Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter, Inc. (SoCal Sister Cities) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, established in Southern California.
Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter, Inc. (SoCal Sister Cities) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, established in Southern California.
Southern California Sister Cities is a volunteer chapter of Sister Cities International — a citizen-diplomacy network that connects communities across our region with sister cities around the world through cultural, educational, and civic exchange. Our mission is to promote peace, prosperity, and cultural understanding, one relationship at a time.
The “twinning” of cities first began in 836 between Paderborn, Germany and Le Mans, France. This system became better known with the establishment of the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), a Netherlands-based organization founded in 1913 in The Hague. The first twinning of cities in the United States occurred in 1944 between Wichita, Kansas and Orleans, France.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower was introduced to this system through his brother Milton, the President of Kansas State University. President Eisenhower liked the idea of cities twinning themselves with cities, people becoming involved with people, and families becoming families with their twinned counterparts overseas. Through this concept, President Eisenhower hoped for world peace to be realized through the establishment of the Sister City Program in 1956.
Since 1956, the network of Sister Cities International has grown to unite tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers in programs through over 2,000 cities in 140 countries on six continents.
Sister Cities was originally adopted by the League of Cities until 1970, when Sister Cities International established its own headquarters in Washington, D.C. The first of Sister Cities’ annual conferences was held in 1967 in Los Angeles, California.
Ms. Thelma Press, who was involved in the 1959 establishment of the Sister City relationship between San Bernardino, California and Tachikawa, Japan, was asked in 1972 to serve as a state representative. In 1974 she discussed forming a state chapter with the Mayor of Santa Fe Springs, Ms. Betty Wilson — who had sat with President Eisenhower as one of the people who signed the agreement to form Sister Cities. Together they established rules and by-laws; due to the size of California, two chapters were formed simultaneously, giving birth to the Northern and Southern California chapters. State chapters then spread throughout the U.S.
Today, California has more sister city organizations than any other state in the U.S.: 82 California cities have 356 partnerships with cities overseas in 70 countries. SoCal Sister Cities now connects approximately 170 cities in 50 countries, with 40 cities in Southern California.
The Sister City program was launched as a national concept at the White House in 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for massive exchanges between Americans and the people of other nations. Sister Cities International became an independent nonprofit organization in 1967 and today represents more than 500 member communities with over 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries.
The Sister Cities Program is an important resource to the negotiations of governments in letting the people themselves give expression of their common desire for friendship, goodwill and cooperation for a better world for all.
The Sister Cities International program gives you and your fellow members a dynamic role in the task of building a more peaceful and prosperous world community.
When President Eisenhower proposed a program of affiliation between American and foreign cities in 1956, no one could have anticipated how successful it would become in creating valuable exchanges in education, culture, youth, business, and local government. All who have given their time and talent can take great satisfaction from their accomplishments.
Exchange of ideas and getting to know each other on the level the Sister City program provides plays an important role in maintaining good relations between the U.S. and foreign nations. The program is based on a mutual situation — all countries experience urban problems — and from this common base we can bring our diverse cultures closer together.
I am proud to serve as Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities International. Because of your emphasis on the exchange of people and ideas, Sister Cities serves to promote better understanding and cooperation throughout the world. Out of this effort comes a spirit of friendship which, multiplied by thousands of Sister Cities, results in improved economic, cultural, and social relationships between people everywhere.
I am honored and proud to lend my name to an organization that has encouraged better international understanding in the fields of education, culture, economic, and social relationships. Thank you for extending me the privilege of being associated with the United States Sister Cities Program.
The Sister Cities International program has been instrumental in breaking down barriers between cultures and in fostering better relations between peoples separated by oceans. I applaud your efforts to build lasting bridges between people of different nations in a rapidly changing world, and I am happy to offer my support as Honorary Chairman.
For 45 years, Sister Cities International has helped establish and strengthen partnerships between communities in the United States and similar communities internationally. I commend you for promoting relationships among citizens of different countries and cultures, and I encourage Sister Cities International in its efforts to unite communities, build understanding, and promote peace across national and cultural barriers.
The increasing interconnectivity of nations in today’s global economy underscores the need for robust partnerships between communities around the world. Organizations like Sister Cities International foster such relationships, increasing mutual knowledge and understanding between cities and cultures, and laying the foundations for continued peace and prosperity. I am proud to serve as your Honorary Chair.
A welcome from the President of our Southern California Chapter.
Meet the volunteers who lead the chapter.
Download our overview brochure (PDF).
Browse sister cities across Southern California.
Read the chapter’s governing bylaws (PDF).
