History of the Pacific Neighbors Sister City Program

     Sister city, county and state affiliations between the United States and other nations began after World War II, and developed into a national initiative when President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed the people-to-people program at a White House conference in 1956.

     President Eisenhower's intention was to involve individuals and organized groups at all levels of society in citizen diplomacy, with the hope that personal relationships, fostered through sister city, county and state affiliations, would lessen the chance of future world conflicts.

     Pacific Neighbors Inc. is a member of Sister Cities International by virtue of the City’s affiliation. Sister Cities International links municipalities from the United States with cities from other countries through Sister City agreements signed by the respective Mayor of each city, and ratified by each City Council. To be official, a Sister City relationship must have the endorsement of local authorities, and the support of community volunteers.

     It is the nature of government and its employees that they loose their jobs through term limits, budget cuts, re-organizations and retirement. Pacific Neighbors Inc. is the original San Jose volunteer organization and has historically kept the Sister Cities Program alive in San Jose through its volunteer’s dedication to making peace on earth a reality. We our celebrating our 50th anniversary this year with Okayama, Japan and 30th anniversary with Tainan, Taiwan. 

     Pacific Neighbors Inc.'s Board of Directors meets monthly on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30 PM, usually at San Jose City Hall. Guests are welcome but please contact us if you would like to attend as we take turns serving dinner typical of our Sister Cities so would like to plan for you too. There are exceptions to our 3rd Monday meetings which occur during visits to or from a Sister City or a multi-cultural event we are hosting such as FESTIV'ALL which usually takes place in October.

     Three of Pacific Neighbors Inc.'s Board of Directors also serve on the Board of Directors of Sister Cities International's Northern California Chapter. There are 68 Northern California Cities with Sister City relationships. Due to the large number of Cities in California with Sister Cities Relationships and the shear size of California, the Sister Cities California Chapter has divided into a Norcal and Socal Board to make the logistics easier for our Board members. Each Board meets quarterly at a hosting City and Board members are welcome at each others meetings.