Photo by Suzy Hazelwood
By: Saraana Jamraj
Tamarac is searching for residents to serve on the newly re-established Sister Cities Committee—specifically, residents who enjoy learning about other countries.
Sister Cities are broad-based relationships, long-term partnerships between two communities in different countries. It becomes official once the highest elected officials in both cities agree to become sister cities. One city can have several sister cities.
It wouldn’t be the first time Tamarac made efforts towards establishing a Sister City. In 1984, they attempted a relationship with Kyriat Tivon, Israel. And in 2002, Tamarac officials approved a resolution making Fatsa, Turkey, a sister city, after Vice Mayor Ed Portner at the time traveled there to research forming a sister city relationship with them—with Fatsa paying for it.
In September of last year, they reauthorized the application of Tamarac to partake in the Sister Cities International program.
Assistant to the City Manager, Laura Karpaviciute, spoke to the commission about the program.
“It’s a program established by President Eisenhower that focuses on promoting understanding and collaborating between regions on the basis of one-on-one diplomacy,” said Karpaviciute.
Currently, the organization represents over 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries around the world.
As Tamarac attempts to re-establish their Sister City program, they are looking for recommendations for compatible sister cities in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Israel.
Those on the Sister Cities Committee would be tasked with researching and recommending compatible cities, establishing friendships with those cities, maintaining and regularly reporting on these relationships to the city commission.
They would also engage in appropriate fundraising activities to facilitate the educational, cultural, economic development, and technical exchanges necessary for such a relationship.
If successful, city officials in both cities would formalize the relationship through resolutions, making them Sister Cities.
Residents interested in the seven-member, all-volunteer, committee should fill out this form and must apply by Monday, March 30.