What Is Sister Cities? The concept of Sister Cities was created at President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1956 summit on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned a network that would champion peace and prosperity by forming bonds between people from different communities around the world. The Sister Cities program promotes partnerships between U.S. cities and similar jurisdictions in other countries. The goal of the relationship is to enrich communities through reciprocal cultural, educational, business, municipal, professional, and technical exchanges. In 1993 Naperville formalized a Sister cities relationship with Nitra, Slovakia. The city of Pátzcuaro, Mexico was approved by the Naperville City council in July 2010 as a second Sister city. What Does Naperville Sister Cities Do? Educational
• Participation in North Central College’s annual International Festival
• Center for children created in Nitra patterned after the DuPage Children’s Museum
• High School Spanish skype exchanges
• Connecting Naperville, Nitra and Pátzcuaro schools for educational enrichment
What Is The Naperville Sister Cities Commission? MISSION- Why do we exist? The Sister Cities Commission’s mission is to connect Naperville and its citizens to the global community by fostering centers of opportunity, expression, including art and culture, and economic bonds between people, communities and businesses around the world. VISION- What do we want for the future? The Sister Cities Commission’s vision is to develop international relationships built between governments, businesses, schools and individuals to enrich our society in Naperville and our Sister Cities. How Can I Learn More About Sister Cities? The 15 member commission meets on the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Naperville Municipal Center. The meeting notice and agenda is announced by the city before every meeting. You are welcome to attend. If you wish to become involved in Sister Cities as a member of the Sister Cities Commission, applications are available online at: http://www.naperville.il.us/boards.aspx.
