Partnership Agreement
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Types of Affiliations
Sister City Relationship
A Sister City relationship is formed when the mayor or highest elected official (or, if elections do not take place, highest appointed official) from a U.S. community and a community in another country or territory sign a formal agreement on behalf of their communities endorsing a sister
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unless otherwise indicated by one or both of the respective communities.
Sister Cities International shall formally recognize only those relationships by cities/members in good standing (i.e. who are current on membership dues) in its Membership Directory or on its website. However, Sister Cities International shall not assert as invalid or otherwise impugn the legitimacy of those relationships formed by non-members.
Friendship City
A Friendship City or Friendship Cities
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referred to as such in the formal documents that are signed. Sister Cities International shall recognize Friendship City relationships by members in its Membership Directory and website.
As per Sister Cities International Board of Directors:
Sister Cities International will recognize a new sister cities affiliation between a U.S. and an international community, even though another affiliation may exist between that international community and a different U.S. community, only if a cooperative agreement among all involved communities is filed with Sister Cities International. If a cooperative agreement is denied, or no response to the request is received within a reasonable amount of time, Sister Cities International will recognize the partnership as a
friendship city and it will be delineated as such
with a symbol in the membership directories.
The cooperative agreement must be sent bby the Mayor/County Executive/Governor of the requesting community, and must be sent tto the Mayor/County Executive/Governor of each of the existing partnership communities. Although the Mayor/County Executive/Governor may request input from, or may be given input by, the sister cities program, it is up to the discretion of the Mayor/County Executive/Governor to sign the cooperative agreement.
Although Sister Cities International will help with the cooperative agreement process, it is up to the requesting community to get the agreement signed. Sister pr p eq g y
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the cooperative agreement.
To place a relationship into EEmeritus status, the mayor or highest elected official of the U.S. community must write a letter to the mayor of the foreign city indicating that they wish to remain sister cities, but understand that the relationship will remain inactive until such time as both cities are able to sustain an active relationship. Sister Cities International should be informed in writing by the mayor of the U.S. city of the situation. Sister Cities International will I SisterCitiiies
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"sister city/ cities" relationship. Sister city agreements shall be considered active/valid relationship is often formed by cities as a "s
stone" to a more formal "Sister City" agreement. Typically Friendship City agreements are Cities International will not, in any way, force a community to "share" and sign Partnership Agreement
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then place the partnership into Emeritus Status and will reflect this status in directories and all lists of sister city programs.
If a community wishes to tterminate a sister city relationship, then a letter from the mayor or highest elected official of the U.S. city should be sent to the mayor of the sister city. Sister Cities International should be informed of this action in writing by the mayor of the U.S. city and Sister Cities International will then remove the partnership from its directories and all lists of sister city programs. We do not recommend terminating a relationship simply because it is dormant. Many partnerships wax and wane over the years, and in many cases a dormant partnership may be reinvigorated by local members years after it has been inactive.
General Guidelines
In order for a sister city/county/state partnership to be recognized by Sister Cities International (SCI), the two communities must sign formal documents which clearly endorse the link. This presumes several key items: that the U.S. community is already a member of SCI and has followed proper procedures (e.g. passed a city council resolution declaring the intent to twin with the specific city); that both communities share a mutual commitment to the relationship; and that both have secured the necessary support structure to build a lasting relationship. You should check with your local sister city program to see if they have any additional requirements before pursuing a sister city relationship.
SCI
However, as the following examples show, the actual name and format of your documents is left up to you.
A few things to keep in mind as you draft your agreement:
x
commitment to fostering understanding, cooperation, and mutual benefit to the precise, with particular areas of interest, specific programs/activities, or more concrete goals related to anything from numbers of exchanges to economic development. x
r areas of
include all the programs you plan to do if it makes the document too lengthy or limits the scope of projects. This is a formal document to establish the relationship; specific tasks, responsibilities, or other nuts-and-bolts text related to implementation or administration of the partnership can be expressed more fully in a separate memorandum between the respective sister city committees. Your partnership agreement is a historical document and should not be dated or limited by being aligned with very specific tasks.
x Work with your counterparts. Remember that this is signed by both cities. You should share drafts of your agreement with your international partners and solicit feedback on yo gr yo p
nicipal priorities.
x Ask your counterparts to translate the agreement if it is drafted in English. It is important for the citizens of your partner community to be able to read and understand the commitment their city has made. Have someone in your own community who 1 SisterCitiies
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often refers to these agreements as a "Sister City Agreement" or "Memorandum of Understanding."
Your agreement can range from the ceremonial , with language focusing on each city's Don't try to include everything you plan to do. Some specifics, like particula interest or participating institutions are good to include. However, there's no need to what they'd like to see in the agreement. Be flexible to cultural or mu Partnership Agreement
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speaks that language check the foreign-language version to make sure it mirrors what you have in your own agreement.
x Keep it to one page. Ceremonial documents such as these partnership agreements work best if they can be posted in their entirety.
x Most sister city agreements include some acknowledgement of the founding principles of the sister city movement
to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.
x Consider using official letterhead and/or other embellishments such as city seals or logos to reflect your enhance the document. Sister city agreements are often posted at city hall or other municipal offices and should reflect their historical importance x Look at other agreements your city has signed. These agreements may give you an idea of what is acceptable or possible, and they may be in an easily replicable format. If you cannot access older agreements please contact Sister Cities International, we may have them on file, although we do not have copies of all partnership agreements. x Documents must be signed by the top elected official of both communities. x Check with your mayor, city council, town clerk, et al. to make sure that the agreement is OK with them. The mayor is the one putting his or her name on the paper, and you ay pu g pap
x Official documents are usually signed during a formal ceremony recognizing the partnership. Be sure both communities receive a signed set of the official documents for their records.
x Remember to send your signed agreement to Sister Cities International. After we receive your agreement we will post the relationship in the City Directory and make sure it is included in our Annual Membership Directory.
like the establishment of a committee, a review period, sustainability/funding plan, among othe
pe ty ng p ng
office to see if this is the case.
what is possible. While you should feel free to use some of the formatting and language, we encourage you to make your agreement your own and be creative with what you produce. If you are unsure about your agreement or want advice you can always solicit feedback by sending it to our Membership Director at [email protected] or contacting us at (202) 347-8630.
1 SisterCitiies
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don't want to spend time developing an agreement which will never be signed.
Remember that each city's sister city program is independent and can impose requirements rs, before sanctioning a sister city agreement. Check with your local program or mayor's On the following pages you'll find a series of partnership agreements to give you an idea of Partnership Agreement
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I .s .isterCities
I NTER: N A TII O N I AL
Co nnect globally. Th riv.a locally.
ANAGR MENT FOR THE ESTABLISH ENT OF
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TH CITY OF ABU DHABI ( U . A.E)
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HOUSTO , TEXAS ( U .S.A)
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Partnership Agreement
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\ Sister Citi:es
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THE CITY OF NEW YORl<
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
NEW YORK, . Y. 10007
he Sist r 1ty p:mncrship etwc n C'\: ork ity and London \ 'lll fo ter muru lly benefici J lution to ommon chall nges or these C\! o great cosmopolitan entities . n <!quently, e istcr City relationship bc:h: ccn the l\ o '- ill be one: o the most unportanl in th ir net ork of global partnersbips as iL strives to · • Encourage and publicize e, isling exchanges between London and New ork City so that they can Oourisb to bene la 1d r ro - ection o lhc itizens of b th; • upport and promote the d velopment of ne social. econorruc. c emic an community programs to encourage both cities• citizens to tbetr e,cpenences medium for learning from one anoth r:
• eneratc ru, improvement of the oper tion of the c1ties' v ·ous go emment gencies by servmg as a conduit of information;
• (dcntify themes. common to both, that can generate new initiatives to urther and nurture the increasingly p w rfu1 .financ1aJ, social and cultur I rel tionship between the cities;
• Promo t key mayoral priorities relevant to both London and ew York ity; • Provide fin c1al or in kind upport to com.omni -1 d pro . rams chat advance the aims of the Si ter ity partner hip;
ith the abo e purposes in mind th Mayor of the tty of ork and the ayor of oodo n solemnly confirm that these two citie are uruted by an fficial pa.rLne hip by lhe proto ol f th1s emorandum of Understanding .
This ogre ment
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ill go int c ect from the d te o signature .
igned in March o O I
ayor
London
Partnership Agreement
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Partnership Agreement
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1 Sister Citiies
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RFAFFIRMA.110N OF SISTER. CITIES DECLARATION
:idopced by THE HO ORABLE RICHARD It DALEY
1A YOR OF CHICAGO
THE HO ORABLE ZHANG RO GM 0
YOROF SHENYAl G
0 5, 1995
o,, llris the t.enlh anniversary of llu signing of a si.stu city arrel!mi!nt, i.n. ortfa- t.o further tlte rradiiiortal links of fn"end~hip lutwem Chicago and Sheri ang and flJ reaffirm their m.utnal aspiratiD to work in u.n.isc,t for tlu bene/il of Jhtir citu and nations, du Honora.hl.s ayo, Ri,,t;hard M. Daley, Mayor of th City of Oucago, and the Hon.ora/Ju Zhang Ro¾"fflt101 Mayor r,f the Ciry of hoiyorig, on this fifth. day of June 199S, do hereby aclawwb!d •e and ~t.efjir:n tlu nsur citi.es agrumm1 betw en the City of Oucaco and tire City of Shenyang.
The Ci.ty of Chicago and tlze City of Shenyang on the basis of fri_eruJJ.y toopuo.rkJn, equality and rrwl.ua.l beru:ft,/ will continue to tkYtl.op a sisld ciJies r,:lationship to promtJte and broaden eco,u,mic cooptsralion and cu1JuraJ aduzngu betwun the two dli.es.
The two ciaes do hueby <Jedan their intuut in exploring the establishment of business and trade rtlalions buwun Chu:aco and Shm:fang.
In addi.tion.. achartges will be promoud. in the ana of the arts such as ahibils, music, da.nc~ and otlu!r cultural aaivlli.es.
In adtf1dan., t:rclumgu will be promot.ed in eduarlion turd du establishntenl of colftactS within education.al instia.rtions encouraged.
In addmon., we declare our inuntiori to promote uchanges in. s1tdi ffelds as sciena and l4chnology, sports, heaJJJr.. youth and any areas that will. contribute t.o the prosperity and the furthu de11el.oprn.vu of friend.ship between the ptaple of our two cities.
ORAJJ.I..E RICHARD M. ~,:;11;,~
1~ YOR OF CEilCAGO
THE HO ORA.Bf.,E ZHANG RO GMAO
YOB. OF SHENY. G