Is There Difference Between A Twin City And A Sister City?

By Author: Baya Vertes
Total Articles: 312
Comment this article

One of the most striking things to come out of the end of World War II was a marked commitment on behalf of the international community to prevent such a devastating occurrence from happening again. In order to accomplish this, most measures stressed mutual understanding through cultural exchange. The most obvious examples of these measures is the United Nations, but the concept of partnering up between cities was also conceived to create and further mutual bonds.

The idea of two different cities coming to a mutual agreement in order to better understand each other is known as twinning. You are probably aware that your own city has a twin city somewhere in the world, and you have probably also heard that other cities have sister cities. These two terms are actually interchangeable; the only difference seems to be that sister city is preferred in the countries first settled within the British Empire, twin cities is used in most of Europe, and brother city used for former members of the Soviet bloc.

The purpose of a sister city

As mentioned above, the primary purpose of a sister city is the promotion of communication ...
... among cultures. This can actually serve several purposes; let's take a look at them below.

Strengthening an already existing bond. Vancouver British Columbia was one of the first cities to recognize a twin, welcoming Odessa in 1944. This was all the more remarkable as the Ukraine was a member of the USSR at the time; however the gratification of the city for Vancouver's particular aid in World War II was stronger than the political bonds that separated the populations.

Business purposes. In a world that is increasingly inter connected as far as commerce, having a sister city can be very important for economics. One early example of this was the twinning of Rochester in Minnesota and Knebworth in the United Kingdom, who joined forces to promote their health services research. Twin cities today often favour each other when possible when it comes to trade and commerce.

Cultural promotion. Of course, the basic altruistic idea of the twin city still stands today. Having a sister city can mean a lot of opportunities for adults and students in a city to get to know how things work in points far distant on the globe, an experience that is always beneficial to everyone involved!

So as you can see having a twin or sister city is mainly based on economics and culture, and some cities such as Burlington, Ontario have both. Itabashi, Japan and Apeldoom, Holland are both Twin Cities, while Myrtle Beach, SC is a Sister City to Burlington.