We are a membership organization, with an all volunteer board of directors, who work together to
• Promote the mutual economic vitality of the two communities with special focus on tourism, business, and trade environments.
• Promote an atmosphere where people, especially young people, of both communities can become knowledgeable and understand their respective cultures and the concepts, elements, and implications living in a diverse, global society.
• Promote mutual community development strategies and education serving agriculture, artistic, culinary, educational, cultural, nonprofit, social services, and other related interests of the communities.
• Promote cultural awareness and understanding locally by the sponsorship
of/or support of cross-cultural public events and other educational opportunities for the general public.
• Coordinate a program of delegation exchanges between the two communities, focusing on these goals. The History of the Yakima-Morelia Sister City Association
In 1995 a letter was sent to the mayor of Yakima, Pat Berndt by the mayor of Morelia, Fausto Vallejo Figueroa, suggesting a formal relationship between the two cities. This letter was the impetus that initiated a committee of Yakima citizens who then spent several months doing research. In 1997, the mayor of Yakima, Lynn Buchanan and the mayor of Morelia, Salvador Lopez Orduno continued the process with the naming of an official Sister City Committee. In March of 1999, the Washington Secretary of State issued a Certificate of Incorporation for the Yakima-Morelia Sister City Association. In May of 1999, the Yakima City Council passed Resolution R-99-63, signed by Mayor John Puccinelli that established Yakima and Morelia as Sister Cities. The mission of the YMSCA is to promote mutual understanding and the sharing of cultural diversity among citizens in the communities of Yakima, Washington and Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. What are Sister City Associations? Sister cities, also known as friendship towns, partner towns or twin towns, go back to the end of World War I when some English and French towns decided to partner together for their mutual benefit. This practice continued after World War II as a way to bring various European people into a closer understanding of each other and to promote cross-border projects of mutual benefit. The American sister city program was initiated in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower. It was originally administered as part of the National League of Cities, but since 1967 it has been a separate organization. Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network created to strengthen partnerships between U.S. and international communities in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, to promote cultural understanding and to stimulate private business and economic development.
