The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Elisha McCallion, has reaffirmed Derry’s commitment to becoming a Sister City, following a special event in Dublin at the weekend.
The Sister City Summit was led by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Críona Ní Dhálaigh, and organised through Dublin City Council’s International Relations section with support from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the San Jose Twin Sister organising committees.
Also in attendance at the event were the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, and delegates from across the US, Britain and Ireland.
Mayor McCallion led a delegation from Derry and Strabane which included representatives from Council and the city’s Chamber of Commerce.
The event marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the modern day Sister City International citizen diplomacy movement, which was founded in 1956 by President Eisenhower to promote world peace through people to people and community to community connections.
Speaking after the event, Mayor McCallion said it had been an extremely positive summit in terms of building stronger relations with international partners. “The Sister City Summit was a fantastic event in that it provided the opportunity to establish our position within a global network of destinations keen to make the most of our shared interests and objectives.
“It provided the perfect platform to promote Derry and Strabane and to make contact with like-minded people who want to identify new and exciting opportunities for investment and destinations with a unique offering in terms of tourism.
“After the weekend’s summit I am keen to progress the city’s plan to become a Sister City having considered the wide-ranging benefits in terms of developing further valuable economic and cultural links. The United States is the largest single source of foreign investment into the island of Ireland so it makes sense that we continue to work together to the mutual benefit of all.
“We hope to bring these findings before Council for consideration in the very near future.”
The Sister City movement remains the most extensive and established global network of citizen diplomats today, with 66 community twinning relationships between Ireland and the United States.
The theme of the weekend Summit was ‘Independence and Interdependence’, celebrating the US and Ireland’s shared histories and exploring future opportunities based on these common experiences.
The initiative is supported by the Senator Kerry and the State Department in the USA, the Irish Government, the US Ambassador to Ireland and the Irish Ambassador to the US.
If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 07825 711978. Or you can email john.gill@derrynews.net at any time.