Title
Adoption of Resolution to Approve Guidelines for the Sister Cities Program
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Adoption of Resolution to Approve Guidelines for the Sister Cities Program
BACKGROUND
Alameda's Sister City program works to promote cultural understanding and cooperation with cities around the world, and to strengthen international partnerships at the municipal and person-to-person levels. Alameda currently has three active Sister Cities, and one active Friendship City:
Sister Cities
* Jiangyin, China (2008)
* Dumaguete, Philippines (2015)
* Yeongdong-gun, South Korea (2017)
Friendship City
* Wuxi, China (2005)
The Sister City program is a partnership between the City of Alameda and the Alameda Sister Cities Association (ASCA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2009. Prior to 2009, the Sister Cities program was facilitated by the Social Service Human Relations Board (SSHRB) Sister City Workgroup. ASCA evaluates and recommends new Sister Cities for adoption and, as the City of Alameda representative, organizes and supports all Sister City activities, including fundraising and hosting cultural events, economic exchanges, delegation visits, and humanitarian efforts, among other activities.
In February of 2017, ASCA recommended the adoption of three new Sister Cities: Yeongdong-gun in South Korea, Wadi Foquin in the Palestinian Territories, and Varazze in Italy. In June 2017, City Council authorized Mayor Spencer to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enter a Sister City relationship with Yeongdong-gun. On July 3, representatives from the City of Alameda and Yeongdong-gun formalized the Sister City relationship at an MOU signing ceremony. It is anticipated that ASCA's recommendations to adopt Varazze and Wadi Foquin as Sister Cities will come to City Council for review in the next 12 months.
DISCUSSION
In order to lay the groundwork for adopting future Siste...
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