The Sister Cities Program was developed in to enlist hundreds of thousands of volunteer citizen-diplomats in a quest for world peace. President Dwight David Eisenhower initiated this "people-to-people" program to encourage Americans to communicate with people around the globe and for communities to bond together by engaging in projects that are mutually beneficial.
Given the diversity of ethnic origins of its population, and its strong international business ties, the City of Rochester was one of the first to develop closer ties with its counterparts abroad when Mayor Peter Barry signed its initial Sister City agreement with Rennes, France, in Relying on the support of volunteers from throughout the Rochester region, ISCOR promotes international understanding, cooperation, and development through a variety of dynamic exchanges with its sister cities around the globe.
ISCOR supports projects which link the sister cities, and serves as an international gateway for municipal, economic, cultural, educational, medical, and governmental exchanges between Rochester and its sister cities. The organization is governed by its Board of Trustees and the Mayor serves as the honorary chair. The Board includes the chairpersons of each sister city committee, elected officials, and other individuals who are active in the international arena.
For more complete information about each of these cities, click on a city to start exploring. Rochester's sister cities relationships are developed and maintained by community volunteers.
Friendship Committees are established to explore connections with new cities, to develop programs of activities that can be the basis for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships, and to consider whether the ISCOR Board of Trustees should recommend that the Rochester City Council adopt a new sister city relationship. Association for Teen-Age Diplomats. The Association for Teen-Age Diplomats coordinates international high school student exchanges with eight of Rochester's sister cities, plus two cities in Peru βArequipa and Iquitos.
