Title
Enter into Sister Cities Agreement with Suwon, South Korea (Ordinance S-48002)
Description
Request to authorize the Mayor of Phoenix, or her designee, to enter into a Sister Cities agreement with Suwon, South Korea in support of youth and education exchanges, municipal and technical cooperation, business, and arts and culture.
Report
Summary
Phoenix Sister Cities, Inc. (PSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1972. It is responsible for coordinating exchange programs in youth and education, municipal and technical cooperation, business, and arts and culture with Phoenix's 10 Sister Cities. Currently, the City of Phoenix has Sister Cities relationships with Calgary, Canada; Catania, Italy; Chengdu, China; Ennis, Ireland; Hermosillo, Mexico; Himeji, Japan; Grenoble, France; Prague, Czech Republic; Ramat-Gan, Israel; and Taipei, Taiwan.
The last sister city to join Phoenix's family was Ramat-Gan, Israel in 2005. In 2016, the PSC Board of Directors conducted an analysis of cities with which Phoenix customarily compares itself and discovered that it was falling short in its number of sister cities. At that time, the Board of Directors prioritized the exploration of additional sister cities relationships.
In March 2020, Sister Cities International forwarded a request to PSC from Suwon, South Korea as Suwon expressed an interest in forming a sister cities relationship with Phoenix. If accepted, Phoenix would be Suwon's first U.S. sister city.
Suwon is the capital of Gyeonggi-do - South Korea's most populous province which includes Seoul, the national capital. Suwon is very densely populated and is home to more than 1.2 million people. It is known as the "Samsung Digital City" and has both nanotech and biotech centers. In addition to Samsung, the SK Group is also headquartered in Suwon.
For more than 50 years, Suwon has celebrated the Hwaseong Cultural Festival each fall. The free event includes traditional music and martial arts performances as well as re-enactments offering a glimpse of 18th century life. The festival is named for the Hwaseong Fortress - a UNESCO World Heritage site - and customarily attracts 5,000 participants.
The PSC Board of Directors reviewed this request and found it an advantageous relationship. Over the past 18 months, staff and PSC volunteers have been communicating with Suwon to determine the possible nature of the relationship. Among the many benefits of the proposed relationship are:
- Information sharing between municipal staffs concerning Smart Cities initiatives and sustainability (especially recycling and circular economy, water and wastewater);
- Youth and education exchanges including the Youth Ambassador Exchange Program, the expansion of a pilot program involving pairing classrooms around Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math (STEAM), Korean culture and language-learning programs, and opportunities for Teach Abroad;
- Arts, culture and sports exchanges including performances by the Suwon choir, orchestra and taekwondo groups in Phoenix, a demonstration game between Suwon's professional team KT Wiz and the Arizona Diamondbacks; and,
- Business exchanges, especially focused on start-ups and high tech.
In addition, South Korea has been identified as a country of interest in the City of Phoenix international trade strategy.
The PSC Board of Directors recommends that the City Council authorize the Mayor of Phoenix to sign a Sister Cities agreement, acknowledging the intention of both cities to engage in mutually-beneficial activities and exchanges, and detailing the ideas generated to date as a starting point.
If approved, PSC intends to welcome a delegation from Suwon led by Mayor Tae-young Yeom to sign a Sister Cities agreement at the end of October 2021.
Contract Term
If approved, the term of this contract is in perpetuity until the City of Phoenix or City of Suwon terminates it.
Financial Impact
Activities and exchanges with Suwon will be privately funded through the efforts of Phoenix Sister Cities, Inc.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer and the Community and Economic Development Department.