The Aurora City Council has approved establishing a Sister Cities Commission.
Aldermen recently unanimously approved establishing the commission, which will look into Aurora getting into a sister city relationship with another town.
The nine-member commission will 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.
City officials have said the commission will facilitate how the relationship will 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.
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.
Aurora officials have 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.
slord@tribpub.com
