The Sister Cities Program of Gainesville is a non-profit organization founded in Gainesville that strives to be a community leader by encouraging municipal officers and members of the community to engage in long-term relationships with other Sister City programs throughout the world.
Our mission is to promote friendship, cultural exchange and shared experiences among citizens, institutions, businesses and officials of Gainesville and the world. We do this by stimulating environments for cultural understanding by sharing experiences.
Currently there is a multipanel illuminated display of the nine current Sister Cities Gainesville has, which include cities in Russia, Israel and Palestine (jointly), Iraq, Honduras, Scotland, Haiti, Colombia, Lebanon, and Nicaragua. The panels have photos of the city, its people, and its history, and are located between City Hall and Bo Diddley Plaza, by the clocktower. To get involved go to gnvsistercities.org or facebook.com/gainesvillesistercities/.
Sister city partnerships have the potential to carry out the widest possible diversity of activities of any international program, including every type of municipal, business, professional, educational and cultural exchange, or project.
Sister city programs are also unique in that they inherently involve the three main sectors in a community: local government, businesses, and a wide variety of citizen volunteers (and civil society or non-profit organizations).