Looking to strengthen family ties with 'sister cities'

More than a quarter-century after establishing a connection with the city of Gaeta, in central Italy, and Coimbra, in central Portugal, Cambridge officials have formed 15 more sister-city relationships in countries ranging from the Dominican Republic and El Salvador to Portugal and Japan.

But with fewer than half of those cultural links still active, Gaeta and Coimbra have become part of Cambridge's extended family of sibling cities that local officials now say should be overseen by a department or commission that could broaden the relationships and help maintain accountability.

"A sister city is only as viable as the group that initiated it," Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker said in an interview late last month.

Decker said she began "taking a practical look at how the relationships are formed, how they're sustained, and how we can create mechanisms in the city that can provide realistic expectations and support" when she chaired a public meeting on the subject over the summer.

The process for establishing a sister city often starts with a group of residents who are interested in strengthening links to an ethnic culture or a political cause overseas, and it becomes official with a resolution passed by the City Council.

Cambridge is a member of Sister Cities International, a Washington-based organization that formalizes relationships between participating communities.

Three years ago, Decker helped start an alliance with officials in Cienfuegos, Cuba, after visiting the city with a delegation led by then-state senator Jarrett T. Barrios to deliver more than 3,000 books to the island.

While the US embargo has prevented many residents from gaining a clear view of Cuban life, Decker said, Cambridge and Cuba are both "on the cutting edge internationally around biotechnology."

Despite the current restrictions in place, "looking forward, if there's ever a day this could help facilitate research between the two countries, then that's helpful," she said.

During much of her 12 years as president of the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association, which was established near the end of the Cold War in 1987, Suzanne Pearce said in a recent interview, she "had felt there was a lack of coordination between the mayor's office and anybody else about how the city involves itself or responds to sister city projects."

When asked about three recent additions to Cambridge's official sister-city lineup that are not considered "active," according to the Cambridge Peace Commission, despite origins as recent as 2004, Pearce said she was "shocked" and unaware that agreements had been reached with any of the municipalities, which are near Beijing; Daejeon, South Korea; and London.

Cambridge officials have acknowledged that some sister city agreements "were really one-shot deals," according to a report released last month from the council's Civic Unity Committee.

Guidelines from Sister Cities International on reviving dormant programs contend that "not all aging programs should be revived" and that "all programs wax and wane; this is not a sign of failure."

Designating a commission or organization to become responsible for coordinating efforts with sister cities is a model that has been followed in other places throughout the country.

Discussion at the public meeting included details on the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission, chartered by Atlanta officials in 1974, which is managed by a board that includes three mayoral appointees, two members appointed by the City Council, and a representative from each sister city organization in the community.

Brian Corr, who became executive director of the Cambridge Peace Commission this year, said allowing his department to play a larger role in overseeing and coordinating sibling city agreements in Cambridge could provide more long-term stability for the program than the mayor's office, which can change every two years.

While any changes to the structure would likely still keep the ceremonial functions of sister city agreements within the mayor's office, Decker acknowledged that relocating the administrative end of the program to the Peace Commission could be a possibility, pending approval from the City Council.

"Without a home for this, it's very hard to do," Decker said. "It's hard to keep those relationships sustained by yourself without the support of an office, just paying attention to those relationships."

James Wallace, a Cambridge resident who helped coordinate a sibling city agreement in 1987 with San José Las Flores in El Salvador, as part of an effort to draw attention to a small group of families who were being held in a refugee camp in the country, said he believes it's important for Cambridge officials to provide basics like a meeting place for volunteers, help with mailings, and an open ear on sister city committees.

Still, Wallace said, the driving force will remain with local residents.

"I don't think it's practical to think that city staff are going to essentially make these things happen when the committees aren't pushing it and providing the organizing and people power," he said.

Richard Thompson can be reached at thompjourn@gmail.com.