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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #22 - DiscussionItemC Joseph R. Grassie City Manager Robert C. Homa0e's r` November 23, 1977 Sister Cities Program - Proposed Commission Policy My memo to you dtci. 9/27/77 Mayor's memo to you 10/7/77 Proposed Sister City Policy In response to the City Commission's request that you return to them with a proposed "Sister City Program Policy," I have prepared. a suggested policy statement which briefly discusses the purposes and objectives of the City of Miami's Sister City Affiliations and which delineates a procedure whereby the City Commission will select sister cities and initiate individual sister city programs using citizens' committees. This policy statement is written in the same format of previously adopted Commission Policies, and it may be incorporate, into a. Commission Pesolution. I suggest that this matter he proposed for discussion and possible action by the City Commission at the next regular Commission Meeting, probably December 15. i CITY OF MIAMI COMMISSION POLICY SUBaECT: A policy outlining a procedure for selecting and formally designating "Sister Cities." PURPOSE: To provide a basis for acting on requests to designate certain foreign cities as Miami's "Sister Cities" and to provide a mechanism for ongoing oversight for each sister city program. POLICY: In order to fully and properly consider whether the City of Miami should designate and affiliate with a certain city as a "Sister City," there ought to be certain standards, or criteria, that will be used to determine whether a city should be selected. The following guidelines will be plied to all future candidates for sister city status: Lee.- ., ;...ts..�.-�✓ 1. Primary consideration will be given_to Latin AmericanAcities. 3. Sister Cities must have a t>opulation of at least 300,000 and/or a metropolitan population of 1.5 million. wiry 4. Miami should not have more than one sister city in a given country 5. The--Cityy-under consideration nstrot-h.nt_ -other--si-ste-r--city- cities- 6. The desire for frSister City4/ designation must be mutual. The Sister City Selection Process will be governed by the following procedures: 1. Whether interested citizens or a member of the City Commission wish to name a now Sister City, the propos 71 to pursue the matter should be scheduled for discussion only at the request of. the Mayor or other member of the City Commission at a regular Commission Meeting. 2. If the guidelines in,licat'-(' that select -icon may bo appropriate and it is decided that the process toward sister city affiliation should be continued, the Commission establishes a " (name of city) - Sister City Committee," composed of at least five, but not more than twen- ty-five, citizens who favor and will actively support a contin- uing sister city program. At a subsequent commission meeting, appointments to the Committee will be formalized - after the standard nominating process has been completed (Resolution 77-302). - The Mayor will be the honorary chairperson of each Sister City committee. - The Director of Publicity and Tourism will be an "ex officio" member of each committee. The " (name of city) - Sister City Committee" will, at a • subsequent Commission meeting, present a report to the City Commission outlining the proposed sister city program (in- cluding goals and objectives) and describing the benefits and desirability of designating "(name of city)" a Sister City. An appropriate Resolution will be proposed and passed by the City Commission. 5. Arrangements should be made by the Committee, through the Mayor's Office, to invite representatives of the new Sister City to Miami for formal recognition and presentation of a proclamation, key to the city, or some other suitable symbol of recognition. An initial visit to the new sister city should then be arranged by the Committee. Each sister city committee will he responsible for maintaining continuous contact and cultural exchanges with its sister city. City nts will provide assistance insofar as resources permit. Requests for exMraa er. ordinary assistance or special funding must be addressed to the City g Mr. Joseph R. GraWe NOV I I P.1 i 27 City Manager Maurice A. Porta Mayor November 7, 1977 Sister City Program I have read Robert Homan's memorandum to you of September 27 regarding the Sister City program. I basically disagree with the thrust of Mr. Homan's conclusions because it implies that the Sister City programs are based on the ability for us to maintain an oivoing, meaningful exchange based on material donations. We do not have to give fire trucks and radios away to every city to maintain a Sister City program. If the City ol Miami is to indeed become the gateway to the Americas and take advantage or an inter -American projection as an important part of our future, we should have a do:en Sister Cities in Latin America. The way to mak,. the Sister City programs viable is to create committees of interested individuals •.•,.ho 1.;i11 keep the program going with minimum City help. For example, Lima .....ishes to eccme a Sister City. The :•!ayor of Lima will be here in the first or second week in December to bring us an invitation. They then want us to put together a delegation to go to Lima. The Ci tv officials would be the guests of the Peruvian government. There are thousands of Peruvians or Americans who lived in Peril for many years who now live i i n i ui i . There are also t he mul t i - t iomls Edge Ac t hanks and many bus iness - men who cont Hit:ally travel hack and Corth between Miami and Lima. A committee has already been :..tarted oC such prominent people who will constitute themselves into a Lima-!...liami Sister City Committee. I have told them that if the Cormission approves Lima as a Sister City, they will have to carry the burden ot- the work. The little effort on our part would he multiplied many times hy the goodwill, tourism, and bank deposits and business that would accrue in the Miami community. Please bring the subject back for discussion in either November or the first of December so that the Commission may make a decision on this important matter. MAF.arm cc : Hon. Commissioners r rt.c..)rttnA ;Wit-IR-OF:71:ZZ :.111.7.MCRANOW.1 Joseph R. Grassie City Manager 1-7-") • Robert C. Homan • tTL 4 September 27, 1977 Sister City Program ENCLOSURES r'LE Within the past year, the City of Miami has, by resolution, formally dosignated three additional "Sister Cities." They aret Cali, Colombia Prior to last September, the Santiago, Chile Beersheba, Israel only officially recognized sister city was Bogota, Colombia, which has boon a sister city since 1953. The City Commission has informally seloctod two other cities as sister cities, but Miami's relationship with those cities (Me-Ami, Israel and Villahormooa, Mexico) has never been formalized by resolution. Siztor Cities International, a program of the Town Affiliation Aasociation of the United States, Inc. , was initiated in 1956 as a means of encouraging intornational friendship, exchanging of idoaa by means of a variety of cooporative projects, and hottarin7 intornational rolationa. Siotor Cities International straojly rocommonds that any siotor city program bo woll-plannod and carofolly designod with a broad ha:: o of citizen participation. They rocommond that a committoe for each sioter city bo estab- lishod with a oross-ooction of community leadors and orcanioa- tiona. This organiaation also recommends that a Slater City bo ch000n vory carofully based on mutual intorests and shared charactoriotioa. Whon tho national siotor cities program was introduced, it was intondod that a aubatantial amount ofvoffort aool_r_osnuro,o,a_would bo dovotod by each participating city. In ardor to follow the spirit and intont of Slater Cities Intornational, it doos not soom apl:roE)riato to "water down" the program by timply naming sovoral citios as "sister citios," without proviin'; tho support that io d000ribod in tho availablo litoraturo. It is gueotionablo that tho City of Miami hao or can afford to dovototh r:-;(-)urco n2:-;:ir7 to support many siotor city programo and do adequate juotico to tho stated goal.] and objoctivoa of Siator Citios Intor- national. Howvor, boino tho uniquo gatoway city that it is and having otrono t:!. Latin Am'.-!rican countrios, as woll as froquent con- taot wito :laW; othor citios around the world; it might bo desirable t ".:lator oity" conoopt as a moan: of promoting stronger rolitionsnipo with in; citios. It may be porfoctly accoptablo to Mr. Robert C. Honlan, Admin. Ass't. Office of the City 14anag9r \, Lew Price ;` Your memorandum dated Jan.21, 19- Director 'of Publicity & Tourism \; ,\ We are pleased to submit the following information, as well as the literature provided by Sister Cities International, covering the requested background. February 8, 1977 Sister Cities Program(s) 1. Sister Cities International is the principal program of the Town Affiliation Association of the U.S., Inc. 2. On September 11, 1956, President Eisenhower announced the People -to -People Program. 3. The basic concept that underlined the Sister City Program was that citizens and their cities could and should make contributions to improve international understanding and cooperation through a wide range of educational, technical, professional, municipal and other exchanges. 4. Undo- the original People -to -People Program, a variety of national committees were named, ranging from civic to veterans. One of these, the Civic Committee headed by the late :•Iar': I3ortaan, was charged with the responsability of developing the Sister City Program. In 1965, a Western Regional Sister City Conference recommended the establishment of a single national organization. During the loth Anniversary Conference of the newly named "Town Affiliation Association of the U.S., Inc" in Washington, D.C. , in September 1966, delegates unanimously supported this idea and the incorporation was moved ahead. The Association finally became a reality on June 12, 1967. Sister Cities International urges that (a) two U.S. cities do not have the same Sister Cities abroad so as to avoid duplication and confusion, and (b) that a U.S. city make sure it has a solid foundation built for its first and/or second affiliation before going on to a third, fourth, etc. i11�e c+UF'iC.? .:17`!CRANDW,1 ^u: Joseph R. Grassie City .ianager Robert C. Homan T'' September 27, 1977 Sister City Program . EPT,r--c_f.CE3 E' CLGSt;RES• F'LE Within the past year, the City of :liami has, by resolution, formally designated three additional "Sister Cities." They are: Cali, Colombia Prier to last September, the Santiago, Chile Beersheba, Israel only officially recognized sister city was Bogota, Colombia, which has been a sister city since 1953. The City Commission has informally selected two other cities as sister cities, but :iiami's relationship with those cities (;le-Ami, Israel and Villahermosa, a, '•lexico) has never been formalized by resolution. Sister Cities International, a program of the Town Affiliation A oociation of the United States, Inc. , was initiated in 1?5' as a means of encouraging international friend:;hip, exchanging of i:i,. l . means l _ ans of a yaict: of cooperative projects, a: .^.•. .._....y international relations. Sister Cities International rstro,h7 recommnds that any sister city program be .:ell-plann_d and caref.illy designed with a broad ba_,i' of citi:t n participation. Th•_, _'commend ttlat a committee for each sister city be estab- lished with a crow -.;action of community leaders and organiza- tions. This organization also recommend:, that a Sister City be chosen very carefully based on mutual interests and shared charaz ._ iotioo. When the national sister cities program was introduced, it was intended that a substantial amount of • ffer' .?nurc.:_: would be devoted by each participating city. In order to follow: the spirit and intent of Sister Cities International, it io:?:; not soom appropriate to "water down" the prorgram by zimhly naming scy'_ral cities as "sister cities," without providing the support that 1 _, 'i•_.;cri.L.rcl in the available literature. It is questionable that the City of .-liami ha; or can afford to devote the r•':;nurcos necessary to support :;many si:;ter city programs and do adequate justice :.o the :;tat.',l and objectives of Sister Cities Inter- national. However, ni.li'11 tcinl the unique gateway city that it is and having .St:Yowl tios to Latin American countries, as well as frequent con - La . 1,:O. :'tany other cities around the world; it might be desirablo to ase a ..1.:1. ?Y r. lt','" concept as a mean., of promoting ::,troIlQt'r :Llon..ain:, with man'_ cities. It may be perfectly acceptable to designate, say, ten cities around the world as Miami's "Sister Cities", assuming, of course, that there is a mutual desire to do so on the part of those cities. But there should be an awareness of the distinction between that approach and the kind of intensive program that the Sister Cities International promotes, like the spe cial relationship Miami has been twe nty cultiv- ating with Bogota for the past1 �ty ':ears. �- It is very easy to pass a resolution designating a given city a "Sister City' and, perhaps, taking an inaugural trip there; but it is more difficult and demanding to maintain an ongoing Meaningful exchange of projects, ideas, and assistance. Un- less there is some kind of distinction for those cities with which the City of Miami desires to pursue this kind of re- lationship, there is a danger that a good idea and productive program will become seriously watered down and of little real consequence. It seems appropriate that the City Commission discuss this matter and establish a policy that carefully defines the goals and objectives of Miami's Sister City Program. Keeping in mind that the City of. :Miami has recognized Bogota, Beersheba, Cali, and Santiago by resolution, the Commission has apparently embarked on a course whore several, rather than one or two, cities are officially hart of Miami's "program. This ing the case, the Commission may wish to limit the number of sister cities to, say, five or ten. This will enable the program to be manageable, especially if the Commission wishes to clearly state :ghat kind of relationship is to be developed with all " present and future "Sister Cities. Mr. Robert C. Homan, Admin. Ass`t Office of the City ;Manager Lew Price Director o f Publicity & Tourism \ ; \�► i , l v ;1 February 8, 1977 Sister Cities Program(s) Your memorandum dated Jan.21,1?-- We are pleased to submit the following information, as well as the literatur- provided by Sister Cities International, covering the requested backgrounu. 1. Sister Cities International is the principal program of the Town Affiliation Association of the U.S., Inc. 2. On September 11, 1956, President Eisenhower announced the People -to -People Program. 3. The basic concept that underlined the Sister City Program was that citizens and their cities could and should make contributions to improve international understanding and cooperation through a wide range of educational, technical, professional, municipal and other exchanges. Under original People -to -People Program, a variety of national committees were named, ranging from civic to veterans. One of these, the Civic Committee headed by the late :•1arh I3ortman, was charged with the responsability of develoning the Sister City Program. In 1963, a Western Regional Sister City Conference recommended the establishment of a single national organisation. During the loth Anniversary Conference of the newly named "Town Affiliation Association of the U.S., Inc" in Washington, D.C., in September 1966, delegates unanimously supported this idea and the incorporation was moved ahead. The Association finally became a reality on June 12, 1967. 4. Sister Cities International urges that (a) two U.S. cities do not have the same Sister Cities abroad so as to avoid duplication and confusion, and (b) that a U.S. city make sure it has a solid foundation built for its first and/or second affiliation before going on to a third, fourth, etc. Lach city has to determine its own lirrlits in terms of number of affiliations. The secret to success in situations where a city has several affiliations is to make sure that each affi- liation has a committee of concerned people that takes res- ponsibility for that affiliation. As to selection of a Sister City, most cities will seek affinity of social, business, economic, educational or other similar interests. 5. The Sister City Program encourages international cooperation and understanding through planned and continuous contact between the cities involved and their citizens. The scope and type of program may vary with each city. 6. A Sister City Program may be initiated by a group of citizens in cooperation with the city or by the city itself in cooperation with citizens and/or organizations. Citizen involvement is the key. City support is important and at the point of affiliation by passage of a resolution. There must be a formally stated mutual desire for ties to be established, once two cities have informally agreed that they would like to affiliate. Then, they can proceed with the formal aspects of affiliation. In telephone conversation with Thomas Kelly, Operations Director, Sister Cities International, he confirmed that in order to establish a second, third and/or other affiliation, the procedure is the same as for the first one. In other words, in a given city several Sister Cities Committees could be functioning. It is advisable that these Sister Cities Committees send periodical reports to the mayor's office in regards to their activities and projects. Also, in some instances the Mayor designates a person to represent him in the Committee. At the present time the Miami -Bogota Sister City Committee has periodic meatiness. The last Board of Directors meeting was in January, 1977. The Board of Directors is the following: Glenn Goerke, President; Bei) Rodgers, Pduardo Me j ia, M. D. and Marie Louise Leeds, Vice Presidents; Mary Mills, Secretary -Treasurer; Tom Economou, John Corrigan and Ines ()spina, Board Members.