Episode 63: Sister Cities

A decade after World War II ended, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted a way for U.S. citizens to develop relationships with other nations across the world. This initiative would eventually spur the development of the Sister Cities International program, a nonprofit network that aims to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation”

In 1985 the State of Oklahoma joined the program and formed a relationship with the Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Kameoka, the agreed upon Japanese sister city, was about an hour from the capital, had a university in the city, and had an agricultural economy. With these characteristics, it was an easy decision for Oklahoma to choose Stillwater as Kameoka’s sister city. This month on Amplified Oklahoma, we’ll learn about the formation of the Oklahoma Sister Cities Council, the Sister School Program, and the lasting impacts of this international relationship.