WHEREAS, Sister Cities International was founded as a presidential initiative by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 11, 1956 at the White House Conference on citizen diplomacy to create more community-led global relationships so that people of different cultures could appreciate their differences and build partnerships that would lessen the chance of new international conflicts; and
WHEREAS, Sister Cities International Day is a fitting occasion to commemorate the impact that this organization has made in building bridges across nations, cities, and communities around the globe in order to create and sustain world peace; and
WHEREAS, there is no better day to celebrate the birth of the modern sister cities movement than on the birth day of its founder, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, on October 14; and
WHEREAS, Sister Cities International currently has 345-member cities, counties, and states with relationships with 1,800 communities in 138 countries on six continents; and
WHEREAS, Sister Cities International in recent years has held several bilateral and regional sister cities summits to strengthen existing and expanding new sister city relationships in places like Ireland, Mexico, Russia, China, and across the African continent; and
WHEREAS, Sister Cities International will be holding its next regional summit-the All-Americas Sister Cities Summit-in San Antonio, Texas, on May 28-31, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the City of Toledo is proud to be part of a global network of sister city partnerships with Coburg, Germany; Coimbatore, India; Hyderabad, Pakistan; Londrina, Brazil; Nanchong, China; Poznan, Poland; Qinhuangdao, China; Szeged, Hungary; Tanga, Tanzania; Toledo, Spain; and Toyohashi, Japan; and
WHEREAS, sister city relationships include educational, economic, cultural, municipal, and humanitarian assistance exchange programs that are mutually beneficial to each community; and
WHEREAS, Sister Cities International Day is a call to action for Toledo residents and citizens of the world to come together to celebrate the importance of communities’ continued commitment to supporting a more peaceful and prosperous future through continued people-to-people exchanges; and
WHEREAS Sister Cities International Day is an opportune time for Toledo and cities across the world to show how powerful humanity can be when communities unite to promote peace, progress, and prosperity for a better world; NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it resolved by the Council of the City of Toledo:
SECTION 1. That October 14, 2023 is recognized as Sister Cities International Day.
SECTION 2. That this Resolution shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.