Tulsa Global Alliance manages the programming for Tulsa’s eight international Sister Cities for the City of Tulsa. Contacts are sanctioned by Tulsa's Mayor. Each of Tulsa's City Councilors acts as an honorary Ambassador. Being a Sister City in the International Sister Cities Network means maintaining in-depth interactions between the cities.

How do we interact? Hundreds of area citizens coordinate complementary relationships with counterpart citizens and leaders in each of the eight foreign cities. Relationships involve educational exchanges, citizen travel, dignitary visits, internships, business interests, and tourism. 

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. 

coffee with the councilors - annual breakfast

TGA hosted it’s annual International Breakfast and Coffee with Tulsa’s City Councilors on October 25, 2023 at City Hall. The event featured delicious food representing each Sister City, which was provided by our Sister City Partnership Chairs. This year’s event featured remarks by Council Chair Crista Patrick, TGA Board Chair Kaitlin Flinn and Dr. Bruce Willis, University of Tulsa, who spoke of the Tulsa delegation’s recent trip to San Luis Potosi and the resultant student exchange program.

Directional Signs Celebrate Tulsa's Eight Sister Cities

Sign #4 at McCullough Park

Family, friends, City officials, TGA Sister Cities Chairs, Board members and Staff participated in the dedication ceremony on June 1, 2023 at McCullough Park near East 25th Street and S. Garnett Road. The ceremony included remarks by TGA Board Chair, Dr. Ruby Libertus, sign sponsor, Arnie Marillo and Maria Murillo-Sanchez, along with Tulsa Deputy Mayor, Cassia Carr and City Councilor, Chris Bengel. The sign is dedicated to the memory of Arnulfo Murillo Muñoz. A QR code on the sign provides the family story in both Spanish and English.

Sign #3 at River Parks

TGA dedicated the third Sister Cities directional sign on October 20, 2022 located in River Parks at 68th and Riverside Drive. The dedication ceremony included remarks by TGA Board Chair Ruby Libertus and City Councilor Jeannie Cue, along with special guests Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill, Del Beaver Muscogee Nation Second Chief, and Muskogee Nation princesses who shared their blessings and culture.

Sign #2 at GRC Office Park

Tulsa's second Sister Cities directional sign was installed in December 2021 at GRC Park at 88th and South Yale Avenue. The sign is sponsored by CCK Strategies.

Sign #1 at Tulsa Ports

Celebrating 40 years of Sister City Partnerships

In 2020, TGA and the City of Tulsa celebrated 40 years of Sister City partnerships by announcing a special dedication of the first Sister Cities Directional Sign at Tulsa Ports. The directional sign displays Tulsa’s eight international sister cities with the distance between Tulsa and each sister city in both miles and kilometers, the city emblem, and the year they became one of Tulsa’s Sister Cities. Tulsa’s Sister Cities are Amiens, France; Beihai, China; Celle, Germany; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; Tiberias, Israel; Utsunomiya, Japan and Zelenograd, Russia. The sign at Tulsa Ports is sponsored by Advance Research Chemicals, Inc. It is the first of several directional signs TGA plans to install throughout the city. Other major cities that have Sister City directional signs include Phoenix, Chicago, Los Angeles, Fort Worth, San Diego and San Francisco.

ABOUT SISTER CITIES INTERNATIONAL

Founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Sister Cities International is a nonpartisan nonprofit serving as the national membership organization for 545 U.S. sister cities, counties, and states with 2,121 partnerships in 145 countries on six continents. This network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers. For more information, visit Sister Cities International. And to read President Eisenhower's speech given in 1956 at the White House Conference on Citizen Diplomacy,
visit "The White House Conference that Started it All."

Our Sister Cities