What is a sister city?
A sister city organization is a volunteer group of ordinary citizens who, with the support of their local elected officials, form long-term relationships with people and organizations in a city abroad. Each sister city organization is independent and pursues the activities and thematic areas that are important to them and their community including municipal, business, trade, educational and cultural exchanges with their sister city.

What are the City of Spokane’s Sister Cities?

• Jilin City, China (since 1987)
• Limerick, Ireland (since 1990)
• Cagli, Italy (since 2016)
• Nishinomiya, Japan (since 1962)
• Jecheon, South Korea (since 1999)

What do they do?
Sister city organizations promote peace through people-to-people relationships—with program offerings varying greatly from basic cultural exchange programs to shared research and development projects between cities with relationships.

What is process to become a sister city?
Participation in being sister cities is a two-way street. There has to be an active commitment at both ends in order to make it work and keep it running.

A casual rule of thumb is that a local committee in Spokane of at least 20 people who will do this is needed, with a core nucleus that that ties to the proposed sister city, along with others who have a cultural, art, or business interest.