*The video above aired on Tuesday, March 1.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Norfolk Sister City Association says it’s not ready to completely sever ties with its Russian sister city, Kaliningrad, as Moscow’s invasion continues in Ukraine.
What is a Sister City?
According to the Sister Cities International website, a sister city is a partnership between two communities in two countries. This can be a sister city, county, or state relationship. This relationship won’t be recognized until both communities sign off on the agreement. This can be the highest elected or appointed official. A city can have several sister cities.
How does Sister Cities work?
Each sister city is comprised of seven committees in which they choose a project to work on. They also work with governments, schools universities, churches, civic/service clubs, and community festivals.
How do Sister relationships develop?
There are several ways these relationships develop either through preexisting mayoral relationships, trade relationships, historical connections, ancestral/demographic connections, expatriate communities, shared geographic/sector challenges, faith-based groups, and personal experiences ranging from study/work abroad to marriages
What are Virginia’s other sister cities by state?
| Virginia City | Sister Cities |
|---|---|
| Alexandria | Gyumri, Armenia Caen, France Helsingborg, Sweden Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Arlington | San Miguel, El Salvadoror Reims, France Aachen, Germany Coyoacan, Mexico Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine |
| Charlottesville | Pleven, Bulgaria Besancon, France Winneba, Ghano (Friendship City) Poggio a Caiano, Italy |
| Chesapeake | Joinville, Brazil |
| Gordonsville | Thoré-la-Rochette, France |
| Hampton | Vendome, France Pietermaritzburg Msunduzi, South Africa Anyang, South Korea Southampton, England, United Kingdom |
| Lynchburg | Rueil Malmaison, France Glauchau, Germany |
| Newport News | Taizhou, China Greifswald, Germany Neyagawa, Japan |
| Norfolk | Halifax, Canada Ningbo, China Toulon, France Wilhelmshaven, Germany Tema, Ghana Kochi, India Kitakyushu, Japan Cagayan de Oro, Philippines Kalinigrad, Russia Norfolk County, England, United Kingdom |
| Richmond | Zhengzhou, China Saitama (Urawa), Japan Segou, Mali Windhoek, Namibia Richmond upon Thames, England, United Kingdom |
| Suffolk | Oderzo, Italy Suffolk, United Kingdom |
| Virginia Beach | Waiblingen, Germany Miyazaki, Japan San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua (Friendship City) Moss, Norway Olongapo, Philippines Ards and North Down Borough, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom |
What is a Friendship City?
A Friendship City is considered less formal than a sister city. In some cases, it is used as a first stage in the relationship, in which afterward an agreement for a long-term relationship may be formed.
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