Dedication of Sister Cities Exhibit at Airport Terminal

In support of its mission to promote friendship among people regardless of race, color or creed, the exhibit was commissioned by the Santa Barbara Sister Cities Board and installed at the Airport Terminal to inform travelers about the location of our Sister Cities. The map was designed by Matt Woodford of Zany Graphics with the assistance of Gil Garcia, of Garcia Architects.

Takako Wakita, Chair of the Santa Barbara Sister Cities Board, stated, “This program is very important to the citizens of the world and helps to promote peace as well as friendships abroad. I have visited many of our sister cities and find the citizens there as well as in Santa Barbara want to get to know each other better and create bonds between people; this program helps that to happen.”

The People-to-People Program, initiated by President Eisenhower in 1956, promotes the friendship of people regardless of race, creed, or color, by the establishment of Sister Cities. The Program offers each community, its citizens, its organizations, and the city itself a chance to participate in the fascinating and rewarding field of international relations. There is also a humanitarian opportunity to be involved in the constructive process of building world peace. To oversee the activities of the City’s program, City Council established the Sister Cities Board in 1973.

Currently, Santa Barbara’s Sister Cities include Dingle Ireland, Kotor, Montenegro, Patras, Greece, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, San Juan Metro Manila, Philippines, Toba City, Japan, and Weihai, Peoples’ Republic of China.

More information about the Sister Cities Program may be found at http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/Visitor/Sister_Cities