Statements
Mission
The mission of Sister Cities of Nashville is to connect the people of Nashville to people of the world, promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation -- one person, one community at a time.
Background
Sister Cities of Nashville was incorporated in 1990 and operates as an all-volunteer organization promoting cultural understanding and tolerance through citizen exchange programs, events and activities. SCN is currently partnered with eight cities: Magdeburg, Germany; Caen, France; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Edmonton, Canada; Taiyuan, China; Mendoza, Argentina; Tamworth, Australia; and Kamakura, Japan. During our almost 30-year history we have accomplished our objectives through our educational, cultural and professional exchange programs developing relationships and partnerships with cultures, cities and citizens both here and abroad.
Impact
Sister Cities of Nashville is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between Nashville and international communities. We strive to build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development. Sister Cities hosts educational, professional and cultural exchange programs connecting Nashvillians with people of other nations for the mutual benefit of each city. Our goals for 2022 are to re-open in-person exchange opportunities (after a two year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic), ensure a stable and balanced funding stream to support organizational programs and services; expand and engage our members to ensure growing membership to support the programs of SCN; utilize effective marketing and communications to increase the visibility of SCN; implement excellent exchanges to promote the mission of SCN; and increase the organizational capacity to support the present and future activities for maximum efficiency and effectiveness. In the past year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our partnership with Caen, France; the 15th anniversary of our partnership with Taiyuan, China; provided more than 50 professional development hours (CLEs) to attorneys through global programming produced in partnership with two our of Sister Cities (Kamakrua, Japan and Caen, France), the Womens Political Collaborative of TN, and the Tennessee Bar Association; linked over 170 public and private school students in peer-to-peer language and cultural programming; welcomed 12 educators as they became official Academic Ambassadors of our organization by promoting our programming in their schools; and dined virtually with over 130 Nashvillians through live Dinner and a Zoom programs with our partners in Chengdu, China and Mendoza, Argentina. Virtual programming flourished and the organization was able to directly connect more students with peers in our partner cities than ever before. Our organization increased the number of partnerships with public schools during and began offering opportunities for teachers to implement project-based learning programs in their classrooms. These programs included a food insecurity study between a Rose Park Middle Magnet school in Nashville and our partner school in Mendoza, Argentina; and a civics exchange between a 3rd and 4th grade classrooms at Glengarry Elementary in Nashville and two partner schools in Edmonton, Canada. Our one-on-one virtual exchanges continued between students in Nashville and Mendoza, Argentina; Taiyuan, China, and Caen, France. SCN was able to attend community festivals through virtual participation as well as in person (when available) including Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival, Pencil Foundation Back to School Fair, and Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival. Additionally, our organization instituted a series of happy hour events for adult members highlighting our different cities and encouraging old members to return and new members to join; hosted a film discussion with our sister city Mendoza, Argentina in partnership with NECAT and the Nashville Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. These activities were in addition to other programming such as the Mayor's Conference with Chengdu, China; two students from Hillsboro High School participated in the Chengdu Youth Debate; 12 Nashville residents participated virtually in the Belfast Craic Marathon, receiving completion medals; and out annual membership mixer, which was held virtually with a keynote speaker and well-known historian who talked about how different cultures and peoples have shaped Nashville into the city it is today.
Needs
1) private citizen volunteers to support our work. 2) Nashville business and community participation and financial support and contributions to expand SCN exchange and educational programs. 3) Musicians and visual artists to collaborate on music and art programs with partner cities. 4) Donated items to auction to fund programs: airline mileage rewards, . 5) Volunteers interested in continuing to develop our partnerships with Mexico and China, as well as others interested in supporting new sister city partnerships.
CEO Statement
Sister Cities growth and achievements are obtained through the dedication of its volunteer members and their commitment to expanding cultural awareness and understanding for the people of Nashville and other cultures of the world. Our exchange programs enable students, government officials, professionals, and other citizens to share, communicate and most importantly, understand, not how we are different, but how we are the same and that we share the same interests, concerns and hopes for our communities and our citizens-one individual, one community at a time.
Board Chair Statement
The mission of Sister Cities of Nashville is a deeply personal one for me. I started studying foreign languages when I was in middle school and I loved learning about the history and culture of people through their language. As a high school student, I saved my money earned at a part-time job after school to be able to take my first trip abroad. On that trip, I experienced first-hand the people and places I learned about in my textbooks and I had the initial insight that these people that lived half a world away from my home town lived remarkably similar lives. They wanted to be safe, have a roof over their heads, and to love their friends and family. Beyond the basics, I even met new friends who shared my interests in cooking, hiking and traveling! These memories and relationships fueled my interest in studying international relations in college. Later, as a diplomat working overseas, I saw how individual connections at the personal and business level helped people see each other as human beings and not as faceless agents of their respective governments. Sister Cities of Nashville is about creating relationships based on cultural, educational, information and trade exchanges the result of which is very often lifelong friendships that provide the basis of prosperity and peace through person-to-person "citizen diplomacy." By becoming friends, President Eisenhower, who first envisioned sister cities partnerships, reasoned that people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences, instead of deriding them, fostering suspicion and sowing new seeds for war. Beyond the relationships that can be formed through our exchanges, when students and adults participate in one of Sister Cities of Nashville's exchanges, whether traveling abroad as an ambassador for Nashville or hosting a visiting international delegation, they come away with not only a better understanding of the different people and communities they meet, but also a better appreciation for what makes Nashville a unique community. Each time I host new or returning guests from one of our sister cities, I learn new things about our history, culture and community and I am reminded of why I love being a Nashvillian.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security - International Cultural Exchange |
| Secondary Category: | International, Foreign Affairs, and National Security - International Academic Exchange |
| Tertiary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Arts & Culture |
Areas Served
Metropolitan Nashville area
| International |
| TN - Davidson |
