Sister Cities

The objective of the Prairie Village Sister City Committee is to develop a relationship with a city in another nation that will lead the two cities into an international partnership. The Prairie Village Sister City Committee is also a member of Sister Cities International, a worldwide organization that assists communities with developing and maintaining sister city relationships.

Why have a sister city? 

Civic Pride -- There are many reasons for developing a sister city.  One of the most important is the pride we have in Prairie Village.  We believe our city is a model community. We have a powerful combination of livable space with nearby shopping, parks, statuary, fountains, churches, and schools.  We also have a vibrant democracy. Our government is a combination of both elected officials and citizen volunteers, such as the members of the Prairie Village Sister City Committee.   We want to show that to the world.  At the same time, we want to see what new ideas we may glean from other societies. 

Education -- for both our Prairie Village residents and those living in our sister city. Located in the heartland of the America, we can become insular.  For hundreds of miles in any direction, there is only the United States.  Yet, as we see every day, events in the rest of the world can impact our lives.  We and our children need to know more about the world. 

 

Who is on the committee?

The committee consists of community volunteers, including two youth members, and one representative from the City Council.   Every Prairie Village citizen is welcome to attend our meetings. 

 

When and Where does the committee meet? 

The committee meets the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at City Hall.  For the remainder of 2007 our scheduled meetings are: July 9, August 13, September 10, October 8, and November 12.

 

Don’t we have a sister city in Belgium?

We established a sister city relationship with a city in Belgium.  However, political changes in the Belgian City caused their government to lose interest in developing the sister city relationship.  One of the things we are trying to insure is that any future sister city relationship we have will be less prone to political change.

 

What have you been doing?

• We hosted a reception for the exchange students at Shawnee Mission East. 
• We have exchanged letters with two cities
  • Dolyna is in Ukraine.  They sent a delegation here last year.  They have invited us to visit them in September.   A delegation will be visiting Dolyna in September, 2007
  •  Newry and Mourne is the name of a city and region in Northern Ireland.  Ireland is experiencing an economic boom and Newry and Mourne are on the border with the Irish Republic.  We had a teleconference with their sister city representatives and met with members at the Sister City International conference. 
• Other areas we are investigating include a city in Germany neat Heidelberg and a city in Ecuador.
• We are also working on developing this web site to explain more about the committee's activities.

 

What can we do to help?

Citizens are welcome to attend our meetings.  Give us your input about cities or areas of the world you thing would make good sister cities.  Perhaps you know someone in another country or you travel somewhere frequently – let us know about that. 

Would you be willing to travel at your own expense to visit potential sister cities and “show off” Prairie Village.  Let us know about that.

Current needs are fundraising, public speaking and community involvement.

To learn more about the Prairie Village Sister City Committee, contact Cindy Dwigans, Committee Chairperson