organization working on local cooperation.
► Click here for the details of process of becoming sister cities for municipalities of Turkey.
What do Sister Cities do?
Sister City relationship is a project that can gain more meaning after it is established. Some of the programs that can be implemented in this context are:
♦ Cultural Exchange: Art events (concerts, exhibitions, festivals), summer camps, pen pal projects, etc.
♦ Youth and Education: Exchange programs for high school students (accommodation with family), teacher exchange programs, various competitions among young people, etc.
♦ Business / trade: various delegation visits in accordance with the economic structures of cities
♦ Disaster Management: Providing financial and humanitarian assistance in a case of catastrophe.
♦ Conflict Resolution: Providing mediation, diplomatic support, public opinion and humanitarian assistance to the various regional conflicts that cities are exposed to in their regions
♦ Competition: To deepen relationships by encouraging competition among sister cities within the same organization (awards, competitions, etc.)
♦ Information and Experience Sharing: Organizing activities between various local government topics (transportation, water, waste management etc.) and at different levels (mayors, expert staff etc.)