Aurora may establish a Sister Cities Commission to look into getting a sister city.
Alex Voigt, deputy chief of staff in the mayor’s office, said the city is recommending establishing a nine-member board to begin the process.
Aldermen on the City Council Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee recently voted unanimously to support establishing the commission.
Martha Paschke, the city’s Innovation and Strategy officer, told committee members the commission would be involved in the initial stages of finding a sister city, including facilitating the early communication between elected officials of both cities.
Part of that is looking at a list of possible cities from Sister Cities International, which would match Aurora with cities worldwide. The commission would begin looking to see which might be a good match.
Paschke first brought up the idea to aldermen last month during a City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. The first step is to establish the commission.
She said the commission would facilitate how the relationship would be done. Sister cities can have relationships involving arts and culture, business and trade, youth and education and community development.
Once a sister city is selected, the commission is part of maintaining the relationship, Paschke said.
Sister Cities International was created in 1956 with the support of President Dwight Eisenhower. Its purpose is “to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation, one individual, one community, at a time,” according to its website.
Aurora has had a sister city relationship before, although more unofficial, with Tlaquepaque, Mexico, during the 1990s.
Sister city relationships have been discussed during recent times with visitors from China, Uganda and Togo. Other area municipalities have had sister cities, including Geneva, West Chicago and Naperville. Chicago had a longtime sister city relationship with Shanghai.
Paschke has said the benefits of a sister city relationship could include education opportunities; culture; sports events; tourism; innovation; collaborative problem-solving; business development and growth opportunities; medical training and partnerships; and humanitarian assistance.
She said Nashville, Tennessee, has partnered with its sister city, Edmonton, Canada, on looking at transportation issues, and Birmingham, Alabama, has partnered with its sister city, Liverpool, England, on an EB-5 visa program to attract investors.
She said Karachi, Pakistan, helped raise money to help flood victims in its sister city of Houston, Texas.
There is a category known as Friendship City that has a lower level of participation, she said.
slord@tribpub.com
