MWANZA, TANZANIA

Tulsa’s Anticipated 9th Sister City

Mayor Bynum has pledged his support to launch a groundbreaking new Sister City Partnership between Tulsa and Mwanza, Tanzania before the end of his term in office. To meet this goal, Tulsa Global Alliance partnered with the Mayor’s Office and sponsoring organization Mainsprings to complete the Sister City application process in this record timeframe.

Partnership Milestones

  • In October 2023, Mayor Bynum together with a small citizen taskforce visited Mwanza on an exploratory mission to identify partnership opportunities.

  • In fall 2024, Tulsa will host a delegation of Mwanzan representatives including the Mwanzan Lord Mayor Constantine Sima.

  • In the lead up to the Mwanzan delegation’s visit to Tulsa, Mayor-appointed citizen taskforces in Tulsa and Mwanza are meeting regularly to develop the application, jointly analyze opportunities for mutual sharing and benefit, and pave the way for strategic partnerships between our two cities.

  • Mayor Bynum plans to visit Mwanza in late spring 2024 to sign the Sister City Partnership agreement that will officially confirm Mwanza as Tulsa’s ninth international Sister City.

  • A citizen delegation will visit Mwanza in early summer 2024 to launch new partnerships at the citizen and institutional level in key partnership areas.

 

Ways to Get Involved

Are you interested in a partnership with Mwanza? Let us know by filling out this survey. We are actively seeking Tulsa institutions willing to partner with Mwanza in the key partnership areas of:  education, business/economic development, culture/arts/sports and healthcare.

Help us meet our fundraising goal to bring Mwanzan representatives to Tulsa in fall 2024! Mwanzan Lord Mayor Constantine Sima will lead a delegation of Mwanzans to Tulsa to learn more about our city and explore partnership opportunities. This will be the first time many of our Mwanzan colleagues will be in the United States. Help us make their experience in Tulsa unforgettable!

 

Additional Resources

SISTER CITY PARTNERSHIP ACTIVITIES

DELEGATION MEMBER KUMA ROBERTS SPEAKS ABOUT MWANZA

Kuma Roberts, President of Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce, speaks about her experience visiting Mwanza as part of the delegation visit in October 2023.

MAYOR BYNUM SPEAKS IN SUPPORT OF THE MWANZA PARTNERSHIP

Mayor Bynum reflects on his recent trip to Mwanza during his State of the City address in Tulsa on November 2.

MAYOR BYNUM AND TULSA DELEGATION VISIT MWANZA, TANZANIA IN OCTOBER

From October 20-29 a delegation of Tulsans, including Mayor Bynum, traveled to Mwanza, Tanzania on a fact-finding trip to explore the potential to establish Mwanza as a new Sister City. The group held meetings with leaders of government, education, non-profits and business, and also toured cultural attractions such as Serengeti National Park. Moving forward, a committee of Tulsans will work closely with Mwanzan counterparts to launch the formal application process for Sister City status.

MAYOR BYNUM ANNOUNCES PLANS TO FORM 9TH SISTER CITY IN MWANZA, TANZANIA

On 918 Day 2023 (September 18), Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, the Tulsa Global Alliance, and members of local nonprofit Mainsprings announced Tulsa has started the process of adding Mwanza, Tanzania, to its network of Sister Cities.

Mwanza will be Tulsa's first Sister City added to its network in the last 18 years.

“Our city is excited to announce the process to add Mwanza, Tanzania, to our growing network of Sister Cities,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “Tulsa is truly a global city, and I want to thank the Tulsa Global Alliance, our delegation, and local nonprofit MainSprings for helping kickstart this process.”

Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania, which is the capital of the Mwanza region with a population over 1.3 million. The city is also known as the “City of Rocks.” Tulsa’s eight other international Sister Cities include: Amiens, France; Beihai, China; Celle, Germany; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Lan Luis Potosi, Mexico; Tiberias, Israel; Utsunomiya, Japan; and Zelenograd, Russia.

“Tulsa Global Alliance is honored to work with the City of Tulsa to manage exchanges and activities with Tulsa’s Sister Cities, and to work on this initiative to welcome Mwanza, Tanzania, to the family of Tulsa’s current Sister Cities,” said Bob Lieser, Tulsa Global Alliance’s Vice President of Programming. “Tulsa Global Alliance looks forward to building a sustained relationship of mutually beneficial exchanges with Mwanza for years to come.”

Mwanza has ties to Tulsa through local nonprofit Mainsprings that helped bring the city to Tulsa’s attention. Over the past several decades, numerous Tulsans have visited the city and made ties to the region.

“My path to Tanzania started when I stood up on my Kindergarten career day at Eliot Elementary here in Tulsa, and eventually went to the city of Mwanza in 2002,” Mainsprings founder Chris Gates said. “Mainsprings has grown from so much support here in Tulsa, and we have had hundreds of citizens from here visit Mwanza, Tanzania, over the years. I am personally honored that this

Sister City partnership is connecting these two cities I call home to collectively strengthen our own understanding of the world we live in and further the development of these cities for the betterment of our citizens.”

Adding Mwanza as a Sister City is a monthslong process. In the coming weeks, Tulsa and Mwanza committees will meet virtually to exchange perspectives. Each city’s partnership committee work to complete initial research on possible city connections and opportunities for exchange.

The Tulsa Partnership Committee is comprised of: Chris Gates, Mainsprings; April Gordon, Tulsa Global Alliance; Dr. Ruby Libertus, ORU; Dr. Delia Gillis Eye Adom, Travel N Tour; Jonas Yona Ludomya, Tanzania diaspora member and student; Karl Ahlgren, Mainsprings board member; Kuma Roberts, Arrowhead Consulting; Gretchen Mudoga, PartnerTulsa; Dewayne Dickens, African-American Affairs Commission; Rodrigo Rojas, Mayor's Office.

The Mwanza Partnership Committee will be comprised of the following: Mayor of the Mwanza City Council; Human Resources Officer; City Economic and Planning Officer; City Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries; Coordinator of Partnership and Public Relations Officer;  Representative from St. Augustine University of Tanzania; and a representative from Mainsprings.

Following initial research by each committee, Tulsa’s local delegation will visit Mwanza to secure identified exchange opportunities before finalizing the application and securing letters of interest and support.

Finally, the TGA board will have to vote on the merits of the application before it is signed by the City of Tulsa.