Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter website. The sister cities concept was first introduced by United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 11, 1956. He initiated the program as a new approach to securing peace around the world through the establishment of personal, people-to-people friendships between Americans and the peoples of other nations. Today, this network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers in 570 member communities with over 2,300 partnerships in 150 countries on six continents. Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter connects some 170 cities with approximately 40 cities in Southern California, making Southern California one of the most active regions within the Sister Cities International network. As President of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter, it is my goal to expand the number of relationships and enrich the relationships between Southern California cities and cities abroad. These relationships connect citizens around the globe through the various programs we support that focus on arts and culture, youth and education, business and trade, and community development and technical exchange. We welcome participation and questions from our current SoCal Sister Cities members as well as those who are interested in being involved with sister cities here in Southern California. To this end, I would like to invite anyone with questions about sister cities programs in Southern California or individuals with an interest in being involved with Southern California Sister Cities to contact me by e-mail through president@socalsistercities.org

Sincerely,

Anthony Al-Jamie
Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter President
Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation Member
San Bernardino Sister Cities Council Committee Chair