Research News

Consider Adopting a Sister County

Has your county ever thought about adopting a sister county in another country? Many local governments have.

Usually, these partnerships are with foreign counties with similar demographics. The key to a successful sister-county program is to bring about mutually satisfying contact between the people of both communities. The programs are generally designed to establish friendships, increase awareness and to develop understanding.

A successful program usually involves the following:

• direct personal contact between the citizens of the two counties
• humanitarian efforts, not political ones
• a balanced relationship between the two counties
• an established annual schedule for carrying out activities
• citizen participation and direction

What does a county have to do to establish a sister county program?

The first steps should always involve the local community leaders, since a successful program requires broad-based citizen support. The county elected officials should then adopt a proposal to establish an affiliation with a community in another country. The next step is to appoint a committee and a committee chairperson to study possible sister-county choices.

Deciding where to seek a sister county is very important and should be done carefully.

"Sister Cities International" (SCI) maintains lists of communities from all over the world that have asked to partner with U.S. counties and cities and will send that information to you.

Forming this relationship can take more than a year. It involves the participation of the local officials and often the establishment of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to run the program. After all of your research is completed, send a letter to the government you have selected to determine their interest in partnering with your community.

Recently, NACo hosted Arslan Ozbey, district governor for the county of Pazar, in Rize, Turkey. A district governor is an appointed official who functions like a county executive, since he is responsible for providing education, health, roads, water, fire protection, security and police protection to the citizens.

Ozbey asked NACo, on behalf of his county, located on the Black Sea, to help find a sister county here in the United States. Ozbey said that 90 other counties in Turkey have partnered with European counties but Pazar wants to be the first to partner with an American county.

Pazar County, with a population of between 40,000 and 50,000 people, has a center city of 20,000. It also has many small villages throughout the county. The primary industries are agriculture and fishing.

The county is the number one tea-producing county in the nation and houses 10 tea producing factories, including the largest Lipton Tea facility in the world. They have seeded their many rivers and streams with freshwater fish and have created fish farms that enhance their fishing industry. They also grow and export kiwi fruit.

If you are interested in pursuing a partnership and sister county connection with Pazar, Rize, call Jacqueline Byers at 202/942-4285.

For more information about the Sister City/County Program, contact Sister Cities International, 120 S. Payne St., Alexandria, VA 22314; phone: 703/836-3535.

(Research News was written by Jacqueline Byers, research director.)