How Birmingham Sister Cities connects us globally + their partnership with The World Games

The world is a little smaller than you might think. Although cities may be on the other side of the world, we’re connected with various people through the Birmingham Sister Cities program. Read more to learn all about our sister cities.

Birmingham’s Sister Cities

The Birmingham City Sisters (BSC) is a nonprofit dedicated to developing Birmingham’s community on a global scale. They do this by promoting global cooperation, cultural understanding and economic development between our city and others around the world.

Check out some of their initiatives:

• Ghana Library—In the sister city of Apaaso, Ghana, BCS is helping the community build a library so more people will have access to high-quality education.
• Global Haiku Exhange—Read through their collection of haikus written by people with a shared appreciation of writing and art.
• Young Artists and Authors Showcase—Students explore diplomacy and hope through their writing and art in local and international competitions.

Whether it’s building libraries, developing art or sharing medical knowledge with UAB, Birmingham Sister Cities is all about strengthening our relationship with foreign cities through projects and cultural exchanges.

BONUS: Birmingham wins top Sister Cities International award for 4th time in 8 years

Who are our sisters?

To become a sister city, both cities have to agree on making a long-term connection, then the agreement must be approved by the highest elected official in each community. So for us, Mayor Woodfin would have to approve a new sister city relationship.

Here’s a list of our current sister cities:

• Anshan, China: joined 2005
• Plzeň, Czech Republic: joined 2005
• Liverpool, UK: joined 2015
• Winneba + Apaaso, Ghana: joined 2009, 2017
• Székesfehérvár, Hungary: joined 1994
• Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel: joined 2005
• Kingston, Jamaica: joined 2017
• Hitachi + Maebashi, Japan: joined 1982, 2017
• Al-Karak, Jordan: joined 2005
• Guediawaye, Senegal: joined 2005
• Vinnytsia, Ukraine: joined 2003

The World Games 2022 is approaching and we’re lucky enough to have people from around the world come to Birmingham to celebrate and compete. With the exception of Jamaica and Senegal, you can expect to see people from the countries listed above compete!

Upcoming: The World Games 2022

The World Games is bringing people from all around the world, connecting people through the shared experience of sports. That’s why Birmingham Sister Cities has partnered with them.

The first and recently elected Executive Director, Corlette Stewart Burns, will serve as the Cultural Competency Community Engagement Chair for this global sporting event—WOW.

You can expect to see delegates from Ghana, Hungary, Ukraine and Wales this summer. As a liaison between Birmingham and the world, it’s thrilling to see this nonprofit partner with The World Games 2022 to foster the celebration of a global event.

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